Midday Masterpieces (12/4/19)

Gypsy Folklore – Ulysses Quartet – Christina Bouey, violin; Rhiannon Banerdt, violin; Colin Brookes, viola; Grace Ho, cello

Armenian Folk Songs for String Quartet – Komitas – Vagharshabadi Dance, It’s Cloudy, The Partridge
Rhapsody (2018) – Paul Frucht (b. 1989)
String Quartet No. 2, “From the Monkey Mountains,” Op. 7 – Wild Night; Vivace e con fuoco (only one movement was played; I’m not sure which one) – Pavel Haas
String Quartet No. 4 in c minor, Op.18, No. 4 – Allegro ma non tanto; Andante scherzoso quasi allegretto; Menuetto: Allegretto; Allegro – Prestissimo – Beethoven

The first folk song was energetic, though not too much. The second had one of the violins and the cello bowed while the other violin and viola were plucked (pizzicato). Eventually all four were bowing. It was mostly gentle and relaxing followed by a swooping grander section before returning to gentleness. The third was just plain energetic and fun.

The composer, Mr. Frucht, introduced his piece. He is a Juilliard alum, and all four string players are Juilliard students. The piece was very modern, almost bordering on harsh, though there were a few calmer sections. As a whole, it didn’t quite do it for me.

The Monkey Mountain movement featured Mr. Frucht as percussionist (lite)—snare drum, tom-tom(?), wood block, cymbal, and triangle. Apparently Mr. Haas created the piece with optional percussion, then removed the percussion, and then reinstated it. Whew! We heard it with percussion. It was also very modern (and at one point the violist added a police whistle to the mix—I’m not making this up, you know!). I liked this better than the previous piece, but not a whole lot better.

The Beethoven was much more traditional (duh!). The first movement was dark and brooding, though with energy, in its introduction. It was then pleasant and dance-like with a mix of playful and serious sections, though it was rather lengthy. The second movement had fugue-like entries by all four players, and it also had a mix of serious and playful, with touches of elegance added into the mix. The third was energetic while also being slightly dark and heavy. It finished with a nice flourish. The final movement was brisk yet controlled. A calmer section followed before returning to brisk and, actually, presto to the cute ending. In theory, some of the Beethoven was vaguely gypsy-/folklore-esque—I didn’t quite see it that way. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

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