Concert review: Ébène Quartet

Every concertgoer has likely experienced that moment in the hall when time stands still. One of those happened in the third movement of Ravel’s String Quartet, when the Ébène Quartet arrived at the summit, and figuratively planted the French flag. As a bit of context, in a pre-concert talk, WRTI classical programme director Zev Kane played an excerpt from the first known recording (c.1920s, by the International String Quartet), supervised by the composer himself. Apparently Ravel thought most performances were too loud; his vision was one of quietude. That’s exactly what the Ébène crew achieved, giving Ravel’s flickering score a vintage, gaslit glow and a magnificent array of colours.

The rest of the programme confirmed the ensemble’s expertise. Beethoven’s Quartet in G major op.18 no.2 made a ticklish, high-spirited opening with supernatural tuning, and its central Adagio cantabile offered a gorgeous, if brief, idyll. To close came Brahms’s Quartet in A minor op.51 no.2, again with a surfeit of virtuosity, plus that satisfying drone when intonation is true among all four players.

On this tour, replacing violist Marie Chilemme was Hélène Clément, sounding splendid with an 1843 viola by Francesco Giussani, an instrument formerly owned by Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten. And speaking of the latter, a smidgen of Britten made a fine encore: the second of his Three Divertimenti, done with casual virtuosity and emotion that harked back to the rest of the evening. Afterwards, a friend said – with complete admiration and adoration – ‘They’re freaks’. Based on this outing, it would be hard to disagree.

BRUCE HODGES