Adelaide Festival. Presented by Australian String Quartet. Adelaide Town Hall. 11 Mar 2014
On leaving the Adelaide Town Hall at the end of the Australian String Quartet’s (ASQ) concert, a matronly looking well-dressed lady remarked to her companion “And that is precisely why some music needs to be seen as well as heard”. She was spot on. I often find that live performance reveals much more than just listening to a recording. I think it is almost axiomatic that seeing a performance stimulates the brain to attune to some aspect of the sound that is otherwise missed. It is heard, but not listened to.
The second half of the program was a prime example of this. Swapping their priceless Guadagnini instruments for Yamaha electric violins/viola/cello, the ASQ played two contemporary compositions; ‘Windmill’ by local composer and music academic Stephen Whittington, and then George Crumb’s innovative and way-out ‘Black Angels’. ‘Windmill’ sounded like, well….a windmill, and it was hypnotic. The simple and sparse melody line went through subtle variations with occasional shifts in key, just as a windmill would respond to shifting wind patterns. A recording would trivialise the piece and not do it justice. In fact it would probably be incredibly unappealing, except to an academic wanting to analyse its form.
‘Black Angels’ was even more dramatic. Comprising thirteen miniatures arranged into three groups, it is almost a formal exercise in violating the ‘classical’ rules of counterpoint and using dissonance as much as possible. It is cacophonous at times and demands a physiological response as you clench your teeth and tense your muscles. The music is often uncomfortable but almost always resolves itself and gives you relief – both musical and physical. It is also visually fascinating to watch as the four musicians also bow wine glasses and gongs, and don metal thimbles and use them as a guitarist would a plectrum. They also shout words and phrases in foreign languages, and the whole thing is gimmicky, but it is quite compelling and strangely enjoyable. Again, a recording of it would be unintelligible and probably unbearable. But to see it is quite something else.
The first half of the program saw the ASQ play Boccherini’s String Quartet in G minor Op.32 No.5 and Brahms’ String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1. Interestingly their instruments were strung with ‘gut’ strings rather than the more usual metal or synthetic strings. This resulted in a less robust reading of the Brahms, which I quite enjoyed, and it allowed the delicateness of the Boccherini in particular to play out.
The ASQ’s line-up is a new one, and it is comparatively youthful. First violin Kristian Winther plays with overt emotion and joy, and is subtly balanced by the more restrained approach of Ioana Tache on second violin. They worked well together. Cellist Sharon Draper produced a clear and beautifully articulated cello line, and Stephen King provided authority and the ‘glue’ on viola, always casting an experienced and watchful eye over the violins.
A concert of contrasts. A continuum of musical ideas from the very ‘safe’ to the very avant garde.
A concert to be seen as well as heard.
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: Closed
