University of Virginia Library

Great Gusto

While I dislike the music of Bela
Bartok, I would be the last to deny
that his Quartet No. 6 is a carefully
crafted composition that justly
deserves its place among the great
20th century string quartets. The
Cleveland Quartet played it with
great gusto, and I found myself
almost liking Bartok. I was
particularly impressed by the
technical ability of the cellist
whose flawless executions of
difficult passage work in the high
positions was amazing.

After intermission, the audience
was treated to a performance of the
C Minor Quartet. Opus 51. No. 1,
by Johannes Brahms. The Cleveland
Quartet's performance of this
delightful but rather infrequently
played work showed that, although
its outlook is "modern", the group
is quite capable of delivering a
stylish and moving reading of a
work that is Romantic in character.
The reading was subtle and
restrained, but in no way was it
subtle or unyielding.