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Mozart and Schubert: Quatuor Mosaïques, presented by Cal Performances at First Congregational Church, Berkeley, California, 22.4.2009 (HS)

Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor, Quartettsatz, D703
Mozart: Quartet No. 19 in C Major, Dissonance, K465
Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, Death and the Maiden, D810


Some original-instrument ensembles focus on performance practice—the musical approach, items such as tempo and rhythmic emphasis, vibrato or the lack of it, that sort of thing. For Quatuor Mosaïques, the Vienna-based string quartet, it’s all about the sound. After all, their violins, viola and cello were made in the same era as the instruments every other quartet performs on, although by lesser known names. But what sets this quartet’s sound apart is that they use natural gut strings instead of the metal ones commonly employed today.

And it was that sound, that rich velvet suede with no metallic overtones, that produced the most captivating moments in their concert Wednesday. Performing in the friendly, reverberant confines of First Congregational Church, a couple of blocks from the concert halls of University of California that Cal Performances usually uses, every ear could pick up those nuances.

It was most noticeable in the slow movements of Mozart’s Quartet No. 19 in C Major “Dissonance” and Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, “Death and the Maiden.” That’s when one’s ears could nuzzle the soft nub of close harmonies, wallowing in the beauty of a sound we don’t hear that often in concerts today. When the music slows, the sustained notes and chords take on a warm glow that is immensely enjoyable. The quartet’s approach pretty much strips away any obvious interpretational glosses in favor of a simple, direct style. They even use some modest vibrato, which adds to the warmth.

That’s perfect for an Andante, but for my ears the faster sections didn’t work quite so well. This quartet seems to rely on precise articulation and faithful following of the score’s markings, which is laudable. But occasional moments of watery intonation in the hands (or, to be more precise, fingers) of first violinist Erich Höbarth, who is so accurate on the quartet’s recordings, brought us back to earth. He wasn’t off by much, not nearly as much as some early practitioners of the 20th century’s original-instruments movement could be, but enough to make me wince. He wasn’t alone. There was not always unanimity to the tuning.

Straightforward rhythmic articulation didn’t add much to compensate. The galloping triple rhythms of the Schubert’s opening Allegro and finale Presto movements never quite took off, although the articulation was clear and precise. That was especially evident in the opening work, Schubert’s String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor “Quartettsatz,” a single-movement (unfinished) work. It was notable for a controlled, sustained line, though much less tumultuous than most performances of this feverish piece.

To the quartet’s credit, they reveled in the harmonic clashes in the open Adagio of Mozart Quartet’s first movement. The rest of the performance walked gracefully through the music, even if it missed some of rhythmic spring that can makes this music special.

The portion of the Schubert “Death and the Maiden” Quartet that sprang most to life was the slowest, the remarkable theme and variations on the title song. That movement could have stood alone as a monument to what gorgeous sound and unaffected interpretation can produce. A little more interpretive effort in the rest of the music would have made for a more dramatic evening, but the transparency of the playing was what made this performance worth hearing: good, generally unaffected playing in an intimate, warm environment.

Harvey Steiman


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