The Jerusalem Quartet is one of the finest quartets around, so they attracted a large audience for their programme in the cavernous Corn Exchange, perhaps not the ideal venue for chamber music. Their pianist was the Russian Alexander Melnikov, whose playing was more self-effacing than most virtuoso Russians.
They played two of Schumann’s finest works, both composed in the same year, 1842. First came the smaller scale and more delicate Piano Quartet and, after the interval, the more popular Quintet, the classic work for String Quartet and piano.
The informative programme note pointed out that these two masterpieces show well the two sides of Schumann’s personality; the Quartet his dreamy introspectiveness, which he labelled “Eusebius”, the Quintet his stronger more forceful side, known as “Florestan”. However, these performances showed how well-integrated both works were.
The slow movement of the Quintet achieved an unusual depth of feeling, while a gentle melancholy pervaded the first movement. On the other hand, the finale of the Quartet was despatched with great gusto.
Perhaps there was an added dimension to the music-making due to the antics of demonstrators who disrupted the performances on four occasions but with the strange result of enhancing the beauty of Schumann’s music for both players and listeners.
The audience responded by listening more intensely, the players reciprocated accordingly. To thank the audience for their support they gave an encore, a repeat of the scherzo of the Quartet.
A memorable evening then, partly for the right reasons.
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