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Tokyo String Quartet shows off its high polish in Beethoven
String quartets don't usually play on stages set for "The Sound of Music." That is, unless they plan to play along with the von Trapp family. But the seemingly incongruous backdrop for the Tokyo String Quartet Tuesday night at Fairmount Temple Auditorium in Beachwood ended up serving as the perfect metaphor. Like the alpine scene behind it, the renowned ensemble represents the pinnacle of its world.
The hilly backdrop also came in handy picturing the landscape of Japan, where the quartet, now an artist-in-residence at Yale University, originated over 40 years ago.
The base of the group's musical mountain here was formed by Beethoven's F-Major String Quartet, Op. 135, the master's philosophically humorous final work in the genre. Nowhere Tuesday night did violinists Martin Beaver and Kikuei Ikeda, violist Kazuhide Isomura and cellist Clive Greensmith apply their clean, dovetailed sonorities and refined control to broader purpose.
The musicians made short work of the first two movements, engaging in frolicsome conversations and partnering at times for stinging jabs. The final Allegro, too, was full of surprises, as the musicians repeatedly came roaring out of seductive hushes.
But the most engaging journey took place in the Lento, in which the players pivoted on a single note from light to dark and then proceeded on a slow, reluctant crawl back to life.
Ravel's String Quartet, also in F-major, afforded the Tokyo musicians opportunity to display their lighter, more delicate side. The opening Allegro, for instance, sounded as if it might melt into air, while in the slow movement, the players discovered warmth through consonance at fragile volumes.
Yet this was no mild-mannered Ravel. Both of the two fast movements emerged in vigorous, resolute renditions driven by elements of restlessness and unpredictability.
Two pint-sized works by Webern kicked off the evening: his brief String Quartet, Op. 28, and the even shorter Rondo. Still, the tiny pieces left outsized impacts through two stunningly articulate performances.
Echoing each other's phrasing with keen accuracy in the Quartet, the Tokyo players shed rare light on facets of the music's intricate structure. The dance-like Rondo, by contrast, revealed Webern at his most melodic and graceful. If the program was a mountain, this was its peak.
The hilly backdrop also came in handy picturing the landscape of Japan, where the quartet, now an artist-in-residence at Yale University, originated over 40 years ago.
The base of the group's musical mountain here was formed by Beethoven's F-Major String Quartet, Op. 135, the master's philosophically humorous final work in the genre. Nowhere Tuesday night did violinists Martin Beaver and Kikuei Ikeda, violist Kazuhide Isomura and cellist Clive Greensmith apply their clean, dovetailed sonorities and refined control to broader purpose.
The musicians made short work of the first two movements, engaging in frolicsome conversations and partnering at times for stinging jabs. The final Allegro, too, was full of surprises, as the musicians repeatedly came roaring out of seductive hushes.
But the most engaging journey took place in the Lento, in which the players pivoted on a single note from light to dark and then proceeded on a slow, reluctant crawl back to life.
Ravel's String Quartet, also in F-major, afforded the Tokyo musicians opportunity to display their lighter, more delicate side. The opening Allegro, for instance, sounded as if it might melt into air, while in the slow movement, the players discovered warmth through consonance at fragile volumes.
Yet this was no mild-mannered Ravel. Both of the two fast movements emerged in vigorous, resolute renditions driven by elements of restlessness and unpredictability.
Two pint-sized works by Webern kicked off the evening: his brief String Quartet, Op. 28, and the even shorter Rondo. Still, the tiny pieces left outsized impacts through two stunningly articulate performances.
Echoing each other's phrasing with keen accuracy in the Quartet, the Tokyo players shed rare light on facets of the music's intricate structure. The dance-like Rondo, by contrast, revealed Webern at his most melodic and graceful. If the program was a mountain, this was its peak.
— Zachary Lewis,
Cleveland Plain Dealer
