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Concert Reviews |
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 Index of Reviews |
The Endellion Quartet, 5th February 2003, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham The Barber Institute’s Celebrity concert series regularly provides a treat of an evening. The first of 2003 featured the Endellion Quartet, one of the world’s finest string quartets who have performed at nearly all the major UK concert series and festivals and broadcast on radio and television. Performing together since 1985, the quality of these players cannot be doubted; their ensemble playing and depth of sound is tribute to this. The evening’s programme featured three distinctive quartets by Beethoven, Britten and Martinu, stylistically diverse, yet each tackled with the same conviction and virtuosity by Endellion. It was a bold choice to juxtapose two quartets from the mid 20th-century, but they were far from inaccessible, and the concert had a unique and welcome freshness. Bohuslav Martinu’s final string quartet, subtitled ‘Concerto da Camera’, displays a rich mix of influences, from Haydn to Dvorák, but is highly individual. In performance, the rhythmic drive of the opening movement never lapsed and the weaving melodies drew the audience into this tonally unusual world. The first half of the concert concluded with Britten’s exciting second quartet. Endellion here created a varied selection of timbres; the sound was so broad that it had almost orchestral power at times. This evocative work ends with an extended set of variations, harking back to the music of the composer’s hero, Henry Purcell. In contrast, the second half featured Beethoven’s Quartet in F. This is early Beethoven, and was accordingly performed with classical grace and poise. The composer’s fiery temperament could be glimpsed in the scherzo, and the work was presented with energy, not least in the finale. A peaceful encore rounded off the evening delightfully. Tim Foxon |
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