Review: Barbirolli Quartet; Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York University (From York Press)

Review: Barbirolli Quartet; Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York University

9:52am Monday 22nd February 2010

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Never fool yourself into thinking that a CD is the real thing.

Live performances have a dimension that a recording cannot match. The dynamics of a string quartet like the Barbirollis offer a perfect illustration.

Beethoven, Britten and Brahms were on the card for the group’s appearance for the British Music Society. Nothing unusual there, just a work from each of the last three centuries. You expect chamber musicians to co-operate – it’s the name of the game. But the interaction between these players was extraordinarily close, a hugely positive force.

In Beethoven’s A major quartet, Op 18 No 5, there was a tangible joie de vivre from the very start. They were having fun with Beethoven at his sunniest. The third movement’s innocuous theme and variations emerged with a charming delicacy. Britten’s Second Quartet demands displays of personality from each of the instruments, especially in its closing Chacony. Here all four stepped fearlessly into the limelight, spearheaded by Ashok Klouda’s finely-poised cello. The preceding Vivace's tight accents and the opening movement’s beautifully judged restlessness had been equally satisfying.

This palpable interplay was at its most dazzling in Brahms’ C minor, Op 51 No 1. Its tempestuous outer movements drew from the Barbirollis a passionate, orchestral vigour, yet completely without rough edges. The tender Romanze was a smooth contrast. Their infectiousness gave the music a newly-minted feel, as if straight from the composer’s pen. This was live, electric, the real thing.

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