There is something very special about music for string quartet – i.e. classical works written for two violins, viola and cello. Goethe described a string quartet as a conversation between four equal partners. It was literally music to the ears of an age passionately concerned with the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. In the last decade, Chiaroscuro Quartet has been among the most important stewards of the genre, with particular emphasis on composers active during Goethe’s lifetime. The quartet has delivered a series of critically acclaimed recordings and been regulars at the most important arenas for chamber music. With four major works spread over two concerts, the Chiaroscuro Quartet is one of the top names at this year’s Oslo Chamber Music Festival. The main impression is an ensemble that this time only partially delivers the goods. Imprecise and sloppy DOESN’T FIT COMPLETELY: Chiaroscuro Quartet plays at Frogner main square. Here violinist Pablo Hernán Benedí. Photo: David Dawson The quartet opens its contribution with a work by the classic itself: Haydn. Joseph Haydn’s Six Quartets Op. 33 (1781) is regarded as music history’s first real masterpiece within the quartet genre. The sixth of them, in D major, was on the program in a concert at beautiful Frogner main farm with the title “Strong women” (!). Haydn’s quartets are music that the Chiaroscuro Quartet usually master at their fingertips. But the usual polished elegance never quite comes into view on this hot afternoon in the middle of Frogner Park. On the contrary, my impression is that things are not quite right, neither rhythmically nor intonation-wise. Sensational female composer Something of the same lack of precision characterizes the Chiaroscuro Quartet’s performance of the next work at the same concert: Emilie Mayer’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14. The little we know about Mayer (1812-83) is enough to cause a stir. She studied with the leading authorities of the time and established herself in Berlin, where she lived as an unmarried woman and a free artist. Mayer composed a large number of works, including eight symphonies and nine string quartets. An astonished group of critics had to admit that she was the exception to the accepted rule that composition was something only men could master. The Chiaroscuro Quartet’s performance of Mayer’s expansive Quartet in G Minor certainly had qualities, but I was left with a feeling that there is more to this music. The slow third movement worked best, with many expressive details from Ibragimova. Better in the Lodge Already on Sunday evening, the Chiaroscuro Quartet was back, this time in the venerable Gamle Logen and with standard works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn on the programme. Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Op. 59 no. 1 immediately appears to be far more focused in its expression compared to what the quartet produced the day before. The sound is better, the precision greater and the expression richer and more nuanced. UNEVEN TOP ENSEMBLE: Chiaroscuro Quartet played best in Den gamle loge. Fv. Alina Ibragimova, Pablo Hernán Benedí, Emilie Hörnlund and Claire Thirion. Photo: David Dawson At the same time, what I perceive to be a fundamental weakness of this ensemble becomes clear: The musical initiative comes almost exclusively from above, from first violinist Ibragimova. The expression simply lacks a bit of substance. The quartet’s violist in particular is at times strikingly uncharacteristic in his expression. By far the most successful is the quartet’s performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s E-flat major quartet, Op. 12. Perhaps there is something about the vitality of the young Mendelssohn that brings out the energy and joy of playing in the whole ensemble to a greater extent. But that must also be the case for a quartet with such high esteem as this one. Unique cello sonata Chiaroscuro Quartet did not rule the roost alone at these two concerts during the Oslo Chamber Music Festival. The concert at Frogner main square had a first section with the cellist Sandra Lied Haga in concert with the pianist Christopher Park. TRAGIC LOVE: Cellist Sandra Lied Haga performs Strohl’s sonata “Titus et Bérénice”. In the background: pianist Christopher Park. Photo: David Dawson Here the public is presented with a work by yet another woman of the more sensational variety: French Rita Strohl (1865-1941). I am not sure if the huge cello sonata entitled “Titus et Bérénice” (published 1892) is Strohl’s best work. But it is a bit of a work. The sonata is in four large movements and depicts the tragic love story of Emperor Titus and Berenike of Sicily, based on Racine’s tragedy from 1670. As far as I know, there is no similar work for cello, at least not from the French 19th century. In my opinion, however, the sonata is characterized by a pathos and a richness of tone which gradually becomes exhausting. The performance from Haga and Park could also benefit from a greater range of expression and clearer storytelling. Raging legends in the Lodge The concert in The Old Lodge ends with the strangest thing I’ve come across so far this summer: A bunch of songs from Schubert’s “Schwanengesang” with two real legends on the podium: the British tenor Ian Bostridge and the Finnish pianist Olli The Muston. SPECIAL FEATURE: Pianist Olli Mustonen and tenor Ian Bostridge in Den gamle loge. Photo: David Dawson After hearing these songs, I’m left with somewhat the same impression as after watching season three of “Twin Peaks”: I can’t decide whether I think this is brilliant or just complete ranting coconut. People who know Bostridge and Mustonen know that these two gentlemen have their own style and that they have done amazing things. Bostridge is a singer who enters the early romantic repertoire with all he can muster of empathy and theatricality. Mustonen has made it a principle to play staccato – no matter what. And Schubert? Well, they took it all the way out, so to speak. Maybe too much of a good thing can sometimes be a good thing. But I caught myself wishing for a little more Schubert in the monitor, and a little less raving tenors and pianistic mincemeat. news reviews Who: Chiaroscuro Quartet et al Place: Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Frogner main square and Den gamle logen Date: 13 and 14 August 2022
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Chiaroscuro Quartet and others during the Oslo Chamber Music Festival – Reviews and recommendations
