String Quartets by Beethoven and Dvorak at Carnegie Hall

Live Concert April 8, 2016: Carnegie Hall Presents Dover Quartet in the Weill Recital Hall

The performers in this concert consisted of the Dover string quartet: Joel Link on violin, Bryan Lee on violin, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt on viola, and Camden Shaw on cello. The program consisted of the String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 "American" by Dvorak, the String Quartet, Op. 3 by Berg, and the String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1 "Razumovsky" by Beethoven.

The three works were very different, which is not surprising considering that each was written in a different time period. Beethoven's quartet was composed in 1806 in for the Russian Count Andrey Razumovsky; Dvorak's quartet was composed in the 1890s during the artist's say in New York; and Berg's quartet was composed in 1910 (but not debuted for another 13 years) ("At a Glance"). So each piece has its own era and sound and can be appreciated in this context -- as works representing developmental points in time.

The Hall was busy as usual and it was an exciting experience arriving for a performance of these works by these three musicians. The audience settled in, the musicians tuned their stringed instruments and the performances got underway. First, was the Dvorak.

I really enjoyed the second movement of the "American" by Dvorak -- it was very melancholic and moody and seemed to really touch something about the American experience: I could imagine some of the sorrows of immigrants whom Dvorak no doubt had in mind when he composed this piece. I could feel what it must have been like to come to the New World with so much hope and promise only to find infinite struggle. Yet the music was also very compelling and humble, almost spiritual in way -- so the feeling was very powerful and universal. The tonal color of the third movement picks back up and offers some energy: the violins are played more quickly and with more upbeat passion. The melody is happier and the cello and viola accompany this happier mood with a harmonic undertone. Dvorak's music is definitely of the Romantic Era of music -- there is so much feeling in it, so much melody and harmony and rhythm, so much mystery, that it is overall very enjoyable to listen to.

The Berg quartet followed and this was overall much less melodic than the Dvorak quartet. Its tone had an almost paranoid or schizoid color to it -- at times it seemed as if the two violins, the cello and the viola were completely out of harmony with one another: the music was discordant to say the least -- but not bad. This is not surprising considering that Berg is an early 20th century composer. This music definitely has a more modern sound -- not quite as discordant or sharp as a work by Bartok but it is certainly in the same modern neighborhood. The rhythm is greatly varied throughout as though the music suffers from fits and seizures: the expressions of the musicians were interesting to watch for the Berg quartet in this regard -- they seemed more moved by this music than by the Dvorak or the Beethoven which followed. The audience in the hall also seemed to be especially moved by the Berg quartet and applauded it most loudly and rapturously. I did not share the enthusiasm that everyone else apparently had as my tastes must run towards the more conventional. The Dvorak was easily my favorite, followed by the piece by Beethoven. Then, again, I am also partial to Beethoven and I wonder if, had I not known that this quartet was written by him, I would have actually allowed myself to enjoy it. It too possessed a touch of the modern sound in terms of having dissonance and discordant passages. In short, the modern sounds are challenging and speak to a split somewhere in the modern psyche -- such is my interpretation of it, at least.

The Beethoven quartet was written during the Classical-Romantic period and is a kind of crossover of the classical and romantic genres. It was certainly the most rhythmic of the three pieces with the first movement opening up to an extremely fast-paced escalation of sounds from violins, viola and cello all competing in a flourish for dominance. The passages would then suddenly come to a halt and a slower tempo would be utilized. There was consonance to the movement but there also seemed to be two strains pulling in opposite directions at times.

The second movement opened up with a more melodic passage and then the instruments went into their signature rhythmic rifts. There would be long string passes followed by quick, short passes where the bow would run across the strings as though it could not get by fast enough. This movement also seemed to be more dramatic in its tone as there was some interplay between the higher, lighter notes of the violin and the darker notes of the cello.