Illinois: If You Thought Our Engineering School Was Top Notch, Check Out Our String Quartet!
As one of the world’s most celebrated chamber ensembles, the Pacifica Quartet turns heads and captivates audiences everywhere it goes. Last February, its recording of Elliott Carter’s string quartets, landmark compositions of the 20th century, received the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. The ensemble was recently appointed quartet-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. In holding this prestigious position, Pacifica succeeds the famed Guarneri Quartet, whose residency spanned the last 43 years. The Pacifica Quartet is one of the most in-demand chamber groups today; its November performance schedule will take the group along the US East Coast, then to Germany, and off to the Netherlands. But after touring across the globe, it will return home to Champaign-Urbana, where it is UI’s quartet-in-residence.
Simin Ganatra, Sibbi Bernhardssohn, Masumi Rostad, and Brandon Vamos, aside from having an obviously active career as performers, are faculty members in the UI School of Music. Their activities at Illinois include teaching violin, viola, or cello lessons to School of Music students, coaching string chamber ensembles, and performing in faculty recitals.
On Thursday, November 5, the Pacifica Quartet joined pianist Vladimir Feltsman in concert as a part of Krannert Center’s Classical Mix series of shows with soloists and small classical music groups. Feltsman is one of the leading pianists of our time; his fall 2009 schedule includes performances in St. Petersburg, in Beijing, and at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. The first half of Thursday’s performance was a Feltsman solo recital in which he performed Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825, as well as Chopin’s Two Polonaises, Op. 26, and Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47. Feltsman’s renditions of Chopin’s pieces were especially enjoyable; every subtle harmonic change was expressed with the utmost emotion, and Feltsman’s technical command during the Ballade left the audience in awe.
At the end of the first half, a woman sitting next to me turned to her husband and said, “He just sat down and played that…and it was wonderful!” Her description may sound like a rather simplistic comment, but it reveals the depths of Feltsman’s professionalism. It’s fair to say that most of my musical colleagues and I experience some degree of nervousness during a performance, particularly during a solo recital. Feltsman, however, walked onto the Foellinger stage with a completely relaxed appearance and, without giving any pause, launched into the piece. This confidence under demanding pressure is probably the result of decades of appearing in front of audiences.
In the second half, the Pacifica Quartet joined Feltsman in a bold performance of Brahms’ Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34. As a violinist with some chamber music experience, I was especially intrigued by the ensemble aspect of this piece. By this I mean that there are many challenges in five different people coming together to play a piece of music, particularly one as demanding as this work by Brahms. There has to be a great deal of communication between the members of the quintet in order to achieve both precision and a uniformity of musical ideas. All of this communication is nonverbal, of course, and involves making eye contact, watching the other member’s movements, and often breathing in sync with their fellow musicians. At this, the Pacifica Quartet excelled! Each performer was obviously aware of what their musical role was at a given point, and when two members played the same line, they always made eye contact and executed the phrase with identical style.
The challenge of working together to collectively achieve a single musical objective is even more difficult with the addition of a musician. Playing chamber music with five people is more complicated than performing with four, for the obvious reasons. This struggle is compounded when the fifth instrument completely differs from the others, with disparate timbres, articulations, and idiomatic characteristics. Furthermore, I imagine that for string quartet members who are accustomed to playing with one another, the addition of a fifth musician with whom they are not especially familiar requires them to adapt their working style to accommodate the new person. In my own chamber music experiences, I’ve found that the most successful ensembles have always been compatible both musically and socially. Changing the roster can add many challenges in adjusting to a new personality and musical aesthetic.
I was also fascinated by the seemingly successful communication within the ensemble, given the configuration of the players. The quartet members were arranged in a semi-circle with the piano behind them. In this layout, the cellist, Brandon Vamos, and second violinist, Sibbi Bernhardssohn, would have had a very difficult time seeing Feltsman because their backs were to him. It seemed as though the pianist communicated primarily with the first violinist, Simin Ganatra, who was in the best position to see him.
Despite whatever challenges might have faced them, Feltsman and the Pacifica Quartet triumphed. Their presentation of the Brahms Quintet was stunning. I was amazed by their capability as individual musicians but even more so in their ability to make music with each other. Feltsman and Pacifica played what was one of the most exciting chamber music performances that I’ve ever seen.
To see the Pacifica Quartet in action, check out this video.
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