Naumburg Orchestral Concerts (6/29/21)

 Ulysses and Emerson Quartets

Sort of. It was neither orchestral nor was it double quartets.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949), Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85, (1942) (performed by the Ulysses Quartet with Lawrence Dutton, viola and Paul Watkins, cello)
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896), String Quintet in F major, WAB 112, (1878-79)III. Adagio, G-flat major, common time (performed by the Emerson String Quartet with Colin Brookes, viola)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11, (1924-25)
1. Adagio; 2. Allegro molto
(performed with the Ulysses Quartet playing the first parts)
Felix Mendelssohn, (1809-1847), Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20, (1825)
1. Allegro moderato ma con fuoco (E-flat major); 2. Andante (C minor); 3. Scherzo: Allegro leggierissimo (G minor); 4. Presto (E-flat major)

(For the record, I copied the program from their website. The key signatures for the Octet mean very little to me. But I liked the work a lot.)

Here’s the deal. This was a program featuring two string quartets. But we never heard two string quartets. The first work was a sextet—the Ulysses quartet with two guests. To me, it was airy but with a rich sound. It added drama by way of increased energy. It was rather moody, and somewhat subdued as a (metaphorical) curtain raiser.

The second work was one movement of a string quintet, played by the Emerson quartet plus a guest. Seeing a pattern yet? The work was slow and sweet, while also a bit somber. The harmonies were on the dense side, deeper and fuller (though the real-life chirping birds—hey, it was an outdoor concert), were a nice touch. It was pleasant, if somewhat staid.

The first movement of Shostakovich’s first piece for octet had an energetic opening before settling down. There were a few dissonances, but nothing at all harsh, with an interesting mix of slower and faster tempos. The second movement was very energetic, after a brief opening, leaning toward more modern harmonies (though nothing overly dramatic). The movement ended with a nice flourish.

The Mendelssohn octet. Ah! It was written when he was sixteen. (Yes, it was edited later, but the exuberance of a sixteen-year-old fills the piece.) Daylight was fading during this last work of an outdoor concert, so scribblings will ensue.

(i) Bubbly, youthful exuberance, while also being nuanced. There were several returns to the opening motifs, which were developed along the way.
(ii) (After a quick re-tuning) A lovely and slightly tugging-at-the-heartstrings (in a good way) feeling, plus some drama involved, as well, and hope, too, was followed by a subtle ending.
(iii) Lots of energy! Even though it was in a minor key, the feeling of hope just can’t be tamped down, especially including the clever ending to the movement.
(iv) Even more energetic, with a brisk cello opening; then everyone is pretty much off to the races. They were having a great time of it—oh, sure, they took the occasional breather—but the energy never flagged.

ConcertMeister