Ciudad Hidalgo Section of 32th Cervantino International Festival comes to an end

Under the pretext of hosting an international quartet, the Ciudad Hidalgo Municipality requested increasing participation in the cultural activities of Michoacán, both before and after the successful New Zealand String Quartet concert.

The light but persistent rain did not stop a public eager to hear good music played by good musicians from filling the San José Parish Church, in the heart of the municipality, and even the repeated interruptions by applause at each change of movement were well received by the musicians.

The public, however, was forced to choose between the opening ceremony of the local fair, with its dancing, fireworks and outdoor party, and a musical event rarely seen in the city’s artistic routine, which would also serve as the closing ceremony of the 34th Cervantino International Festival (Festival Internacional Cervantino), in its Ciudad Hidalgo section.

Violinists Helene Pohl and Douglas Beilman, violist Gillian Ansell and cellist Rolf Gjelsten each received diplomas for their participation and a framed landscape, as a token of appreciation from the City Council, after performing a varied repertory as regards the style, place of origin and historic period of the pieces.

The work of the New Zealanders started with “Is it true?” [String Quartet no 13 in A minor] an early creation of Felix Mendelssohn filled with emotion and dedicated to one of his first loves. The instrumental piece, which is divided into three movements, is summarized in the question “Is it true, that you feel the same way as I do for you?” with the entire paroxysm that this may cause in a young mind.

From the start, the strength with which the quartet exercises its instruments was manifest, flaunting a sound that is integrated as a group, but also robust in the solos of each of the members.

A sharp turn directed the subject matter toward Greek folklore through Kartsigar, a piece by John Psathas which is based, in turn, on the music to which the composer was exposed in his parents’ restaurant during his childhood, although he has integrated pizzicatos and microtones in the violins to build the Greek atmosphere.

This trend to examine by means of experimenting with cultures that we still consider exotic was what led the chamber musicians to the composition based on the resonances of China and Madagascar that Jack Body wrote for them.

Helene Pohl cautioned about the difficulties of recreating a smaller wind instrument used in China with their own instruments, while in Madagascar they tried to recreate a cylindrical 20-string instrument that is played with the fingertips thanks to a prolific use of harmonics.

For the last part of the program, the New Zealanders turned to Beethoven’s String Quartet Opus 59, written by the German at the onset of his fight against the deafness which was already ailing him.

This fact helps us to interpret the contrast between Beethoven’s passionate outbursts and brief episodes of serenity that may be found in the composition, as if he were searching for acceptance in the face of a pressing reality.

The odd thing about the piece, and another quality of the New Zealand String Quartet that must be recognized, is the inclusion of playful passages in the midst of all that tangle of impotence and frustration that later characterizes Beethoven’s musical legacy, as regards his creative expression.

It is worth noting that once the concert was over, the public was reticent about leaving the sacred building. The public’s palms, at least on this occasion, did not demand the usual encore, nor did they expect anything else. The public was simply present, in a silent reverie.

At the end, the representatives of the municipal government called for a larger participation of Ciudad Hidalgo in the cultural life of Michoacán. Although they did not directly refer to the state government, the petition could not be interpreted any other way, especially after the public validated the quality of its attendance through its interest in the performance and after the acoustic qualities of the San José Parochial Church were demonstrated, confirming it as one of the venues with the best conditions for Michoacán’s musical life.