New Zealand String Quartet

Concert: Saturday June 9 2007 Bach and Mendelssohn – “A Divine Obsession”.

The New Zealand String Quartet has strong ties with Nelson. Every time they return, members bring a fresh choice of music, and audible proof that they are evolving and perfecting their ensemble.
Their intention in the two concerts, given on Saturday and yesterday, was to prove Mendelssohn’s indebtedness to Bach.
While recording their latest CD of Mendelssohn’s Quartets, the quartet realised how much his music was patterned on Bach’s Art of the Fugue. Bach’s music had been more or less ignored until the youthful Mendelssohn revived an interest in his work in Leipzig in the first half of the 19th century.
I attended the Saturday evening performance. The order of the programme alternated Bach and Mendelssohn, fittingly, Bach first and last.
Bach’s fugue has a translucent texture, and clarity of harmony and rhythm, demanding an accuracy of intonation and a careful listening from all four musicians. It is meditative and mature, whereas the Mendelssohn fugue is exuberant, dramatic, often furious in tempo, and full of technical wizardry – the creation of a much younger man.
The quartet provided these clear contrasts, side by side, and did justice to the fugues with sustained, faultless concentration. I delighted in hearing the theme tossed from one musician to another, every voice equally important, and in their genteel phrasing, rounding off each movement with graceful precision.
Inserted in the second half was Mendelssohn Fugue in E flat, which was atypical, and more like Bach, with a serenity and transparent articulation. This was beautiful.
The alternation of composers worked well, and gave the audience time to assimilate the emotional excitement of Mendelssohn’s music, while contemplating the beauty of Bach’s harmonies.
I especially enjoyed the Mendelssohn Quartet Op 44 No 3 in E Flat – the playfulness of the fast triplet rhythm in the scherzo: the heartfelt, romantic emotion of the adagio, and the tempestuous, spirited finale – each musician intensely contributing to the thrill of the fugue.
The audience demanded an encore – a peaceful aria from Bach’s Goldberg’s Variations – and went out into the cold winter’s night, glowing with satisfaction.
Thank you, New Zealand String Quartet, for an unprecedented musical experience.