The fours of July — and late June
It’s hard to put one’s finger on what’s so magical about the string quartet. Since the genre was brought into existence almost single - handedly by Haydn in the 18th century, it has become the preeminent vehicle for chamber music. The combination of two violins, viola, and cello offers a composer an eerily perfect union of richness and clarity, fragility and power. Listen to the quartets of Beethoven, Schubert, Bartok, Shostakovich, or Carter:
You can peer into their minds and eavesdrop on their artistic development in an unusually penetrating way.
In addition to symbolizing tradition and institutional solidity, the quartet has also proved to be a surprisingly flexible form. Ever since the Kronos Quartet began making waves in the 1980s with its hip concert garb, theatrical staging, and Hendrix arrangements, ideas about what a quartet should do and where and how it should do it have been in flux. Groups like the New England Conservatory’s Parker String Quartet have become as comfortable playing at the Lizard Lounge as in Jordan Hall. The foursome known as Ethel calls itself a band rather than a quartet, and with good reason: With its hyperactive stage presence and turned-up-to-11 amplification, Ethel both looks and sounds a lot more like a rock group than a traditional quartet.
Thanks to the serendipity of scheduling, there’s a flurry of quartet activity in Massachusetts over the next seven days. Start on the North Shore, where the Miami String Quartet makes its debut at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival with a two-night stand that begins tonight. Currently in residence at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, the Miami has shown a strong commitment to contemporary music, as well as some of the more neglected byways of the repertoire (such as the quartets of Saint-Saens and Ginastera). Judging from the sound clips on the website of the group’s management, the Miami has plenty of polish and drive; two excerpts of music by the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks are especially impressive. At Rockport the quartet will pair well-known staples by Schubert and Mendelssohn with contemporary works by Bruce Adolphe and Charles Mason. Tomorrow’s concert ends with Tchaikovsky’s fiery sextet “Souvenir de Florence,” with two local favorites — violist Marcus Thompson and cellist Rhonda Rider — helping out. 978-546-7391; rcmf.org
The Miami took over its position at Hartt from the Emerson String Quartet, which has become the preeminent American quartet of its generation. The Emerson Quartet recently finished a “Perspectives” series at Carnegie Hall devoted to Beethoven, and it comes to Tanglewood on Sunday with a program devoted to two of his late quartets — those in A minor (Op. 132) and B-flat (Op. 130, with the original “Grosse Fuge” as the final movement) — works that seem to grow more profound and mysterious the longer one lives with them.
The Emerson is the direct descendant of the Juilliard String Quartet, which is still going strong after 60-plus years. The Emerson’s tireless energy and preference for directness of expression over beauty of sound have been Juilliard hallmarks since its inception, and although the ensemble’s sonic profile has shifted over the years with the inevitable personnel changes, it can still penetrate to the bones of a score quicker than most. The Juilliard arrives at Tanglewood next Thursday with a program of Bartok’s Second, Fourth, and Sixth quartets. The group played a big role in introducing these to the American public, having been the first to perform all six quartets in the United States, in the 1940s. Its performances now carry a full career’s worth of experience and insights.
If you’re hungering for quartets between those two concerts, the Tanglewood Music Center winds up its annual Quartet Seminar with a marathon day of concerts on Monday. Student groups perform works they’ve rehearsed intensively over the previous 10 days with faculty coaches. Concerts are at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.; repertoire isn’t determined until the day before. 888-266-1200, 617-266-1200, tanglewood.org
Mozart to modern The Boston Classical Orchestra has announced its 2007-08 season, which opens Sept. 28 and 30 with performances of Mozart’s regal Piano Concerto No. 25 (K. 503). The ever-inventive pianist Robert Levin is the soloist, and he’ll also play a new work by local composer Thomas Oboe Lee, written on unfinished fragments by Mozart. Other concerts feature music by composers ranging from Telemann to Finzi; guest artists include the clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and the Borromeo String Quartet.
617-423-3883, Bostonclassical orchestra.org
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