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4 + 1 X 3 - Arcanto Quartet and friends Dutilleux, Mendelssohn & Schubert
Arcanto Quartet Antje Weithaas, Daniel Sepec, Tabea Zimmermann, Jean-Guihen Queyras; with Olivier Marron cello A quick report, having belatedly heard this great quartet for the first time. Their Schubert Quintet was the most compelling of this repertoire favourite we'd ever heard, eclipsing those with Casals and du Pré etc... The five played as one, with no individualism, a new-minted and deeply satisfying account of one of the miracles of classical music, which received a well-earned standing ovation at the end of a long and punishingly demanding programme. The elusive Dutilleux was given with persuasive subtlety of timbre which captivated an audience unfamiliar with it, and next a storming account of Mendelssohn's last quartet, the one which encapsulates his anger with the deities after the unexpected death of his sister Fanny, soon to be followed by his own. A concert to treasure and remember for a lifetime. The Arcantos have a short residency weekend at Wigmore Hall; their coffee concert on Sunday is already sold out, but there is a chance to hear them on Monday's BBC Lunchtime Concert. Be there! Peter Grahame Woolf
Webern & Brahms Arcanto Quartet Sunday Coffee Concert - 11:30 AM 29 November 2009 Today the Arcanto Quartet provided an ideal which chamber musicians strive for, but which is very seldom achieved. Each individual member of the quartet harnessed their creativity and virtuosity to play as one entity, subservient to the music. All too often in quartet playing the first violin dominates and the inner parts are weaker. Here Antje Weithaas played with a rare sensitivity, knowing when to lead and when to accompany. Her power and sweetness of tone was matched perfectly by the second violinist, Daniel Sepec, and the superb viola player, Tabea Zimmermann and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. The programme opened with Webern’s Langsamer Satz, a single movement of tonal romanticism from a composer best known for his twelve-tone music. Inspired by a hiking holiday in the mountains with his wife to be, it is an early work of lush harmonies and singing melodies. The Arcanto Quartet played with a tender lyricism, at times compelling the audience to listen to the most hushed pianissimo. Jörg Widmann joined the quartet for the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. One of Brahms’ finest chamber works, the clarinet becomes fully integrated into the ensemble; at times enmeshed by the quartet, at times soaring above them,but without imposing himself soloistically, even in the flamboyant middle section of the slow movement. In this performance the Arcanto Quartet not only remained faithful to the score, but were able to go beyond the printed notes to reach the true essence of the music. Sublime. Anna Michel
Kurtag & Dvorak Arcanto Quartet with Silke Avenhaus piano [pictured]
Once again the Arcanto Quartet entranced. The 6 Moments Musicaux by the Hungarian composer György Kurtág was originally a set of characterful miniatures written for the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. They contain many musical and extra-musical references. The Arcanto Quartet excelled at portraying the suspense required in Footfalls... as though someone is coming, in which Kurtág refers to both a play by Beckett and a poem by Endre Ady. The movement ...rappel des oiseaux... is in fact dedicated to the quartet’s very own Tabea Zimmerman, who, along with the other members, made light of the movement’s fiendish harmonics. In his Moments Musicaux Kurtág draws on previously composed music, most notably his Játécok piano pieces. Játécok (games) is a collection of music for children on a par with Bartok’s Mikrokosmos; the same sense of playfulness can be found in his Moments.
Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A Op. 81 combines romantic lyricism with Czech folk influences. The Arcanto Quartet gave an elegant performance not lacking in rhythmic drive. Silke Arvenhause, with whom they have recently recorded the Brahms Piano Quintet, joined them on piano. Her poised playing complemented the quartet perfectly.
Today the Arcanto Quartet have proved themselves not just masters of the Romantic repertoire but also of contemporary music. The repeat broadcast of this concert (2pm, Saturday, Radio 3) is not to be missed. Anna Michel The Arcanto Quartet's min-residency at Wigmore Hall was completed with the BBC Lunchtime Concert, broadcast live and now available also on BBC Radio3 Listen Again for the next seven days. [Editor] [Arcanto Quartet pictured with Silke Avenhaus, centre, and radio presenter Sarah Walker, L] CD REVIEW of the new Brahms CD with Silke Avenhaus: Piano Quintet op. 34; String Quartet op. 51 No.1
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