Polished evening of light and shade
TOrava Quartet: Romance And Revolution St Mary Of The Angels, last Thursday Reviewed by Lucy Swinnen he Orava Quartet displayed complete mastery of a diverse classical repertoire and covered a huge emotional range at the Romance And Revolution performance on Thursday night.
The concert was perfectly polished but not sterile as the quartet members moved from the romantic sounds of Haydn to the much darker work of Shostakovich.
The accomplished Brisbane players – hailed as one of the most exciting, young quartets performing today – achieved an evocative and moving performance containing light and shade, humour, suspense and dread.
Brothers Daniel Kowalik, the first violinist, and cellist Karol Kowalik formed the Orava Quartet in 2007 with violist Thomas Chawner. They were joined by second violinist David Dalseno in 2011.
The group’s Wellington performance started on a light note with Haydn’s String Quartet No 2 in E-Flat Major, Opus 33, also known as ‘‘The Joke’’ quartet.
From there, the foursome moved onto what felt like the main act of the night, Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 8 in C Minor, Opus 110 – a piece that really stood out.
Written by Shostakovich in three days, the deeply political work recreates the sense of sadness, dread and foreboding he experienced living under the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union.
The musicians’ complete control allowed them to move through the incredibly focused five interconnecting movements – from the almost-galloping third movement to the sarcastic waltz.
As cellist Karol Kowalik explained at the beginning of the piece, it captured Shostakovich’s fear of arrest, with the sounds of knocking by secret police officers incorporated into the movement. This composition was deeply suspenseful.
Over the years the Australian group has been together, its members have performed in multiple international settings and completed a two-year stint as the graduate quartet-in-residence at Colorado University in the United States.
Brothers Daniel and Karol are of Polish origin and grew up listening to 20th-century Polish film composer Wojciech Kilar. The quartet took its name from his piece Orawa (Orava), which, in turn, is named after a region in southern Poland.
Their final piece of the night – and the festival – was tonally very different again; Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No 2 in A Minor, Opus 13. Again, this work was masterfully played, with its complex cross-rhythms, romantic and sparkling, perfectly executed. ●➤ For a full list of classical performances at the New Zealand Festival, visit: festival.co.nz