Passionate tribute to Russian composers

The Borodin Quartet is marking its 65th anniversary with an extensive concert tour. Photo / Keith Saunders

In the world of chamber music the Borodin Quartet reigns supreme. The Russian ensemble can boast a lifespan of 65 years, with the late Valentin Berlinsky, who died in 2008, spending 62 of them as cellist.

New Zealanders not fortunate enough to have caught the Borodins in concert on their previous visits may know them through recordings, such as their recent, definitive cycle of Beethoven Quartets.

Beethoven is not on offer during this tour but Igor Naidin, the quartet's violist since 1996, emphasises the significant pairing of Brahms and Tchaikovsky in tonight's Auckland concert.

"We often play the Brahms and Tchaikovsky as sets because both composers wrote three quartets," he says. "It's especially inspiring to hear them next to one another, as we're looking at the greatest achievements of two geniuses at the end of the 19th century."

Tonight we will hear Tchaikovsky's Second Quartet, "the most powerful in getting across to an audience," Naidin explains.

The Russian composer's Third is just as mighty a work, he concedes, but "being dedicated to a dead friend, it was written in grief".

Most of Naidin's professional career has been spent in chamber music, having been a founding member of the prize-winning Russo Quartet. And he feels it is a privilege because the medium he has chosen is "unique and goes right back to the time of Haydn. It's no coincidence that composers particularly value the string quartet for expressing their deepest and most personal thoughts".

Beethoven and Shostakovich are singled out as "creating so many individual masterpieces".

These are the works that draw the audiences when the group plays in Europe and America, although Naidin sees a subtle difference between those who search out orchestral and chamber music.

"There's no predicting what sort of audience might come to an orchestral concert but it's unlikely that someone would come to a chamber music concert by chance - 99.9 per cent of our audience is very dedicated and knowledgeable. These people are what Mr Berlinsky used to describe as an elite audience, brought up with this kind of music."

The Borodin Quartet has a fervent following and Naidin has been astounded with the response they received last month in Australia.

"In Europe we mainly play to audiences of between 300 and 700 people. In Australia we had audiences of over 1000."

Tomorrow night, offering an all-Russian programme of Borodin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky in Waikato University's WEL Academy for Performing Arts, he and his colleagues will be playing in an auditorium of only 340 seats, the perfect opportunity for Kiwis to experience the classic European chamber music experience.

Hamiltonians will hear Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet, which, according to one recent British critic, is blessed with "a final sunset of almost supernatural radiance" in the hands of these musicians.

But these four men have always had a direct line to the Russian composer. Their interpretations incorporate Shostakovich's own ideas and suggestions, conveyed to the original players and passed on to Naidin by the late Berlinsky.

I am told that playing alongside the veteran cellist was "an unforgettable experience. Sitting opposite the two violins we were like the bass of the group, the heart of the string quartet".

The viola is certainly to the fore in tonight's Shostakovich First Quartet. "This piece was written in 1938 and is quite spring-like in its feel," Naidin explains. "There is still a lot of joy to be had and it's not so heavy and mega-serious as the Shostakovich that many are accustomed to."

And when asked for the ultimate secret to this music, the violist proffers a remarkably simple explanation. "He was just writing what he felt like as this was not commissioned or official music. He just wrote what he wanted."

PERFORMANCE

What: Borodin Quartet
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, tonight at 8pm; WEL Energy Academy for Performing Arts, Hamilton, tomorrow at 5pm