Mozart, Schubert and a world premiere of a new string quartet by Jules Deering made an excellent programme and a pleasant evening of music at The Theatre at Headington. The audience, despite being on the small side obviously really enjoyed the concert staged in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
For me the highlight of the concert, was the second half and the performance of Schubert’s Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, commonly known as the Death and the Maiden. The work was passionately performed by the quartet with obvious enjoyment, grabbing the audience’s attention from the start. The opening of the second movement was particularly good - the quartet playing like one instrument with a warm, heartfelt yet melancholic sound, as was the obvious levels of communication between the players. The challenging work showed the talent of the musicians who really commanded the music and the stage.
The first half saw an equally exciting performance of Deering’s String Quartet No. 1. A modern work which explored melody and tonality while passing through sections of pizzicato, reflection even included a tango and a ‘knees up in 7/8’- the composer’s own words! The piece was extremely dramatic, making good use of dynamic contrasts as well as instrumental techniques. The Bonnici Quartet had really mastered the piece and the levels of concentration it took were obvious. Each independent part was played with great conviction and confidence - despite the obvious anxiety displayed in the players’ body language - fixing their eyes on the music and a reduced level of visual communication. Despite this difficulty for the quartet it was an exciting piece to listen to - especially the tango section, brought to life by the dance rhythms energetically played by cellist Jacqueline Johnson. The composer, who chatted easily to audience members at the interval, also provided the piece with great down to earth programme notes, with descriptions such as the ‘right old knees up in 7/8 ….and ‘a slow section where the first violin gets a bit carried away before it kicks off again to finish.’
The performance of the opening piece, Mozart’s Quartet in E flat Major was slightly disappointing in contrast to the other two works. Perhaps nervous, the quartet lacked the spark and energy shown in the other pieces and I felt they could have exaggerated the varying characteristic in Mozart’s material more.
Overall, however, the quartet provided the audience with a good selection of their repertoire and presented a unified and spirited performance. The new work by Deering in particular was exciting and dramatic, an easily enjoyable example of modern music- well worth a listen!
For me the highlight of the concert, was the second half and the performance of Schubert’s Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, commonly known as the Death and the Maiden. The work was passionately performed by the quartet with obvious enjoyment, grabbing the audience’s attention from the start. The opening of the second movement was particularly good - the quartet playing like one instrument with a warm, heartfelt yet melancholic sound, as was the obvious levels of communication between the players. The challenging work showed the talent of the musicians who really commanded the music and the stage.
The first half saw an equally exciting performance of Deering’s String Quartet No. 1. A modern work which explored melody and tonality while passing through sections of pizzicato, reflection even included a tango and a ‘knees up in 7/8’- the composer’s own words! The piece was extremely dramatic, making good use of dynamic contrasts as well as instrumental techniques. The Bonnici Quartet had really mastered the piece and the levels of concentration it took were obvious. Each independent part was played with great conviction and confidence - despite the obvious anxiety displayed in the players’ body language - fixing their eyes on the music and a reduced level of visual communication. Despite this difficulty for the quartet it was an exciting piece to listen to - especially the tango section, brought to life by the dance rhythms energetically played by cellist Jacqueline Johnson. The composer, who chatted easily to audience members at the interval, also provided the piece with great down to earth programme notes, with descriptions such as the ‘right old knees up in 7/8 ….and ‘a slow section where the first violin gets a bit carried away before it kicks off again to finish.’
The performance of the opening piece, Mozart’s Quartet in E flat Major was slightly disappointing in contrast to the other two works. Perhaps nervous, the quartet lacked the spark and energy shown in the other pieces and I felt they could have exaggerated the varying characteristic in Mozart’s material more.
Overall, however, the quartet provided the audience with a good selection of their repertoire and presented a unified and spirited performance. The new work by Deering in particular was exciting and dramatic, an easily enjoyable example of modern music- well worth a listen!