Seen and Heard Recital
Review
Beethoven, Shostakovich, Haydn:
Hagen String Quartet, Wigmore Hall, 23 May, 2005 (CC)
Industrial action by the BBC meant that this BBC lunchtime’s
broadcast did not happen. Of all the concerts to pick …
The Hagen’s programming (Beethoven Op. 95; Shostakovich
Quartet 7 and Haydn Op. 76/1) was exemplary, a model of its kind.
The Haydn was no ‘let’s leave ‘em smiling’
gesture – the hymnic slow movement is an interior statement
that reaches all the way to mature Beethoven. But it was Beethoven
that came first, the Op. 95 quartet known as the ‘Serioso’
(the composer’s own title). The key of F minor is significant
of course (as is the fact that he uses a similar linking harmonic
idea here between the slow movement and scherzo as he does between
slow movement and finale in the ‘Appassionata’ Sonata).
The Hagens dug in in no uncertain terms, the fiery opening standing
in stark contrast to its more static continuation. Melodic interchanges
occurred under the most intimate of terms, but more importantly
there was no let-up to the terse argument. The gorgeous flow of
the slow movement nevertheless brought with it a disturbingly
ghostly fugato. If the Hagens showed themselves unafraid of coarse
sonorities in the Scherzo, the finale showed us the essence of
virtuosity. Virtuosity you almost had to look for, decidedly not
of the overt kind, completely moving Beethoven’s powerful
intellect to the fore.
Shostakovich’s Seventh Quartet, Op. 108 (1960) is one of
the shorter of the cycle of fifteen, yet it poses huge interpretative
problems. The balance of striking simplicity against ironic edge
is very difficult to capture, and the Hagens managed magnificently.
One could hear a pin drop in the slow movement – the Hagens
combine projected concentration with a pianissimo that has one
straining to hear yet which brooks no technical compromise.
Finally, the first of Haydn’s Op. 76. It is in G major,
a key generally associated with sunny simplicity. Things could
hardly be more different here, as the intense twists and turns
of the first movement demonstrated. Four equal talents demonstrated
just how rewarding Haydn can be to listen to, as Haydn threw themes
around between the four players. There was no holding back in
the Scherzo (a true Scherzo, almost diabolical in intent), giving
heightened meaning to the rustic solo violin Trio. The finale
is surprisingly stormy and minorish, yet it was good to hear people
actually laugh out loud when the simple, pizzicato-accompanied
folkish melody appears near the end, so endearingly.
A massively impressive concert. The Hagens deserve a major residency
in this country somewhere.
Colin Clarke
