The Shriver Hall Concert Series celebrated the opening of its 40th season on Sunday, Oct. 2. Homewood's own Shriver Hall was filled as the series welcomed the Takf6cs String Quartet and pianist Garrick Ohlsson.
First, the Takf6cs String Quartet took the stage with Mozart's Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K 465, known as the "Dissonant" quartet. One of the six "Haydn" Quartets, dedicated to Mozart's contemporary composer and friend Joseph Haydn, the "Dissonant" was an adventurous and experimental work for Mozart.
The quartet earned its name from the ambiguous and chromatic introduction in the first movement. Characteristic classical clarity is soon restored, but there remain references, often humorous, to the nascence of a work of art, with many repetitions and revisions.
The Takf6cs Quartet's presentation not only illuminated the nature of the piece, it animated the music with the force and dynamism possible only from a virtuoso ensemble as renowned on an international level as the Takf6cs Quartet. Dedication beyond mere familiarity marked every nuance in the performance, and the exchanges between the players drew the audience in to more intimately experience the work. The Takf6cs Quartet plays with such vibrant unity that one could well imagine this was how the music sounded in its most perfect form, complete in the genius' imagination.
Garrick Ohlsson, a familiar and favorite artist of the Shriver Hall Concert Series' regular audience, then presented the Sonata in b minor, Op. 58, by Chopin. Much like the Mozart quintet, which preceded the Chopin on the program, the b minor Sonata is representative of Chopin's attempts to reform his compositional style.
Rejecting the quick simplicity of his earlier works, which were more like background music for salons than serious compositions, Chopin had begun to produce more ambitious works by the time he composed the b minor Sonata. In accordance with its history, Ohlsson's performance of the piece was anything but reflective of salon background music.
Ohlsson plays with great strength and authority. His mastery is such that in his presence a Steinway grand piano might seem a little smaller, only in the sense that Mr. Ohlsson takes full control of the instrument's formidable capacities. He presents a single, sustained note as well as the most technically intricate passage with confident, perfect knowledge of musical form and function.
The program closed with the Piano Quintet in f minor, Op. 34, by Brahms. Ohlsson joined the Takf6cs Quartet for the piece, resulting in a performance of staggering mastery and intensity. The work itself reflects the great personal emotional struggles of the composer, as Brahms experimented with different instrumentations before settling on the piano quintet as an appropriate ensemble for the piece.
Considering the unique natures of the performers involved in this performance, with Ohlsson's authoritative command and the Takf6cs Quartet's vibrant flexibility and expressiveness, the mutual choice to join forces as a piano quintet might seem surprising. However, the combination proved to be a great attribute in this presentation of Brahms' work.
The ability of the Takf6cs Quartet to play in almost perfect unison with stirring intensity resulted in the four members of the Takf6cs ensemble seeming to function as a single organ. Brahms' piano part acts more as an accompaniment to the string quartet or to alternating couplings of individuals within the quartet, rather than as a fifth string player. Mr. Ohlsson responded with a sensitivity heightened by his technical finesse.
The strengths of both the Takf6cs Quartet and Ohlsson were thereby emphasized, and the result was a magnificent presentation that brought the audience to its feet in ovation at the end of the concert.
The Shriver Hall Concert Series continues on Nov. 6, with baritone Jonathan Lemalu and pianist Malcolm Martineau. On the program are pieces by Gabriel Faur5f, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Roger Quilter and William Bolcom. With such a delightful and diverse program, the concert should prove to be very enjoyable. And with a launch as successful as the performance by the Takf6cs Quartet and Garrick Ohlsson, the Shriver Hall Concert Series looks to be truly memorable in the 2005-2006 season.
