Concert review: Carducci Quartet, Elmore Quartet

The Carducci Quartet kicked off the penultimate concert of its Shostakovich cycle with the folk-influenced Fourth Quartet, partly inspired by Jewish klezmer music. This was a very physical performance, all four players moving with the music and Matthew Denton in particular drawing an incredibly powerful, full vibrato sound from his violin. Ensemble was immaculate – witness the amazing octave passage between first violin and cello in the scherzo, in which every aspect of their playing was perfectly matched.

The Elmore Quartet, founded in Manchester, captured the darkness and intensity of the 13th Quartet well, drawing the audience into its sound world. The rapid pizzicatos passing between the violins were impressively seamless and violist Inis Oírr Asano was a powerful and eloquent presence, singing out at the end with a long solo lament fading into nothingness.

Russian composer Elena Firsova was there to hear the Elmore perform her Second Viennese School-inspired Fourth Quartet, subtitled ‘Amoroso’. This was a committed performance, the Elmore capturing its fluctuating moods effectively and playing the harmonics section with finesse.

For the evening’s pièce de résistance, the Carducci and Elmore Quartets were joined by two young ensembles, the Kyan and Oculus Quartets, together with bassist Chris West, for Shostakovich’s Eighth Quartet in Rudolf Barshai’s chamber orchestra arrangement. The sheer extra power, with all the upper strings standing, packed a sizeable punch especially in the repeated down bow scrunching chords, and the crazy klezmer dance in the second movement.

JANET BANKS