The 19th annual Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival kicked off Sunday with Tokyo String Quartet in an arresting performance of Beethoven's String Quartet Opus 132.
The quartet, in its final season with founding violist Kazuhide Isomura and longtime second violinist Kikuei Ikeda, brought an emotional intensity and shiny tone to the work, particularly in the soaring third movement.
Translated as "Holy Song of Thanks From a Convalescent to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode," Beethoven wrote the movement to express thanks for recovering from a grave illness while he was composing the quartet in 1825. It is written with solemn spiritual depth interspersed with blasts of triumphant joy.
But the joy does not have the shuddering blasts of a Beethoven symphony. It slowly builds, then fades, then re-emerges.
The Tokyo let that triumph build gradually, like a flower blooming in the sunshine. Their performance was soft, but not overly so, and energetic without being explosive. In a word, it was sublime; you could see Beethoven rising from his sickbed after catching his second wind and looking at life with renewed hope.
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The quartet was equally impressive in the first half of Sunday's concert performing Bartók's complex String Quartet No. 3. This is a piece that challenges musicians to be technically flexible. One minute they are bowing, the next they are playing the bow impossibly close to the bridge. Pizzicato in Bartók's writing is plucking the string so that it bounces against the fingerboard. When cellist Clive Greensmith did this, he created a resonating bass line that contrasted with the dissonant harmonies introduced by first violinist Martin Beaver and sustained with mesmerizing depth by Ikeda and Isomura.
Sunday's concert also included a playful turn at Mozart's Quintet in E-flat major for Piano and Winds, performed by Australian pianist Bernadette Harvey, clarinetist Bil Jackson and three members of the New York Woodwind Quintet. Their performance was great fun.
The addition of so many woodwinds to the festival lineup opens the door for the festival to include such repertoire as Dvorák's Serenade in D minor for Winds, Cello and Bass on Wednesday and Beethoven's Septet in E-flat major on Friday.
Review
19th annual Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival opening concert Sunday at Leo Rich Theatre. The festival runs through Sunday; the next concert is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the Apollo's Fire Baroque Ensemble performs "Mediterranean Nights: Sultry Songs & Passionate Dances from 17th Century Italy & Spain." Details: arizonachambermusic.org
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com
