Symphony
SADAVA CONDUCTS ELEGANT SO CO PHIL INAUGURAL CONCERT
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Chamber
POTENT SCRIABIN INTERPRETATIONS AT SPRING LAKE VILLAGE RECITAL
by Terry McNeill
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Symphony
ODYSSEY IN THE SEARCH FOR YUNCHAN AT HOLLYWOOD BOWL
by Abby Wasserman
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Chamber
VOM FESTIVAL'S CLOSING CONCERT A CELEBRATION FOR STRINGS
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Chamber
RITE OF SPRING FOR 88 KEYS AT VOM FESTIVAL
by Pamela Hick Gailey
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Choral and Vocal
A POET'S LOVE SONG CYCLE AT VOM FESTIVAL JULY 27
by Elly Lichenstein
Thursday, July 27, 2023
Other
CHARMING "BARBER" A MENDO FESTIVAL TRIUMPH
by Pamela Hicks Gailey
Friday, July 21, 2023
Recital
RARE RAVEL IN MENDO FESTIVAL'S PRESTON HALL
by Terry McNeill
Thursday, July 20, 2023
SCHUMANN QUINTET PERFORMANCE RESCUES VOM FESTIVAL'S SECOND CONCERT
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Chamber
VOM PLAYERS STRIP DOWN A SYMPHONY
by Abby Wasserman
Saturday, July 15, 2023
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 Alexander String Quartet |
IMPECCABLE BEETHOVEN FROM THE ALEXANDER STRING QUARTET
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, February 9, 2014
In the classical music world, snazzy innovation and music puffery catch the headlines, but there is always a role for an instrumental group with long experience and impeccable artistic integrity. The Alexander String Quartet's Feb. 9 concert in the Sonoma Classical Chamber Music Series proved that decades of performance excellence could make an all-Beethoven program seem as familiar and cozy as an old house slipper.
Before a packed Vintage House audience, the Alexander opened with the 1798 C Minor Quartet, Op. 18, No. 4, and gave a svelte and polished reading throughout. There was a uniform blending of sound, with the high-ceiling room favoring cellist Sandy Wilson's cello sound and a desired reverberation time of just under one-half a second. In the second movement (Andante Scherzoso) first violinist Zakarias Grafilo played often with a spiccato bow, and the ensemble was perfection. The dark drama of the Menuetto was played to highlight the piquant harmonies, and the finale was a whirling dance, the Quartet alternating the major and minor keys to a "gypsy" effect. The pizzicato playing was exemplary.
Beethoven's last completed Quartet, Op. 135, closed the first half. Playing in the first movement was insistent but never forceful, the long ascending phrases not melodic but strongly rhythmic. In the tranquil Lento, a peaceful aura was created, the top violin and bottom cello lines surrounding the floating inner voices. Time seem to stop at the end. Though the sharp opening of the finale with themes played in unison was dramatic, the piece's cohesion was palpable. It was a magical performance.
Beethoven's middle-period E Minor Quartet (Op. 59, No. 2) closed the afternoon in a faultless performance where subtle volume changes appeared in each of the four movements. This deftly proportioned playing was never rushed and emphasized long, singing lines. Mr. Grafilo played a section in the Adagio where soft ascending and descending notes were perfectly graded, and Mr. Wilson ended the movement with a long downward phrase of delicacy and finality.
The Presto finale had a wonderful interplay of contrapuntal voices, often beginning with the second violin, and then to violist Paul Yarbrough and the cello and first violin. It was often fast and tenacious playing, jolly and then pushy, with virtuoso work from Mr. Grafilo.
As the West Coast's premier string quartet, the Alexander has appeared in seven of the Sonoma Society's ten seasons, and clearly artistic experience pays rich dividends.
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