University of Virginia Library

Year's 'Sleeper' Concert
Featured Duke Quartet

By Roy Bonavita

What will have to go down on
record as the "sleeper" concert of
the year was that of last Tuesday
night in Cabell Hall when the
Ciompi Quartet gave a performance
that was, quite simply, an affair of
the heart. Giorgio Ciompi, Arlene
and Luca Di Cecco, and Julia
Mueller, all on the faculty of Duke
University, form what is without
question one of the very finest
quartets in the world. The concert
was made possible by an anonymous
donation to the University.

Each one of the players is an
extremely accomplished musician.
This is the first requirement of an
outstanding string quartet. The
second requirement may be more
important, and that is the ability to
play in ensemble with clarity and
justice to the intricacies inherent in
quartet compositions. The Ciompi
accomplished both with dash and
flair. The audience was literally
captivated from the first note of
the Boccherini right through the
last note of a Dvorak quartet.

Especially delightful is the obvious
intent of this group. Dr.
Ciompi, as leader, kept brisk tempos
where appropriate and yet
handled the longer lines of the
slower movements of each piece
with elegance that seems peculiar to
the Italian school of string playing.
The shift from Boccherini to Walter
Piston is substantial; yet nothing
was lost of the intent of the composers
or in the clarity of their
respective lines of composition.
This is a challenge to the most
accomplished groups, and the
Ciompi dashed it off with great
sincerity, far surpassing the performance
of the Juilliard Quartet earlier
in the season.

Luca Di Cecco is musicianly far
beyond his years. His tone on the
cello is remarkable. He politely
passed off his ability as due to a
fine new instrument, but no one is
deceived by this. Mr. Di Cecco
shone quite brilliantly in those passages
especially designed for the
cello, and his lead lines in the
Dvorak were superb.

To enjoy music-making as much
as the Ciompi Quartet does is contagious,
and the music program at
Duke must gain appreciatively in
having such a group resident
on the campus. This concert should
indicate the need for such a group
at the University. Perhaps this will
be the happiest issue of the forthcoming
coeducation program. Is
there any quartet this fine with two
women players?

Once again music is proved to
be a sacred art. The Ciompi Quartet
has established an astonishingly
high level of performance that will
be hard to match.