Overall the Goldner Quartet (click to see their website and images!) struck me as a very talented group even compared to the last international quartet I saw, which was the Tokyo String Quartet - undoubtably a hard act to follow. The friend I was with remarked that after seeing the Tokyo String Quartet, the ensemble of other less-established groups seems lacking - just in that the perfection of the Tokyo quartet was so absolute and unattainable, not that the other groups are lacking anything in actuality.
I had actually never heard the Elgar Piano Quintet before, and hearing it on Monday was really great, and now I know what a great piece it is. In the genre of piano quintets it seems that it will inevitably be difficult to integrate the piano part into the already well-established string quartet group, and that it may often seem that the string quartet and piano are in opposition. Elgar makes use of this right from the start, with the strings sharing the same rhythmic accompanying part while the piano takes the melody. The strings often have a role together against the piano, but Elgar also knows how to integrate all of the instruments masterfully as well, though perhaps not in the same way as in some of the other piano quintets that I am more familiar with.
What really impressed me was their rendition of the old favorite, the Schubert. (Though the Gareth Farr piece was nice too, not intending to belittle that too much.) I had heard this piece a few times before, but never had it seemed so alive. The feeling of constant motion and flawless continuity was always there, and it was as if the music was a living, breathing being created by the four players together. These players rose beyond having a good dynamic within the group to being able to create one whole entity from their four parts (almost as if there was in fact no dynamic within the group), which was amazing. The second movement especially was palpably full of life, a little faster than I'd heard previously (in fact, all movements were a bit faster) but lacking none of the emotion. The other movements showcased the players' effortless articulation and there was never a moment where an important part was covered, and even the inner voices were always discernible and individual, while still being part of one whole. It didn't seem like they had to try to make sure the melody was heard, (for example, the first violin wasn't a separate entity in melody passages) but the melody was indeed heard at all times...along with the rest of the music. Which is what made it so great.
The rests in the music were alive too, not necessarily "full of electric energy" as is so often said of rests, but alive, and each containing varying different qualities of life, if that makes sense! Rests are a feature which musicians often find the most difficult. (Which is ironic, considering that we're not actually producing sound during rests.)
It had been awhile since I had been to a concert, and I'm glad the Goldner Quartet came along to refresh my musical awareness and renew my inspiration for chamber music.
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