Interpretations lack unity
The Escher Quartet Koerner Hall, Thursday, July 12 K (out of four)
The annual Toronto Summer Music Festival launched its season on Thursday night with a concert of chamber music, the hallmark of its programming.
Instead of a big-star draw to fill Koerner Hall, this year’s opening concert relied on musicians who have risen steadily in prominence since being founded in 2005: the Escher Quartet from the United States. They were substituting for the originally scheduled opening guests: the Borodin Quartet, which has for decades been considered the best of the best.
Those are mighty big bows to fill. Violinists Adam BarnettHart and Danbi Um, violist Pierre Lapointe (the group’s Canadian content), and cellist Brook Spetz did a fine job with a meaty program of 19th- and 20th-century music.
But there’s a fine, invisible line between fine and outstanding, and the Eschers, try as they might to follow their namesake’s convoluted paths and steps, couldn’t cross over into the glorious, golden space created by a great evening of music.
Part of the weight preventing musical liftoff was Robert Schumann’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 41. Although Schumann was a quintessential Romantic, putting a premium on emotional expression, this piece is more of a technical exercise in that it lacks musical coherence, and, consequently, doesn’t get performed very often.
The Eschers did their very best nonetheless, achieving nice balance between the instruments and measuring their expressive range with great care.
This was followed by a particularly intense, dark and jumpy interpretation of the String Quartet No. 9, Op. 116, by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Composed in 1960, it is also not performed that much, but it’s not for lack of musical coherence.
In this instance the four string players dug a little too deep, dialing up the intensity until it threatened to shatter the music, especially in the final movement.
The official program concluded with a much-loved cornerstone of the canon, Peter Ilych Tchaikovskiy’s String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11. The encore — in response to an enthusiastic ovation — was the sweet third movement from the String Quartet No. 2 by Alexander Borodin.
There’s no way decent musicians can’t please a crowd with these rich, melodic pieces. But the interpretations, although good, lacked unity and finesse.
Violinist Um is a recent addition to the group, so perhaps the foursome has not settled into a comfortable common voice yet. The impression I had was that they are not as communicative with each other as they could be.
Without an intimate, intense exchange of non-verbal messages during a performance, it’s hard to break through from good to amazing.
With the first night over, there are many highlights for different sorts of music fans over the course of the festival, which runs to August 4.
Besides the mainstage professional concerts, there are daytime performances, master classes and special events — many of them costing very little or nothing at all.
For full festival details, visit torontosummermusic.com.