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Britten and Shostakovitch: The Carducci Quartet and Nicola Eimer, Pittville Pump Room Cheltenham, 1.10.2008 (RJ)


 These young musicians from England and Ireland take their name from the Italian city of Castagnetto Carducci which presented them with a Gold Award for their music making - by no means the only accolade they have collected along the way. I have a feeling that one factor in their success is their innovative programming. Whereas most string quartet recitals feature at least one work from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, this one focussed entirely on twentieth century music - and their enterprise was rewarded with a large and appreciative audience.

This recital began with Britten's First Quartet, written during the composer's self-imposed exile in California, which must have sounded very novel and exciting at the time and still has the ability to shock. The Carducci made the most of the striking beginning where the violins and viola hover in the higher register above a pizzicato accompaniment on the cello before moving on to the energetic second theme. There was an engaging playfulness to the second movement. The subsequent Andante calmo had a nocturnal dreaminess which incorporated warm, passionate playing leading to a serene consclusion. The high speed finale was much lighter in tone and full of nervous energy.

The versatile Joseph Horovitz does not often feature in chamber concerts, but I welcomed the opportunity to hear his Quartet No 5. Horovitz has spent most of his life in Britain, but this work goes back to his Viennese roots and reflects on how Viennese culture, epitomised by lush chromaticism, became distorted by the upheavals of the thirties and forties. The Carducci deftly handled the dramatic aspects of the work with great verve with some moving elegiac passages at the beginning and end.

The Piano Quintet in G minor is one of Shostakovich's most popular works - even the Soviet authorities appreciated it - and boasts a wonderful range of ideas and tonal effects. The piano has a particularly prominent role and the Carducci were fortunate in having the brilliant and personable Nicola Eimer playing with them. The ghost of Bach seemed to flit in and out of the Prelude and Fugue which were played with commendable clarity. Then came the rumbustuous, ironic  Scherzo which the five musicians attacked with considerable relish.  The Intermezzo was a much calmer affair starting with a wistful violin solo accompanied by the cello and taking on an ethereal quality before developing into a stately chorale. One hardly noticed the start of the finale but the excitement quickly mounted as Slavonic dance rhythms took over. This was altogether a performance to savour.

Apart from their schedule of performances and recordings under their own label Carducci Classics,  the Carducci Quartet are junior fellows at Trinity College of Music in London and quartet-in-residence at the Cork School of Music. They also hold courses for young musicians in France. It is excellent news that such committed and talented players should be sharing their passion for music with others.

Roger Jones


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