Alexander Quartet

by

Lyn Bronson

Zakarias Grafilo, Frederick Lifsitz, Paul Yarbrough & Sandy Wilson

Most of us probably spend more time listening to recorded music than we do live performances. However, no matter how favorably controlled the acoustical environment is in the recording studio, there is still no substitute for the more natural experience of hearing artists live in concert. This was brought home to us once again last night as the Carmel Music Society presented the distinguished Alexander String Quartet at All Saints Church in Carmel. This church is virtually a perfect venue for music since its vast reflective wood surfaces bring immediacy to performances no matter whether you are in one of the pews close to the performers or one situated at the rear of the church. A capacity audience turned out for this concert last night and its members were not to be disappointed.

The musicians of the Alexander String Quartet − violinists Zakarias Grafilo and Frederick Lifsitz, violist Paul Yarbrough and cellist Sandy Wilson − are virtuosos in their own right and they were in fine form last night. The opening work on the program, Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, K.136, was a marvel of fine individual playing combining effortlessly to create beautiful ensemble and music making on a high order.

Even more impressive was the quartet’s performance of the Beethoven second Razumovsky Quartet. This is a work that always surprises us with its ingenuity and boldness, and the players gave it a new freshness last night. The muscular and aggressive playing in the first movement grabbed us by the throat and immediately demanded our attention and respect. In the slow movement we were charmed by the serenity and beauty of the individual playing, especially Grafilo’s lovely decoration of the melody, and the gently rocking motion of the coda. The Allegretto was full of sustained and underplayed menace, rarely rising above a pianissimo, and the grotesque final Rondo was a knockout.

After intermission the remainder of the program was devoted to Schubert’s Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, (“Death and the Maiden”). This turned out to be a powerfully moving experience in which the four musicians created at times a volume of sound that approached symphonic levels that drove the work along with an irresistible inevitability. The theme and variations second movement was especially effective, and the fast-moving finale with its whirlwind passages (and more than a subtle reference to Der Erlkőnig) was supremely effective.

There was a standing ovation from the audience, but no encore. But, then what could logically follow such a powerful performance?

 

 

End