Janacek’s searing Kreutzer Sonata
and Smetana’s intensely autobiographical E minor sonata make an obvious
pairing – yet one wonders whether the Emerson Quartet (with violinists
and violist standing) quite appreciated that. Often these performances
seemed run-of-the-mill, rightly capturing the dexterity so evident in
both works, but making little headway in getting to the emotional core
of these extraordinary quartets.
Little was made of the contrasts
between tragedy and lightness in the Kreutzer, still less of
the barely restrained passion which had ‘smouldered’ from Janacek’s
pen. Throughout the first movement, for example, one was aware of a
desperately glacial tone to both violins so at odds with the thematic
material. The passionate love theme of the second movement was also
somewhat harshly captured; literally soaring in its melody, but so emotionally
removed in its feeling. Only in the fourth movement did one feel any
intensity to the Emerson’s playing – with a notably graphic account
of the murder. For all their impressive technical skills, however, this
was a performance which largely lacked spontaneity and passion or subtlety
and poignancy.
Tragedy precipitated the composition
of Smetana’s E minor quartet, ‘…the catastrophe of complete deafness’.
Here there was some superb playing – from the sonorous ‘cello melody
in the Largo to some beautifully expressive phrasing in the final movement
(although Eugene Drucker’s top E, two octaves above the open E string,
wasn’t quite piercing enough in its brilliance: Smetana wrote that it
was the ‘fateful ringing in my ears…which announced the beginning of
my deafness’). A slight sourness from the viola temporarily marred the
polka, itself rather too didactic in its phrasing, yet the Emersons
were fully open to presenting this works vigour and vibrancy.
In recent years the Emerson Quartet
have shown much greater depth than they used to in the quartets of Bartok
and Shostakovich. These performances were ultimately disappointing for
the shallowness of the interpretations, even though there can be little
doubt we are listening to one of the great quartets of our time. Just
a little of that peerless technique used at the service of the music
would have made a world of difference to these performances.
Marc Bridle
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