The Pavel Haas quartet really stand out as an edgy and fresh looking group of young musicians who have been working under Glasgow's artists in residency program for the last 3 years having previously toured throughout the globe. They have received a number of prestigious awards including Best Newcomer by the BBC Music Magazine Awards jury as well as a Gramaphone Award in the Chamber Music category for their most recent album.
As I have already confessed, I am no master of chamber music so my descriptions of what I heard are completely genuine, earnest and sincere.
The quartet will open with Brahms, String Quartet No.2 Op.51/2. The piece is around 30 minutes long, I'm not accustomed to listening to a track music for much longer than 4 minutes which made me slightly wary of the monster which I was about to unleash in the form of youtube. It is amazing how quickly time flies when you enjoy something, I was engaged with the music and fell into an almost hypnotic state of concentration. The piece began very slowly and softly, gradually picking up in speed and volume. I felt that the music was growing around itself, almost in the way that a garden might grow, layers on layers. There are returns to a more peaceful sound and then sudden, unexpected jumps back to a faster tempo. This really keeps you entranced and waiting for the next surprise. Brahms then goes on to present us with a much darker sound which I find, adversely, more beautiful and somewhat serene. The instruments seem more balanced and in-sync producing a good contrast to the restlessness which is heard at the beginning of the piece. By this stage I am not surprised to hear yet another different and unique sound which seems to be a defining characteristic of this piece by Brahms. As the tone switches quite suddenly to produce an almost aggressive noise full of short snappy sequences I feel re-engaged, the music seems to re-awaken from the earlier lull. This sets the tone for a dramatic and exciting ending, which for me is the icing on the cake. The zealous climax of short strokes and repetition conclude a varied and magnetic piece of music. I do feel that watching professional musicians would intensify and heighten the experience, particularly due to the contrasts of speed and tone throughout.
Next on the agenda is Beethoven's String Quartet Op.130. If I had been daunted by the 30 minute monster which was Brahms then Beethoven's String Quartet was more like the Cracken at around 50 minutes long. As you may have noticed with my first review I have a tendency to split the piece into 'sections' which appeals to me as a Chamber Music novice. The piece feels more digestible and there is an almost organic beginning and conclusion to certain sounds which when grouped is easier to understand and absorb in a longer piece. So back to the music in hand. The String Quartet begins at quite a slow pace with lots of depth and and weight which doesn't last long as the instruments soon launch into a quick paced phrase full of embellishment and texture. I suppose that I might say that there is a great contrast between dark and light and that I might compare the music to an artist painting a picture, adding layers and colour. The characteristics of the next portion are quite unique in the piece. For some reason I am immediately reminded of a little bird taking flight, there is a lot of flitting about between notes and the quick speed has a darting quality to it. I am conscious of a slight menacing undertone which darkens the music only slightly. As we move on I am re-united with a 'stereotypical' example of chamber music. I am immediately transported to a grand ball. To my ears, this is music to dance to, and not what I expected to hear within this piece when contrasted with initial impressions. I do however enjoy this 'interlude'. As I listened I jotted some ideas down, the words in my notebook to describe the next phrase are 'slightly mental'. In deafens of my characterisation of Beethoven's music, there are many contrasting sounds played using short, sharp notes. I think that the best way for me to enjoy this was to take it for what it is and simply listen. The piece concludes with a softer more cohesive sound which does highlight the contrast and distinct quality which is apparent throughout this piece. The highlight of the piece, for me, were the faster segments as there is a slight air of menace wavering in the background. Clever use of variation and expressive playing draws the listener into the piece. As I type this up I wonder how other listeners might interpret this piece from different perspectives.
And to conclude the Pavel Haas quartet will perform Beethoven's Grosse Fugue Opp. 133. I found this to be a very different to the previous two pieces which I have listened to as it is more holistic in itself. I had the pre-conception that the music would split into comprehensible chunks, instead it was quite similar throughout. There were a lot of different sounds and despite the musicians playing such conflicting sounds the overall result was incredibly cohesive and merged amazingly. So much time, concentration and energy must go in to performing all of the pieces, but as a listener it is the Grosse Fugue which really highlighted how essential group dynamics must be in Chamber Music.
Pavel Haas will play at the University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel on the 31st of May, tickets available by clicking here.
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