SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Schubert: Pavel Haas Quartet (Veronika Jarušková – Eva Karová (violins)  Pavel Nikl (viola) – Peter Jarušek (cello)), Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s London, 11.11.2010 (BBr)

Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D703 (1820)

String Quartet in D minor, Der Tod und das Mädchen, D810 (1823/1824)

 

There’s a story about Pushkin, concerning the writing of Eugene Onegin. Whilst having dinner with a Princess, he said, “Imagine what happened to my Tatiana! She upped and rejected Onegin…I never expected it of her!” What this tells us is that the creative artist can sometimes lose track of what he is creating and it takes on a life of its own. Take the case of Schubert’s Quartettsatz. I am sure that Schubert intended to write a four movement Quartet but the first movement grew out of proportion to his original idea. Thus we have the single movement, and I cannot imagine how this could ever be part of a larger work, for it is perfectly self contained, has more than sufficient power and energy for a much larger work and, most importantly, it doesn’t feel to be lacking anything, which any of the movements from Der Tod und das Mädchen, taken alone, would. So here is a perfectly polished jewel of a piece, which received a big interpretation from the Pavel Haas Quartet, which emphasised the symphonic feel of the music and was full of tension and nervous energy.

 

Der Tod und das Mädchen is a huge work, a symphony in all but name, and one of the first flowerings of Schubert’s late summer – even though he was only 26 at the time of composition; the composer’s days were numbered. Today’s musicians understood just how urgent this music is, and threw themselves wholeheartedly into this work, emphasising the wildness and passion of the piece. We heard a big interpretation of the work, bold and dramatic, but with ample time available for the more lyrical moments. The first movement had a broad sweep to it, which was breathtaking, whilst the slow movement’s variations were clearly delineated. Darker forces were at work in the scherzo which was given as a stamping dance, which it surely is, and the finale was full of the desperation which comes with the knowledge of being late for something, and knowing that, no matter how hard you may try, you will never catch up with yourself.

The more I hear the Pavel Haas Quartet the more impressed I am by the insight and intelligence the musicians bring to their performances, whether playing the classical repertoire or giving birth to a new work. This was the last of four BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime concerts given by this ensemble, and it will be broadcast on Friday 12 February next year.

 

Bob Briggs