Schubert's single-movement Quartettsatz was eloquently introduced by Ansell, with some apt quotations, yet its combination of tremolo fury and sweet tunes did not quite come off, with Pohl somewhat challenged by flying arpeggios.
Britten's Third Quartet was the highlight of the evening. It was easy to surrender to the four musicians as they countered stark belligerence with dispassionate contemplation in this stimulating 1975 score.
Ansell and Douglas Beilman, sonorously jousting, set up a first movement that seemed like a malevolent take on Bartok's night music, even when the group's prodigious energies took them into a well-sprung dance. Pohl's energised sampling of the main theme for Britten's Ostinato movement was a preview of what would be an electrifying performance, although the more freely composed textures of the following movement did not totally convince.
The group maintained momentum through the last and longest movement magnificently, justifying Britten's title of La Serenissima. There was serenity, but there were also some mysteries and questionings, ending in a dramatic skewing of its final E major chord.
After interval, Ravel's String Quartet proved to be a let-down. The players were not lacking energy, but rawness and clouded ensemble seriously undermined a work that should be the epitome of Gallic gleam and elegance.
Review
What: New Zealand String Quartet
Where: The Loft at Q
