That the Portsmouth Festivities can only provide an act like the Brodskys with an audience of about 60 is to be regretted. But if quality is any recompense for a paucity of paying listeners, there was enough appreciation in the ovation to make it very worth their visit.
The programme they offer is their Wheel of 4tunes, a disc divided into four concentric circles representing the four pieces they will play and each of them divided into ten equal sections for the pieces available. A guest spins the wheel for each selection and the schedule is thus produced.
Piazzola is something I can usually take or leave but as a lively opener Four for Tango served a purpose. It uses more than bowing techniques in getting sound out of the instruments. As in the picture here, the violins and viola stand and that certainly seems to help with Daniel Rowland, who had the better of the lead violin parts on this occasion at least, being expressively mobile at times throughout.
The Britten Quartet no.3, a late piece and something of a swansong, seemed to benefit from the slightly echoing acoustic of the Cathedral with its harmonics sustained. The third movement kept Rowland high up on his fretboard to glorious effect and this would have been a perfectly acceptable highlight worthy of turning up for had the second half not, luckily for us, begun with the wheel landing on Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov. You don't necessarily go to a string quartet concert expecting to find that half the featured composers are Argentinian.
Another passsage of spare modern passionate desolation was sandwiched between two in imitation of Couperin. I thought first they meant Louis but was extravagantly thrilled to find it was Francois as the ending quoted from the troisieme of the three Lecons de Tenebres which, in the recording by James Bowman and Michael Chance, is officially my favourite record of all time.
Golijov's piece concerns terrorism in Jerusalem, at least in part, and the very high point of the Couperin invokes Jerusalem to 'turn to the Lord thy God'. It was that very part it quoted. I say 'quoted'. 'Lifted' might be a better word for it. Golijov's CD including Tenebrae was ordered from Amazon even before I started knocking out this foolish piece of commentary.
Although, having been able to make out the titles on the outer ring of the wheel (those being in the largest writing), and hoped for Bartok or Shostakovich, it was going to be difficult for anything to impress more than that. Perhaps the Shostakovich Quartet no.3 might have been the safer option because I know that quite well. But it was Bartok who had to take responsibility.
The Quartet no. 1 is 'lyrical and romantic' (for Bartok) and so was interesting to hear. There is, of course, darkness in it but he can manage brief spells of lush as well. It seemed episodic, and was at times rhythmic and dramatic, but no musical idea was sustained for very long. Thus, it appeared inconclusive which might quite rightly be exactly what was meant. None of which is to say there wasn't brilliant playing throughout this piece and the whole concert by all four of the quartet. I've only mentioned one musician by name but that's only because he got the flashiest things to do.
I arrived with the criticism I read recently still not gone away, that the Brodsky's were somehow suspect because they credited their tailor as their fifth member. They weren't overdressed or in any way apparently victims of a style makeover. They were exceptionally well-judged in everything they did, said and wore and produced a superbly resonant sound. I can only apologize to them that Portsmouth didn't have more people who wanted to see and hear them but it was clear that each and every one that did was glad to have done.
Thank you very much for coming.