Edward Bhesania visits London’s Wigmore Hall on 16 November 2025 for the performance of Bacewicz and Mendelssohn
This was yet another example of musical gold on a Sunday morning at the Wigmore Hall – and there was no sense of easing into the day, since Finnish quartet Meta4, celebrating its 25th birthday in 2026, opened with Bacewicz’s arresting String Quartet no.3, written in 1947.
Adopting a customary upright stance (save for cellist Tomas Djupsjöbacka), the group burst into the motoric staccato opening with uncompromising vigour and a physical expression that reflected both individual freedom and collective cohesion.
In the second movement, Meta4’s nuanced blending allowed it to weave doleful counterpoint into luminous texture. The brisk finale showed a lightness (and speed) of touch and yet each player contributed their own character and expression.
The senza vibrato treatment of the Adagio introduction to Mendelssohn’s A minor Quartet op.13 seemed a touch self-conscious but there was playing of rhythmic propulsion in the first movement and regal elegance in the second.
The Intermezzo stood out for its cheery Allegretto and featherlight scherzo. Unsurprisingly, the stormy recitative opening of the finale struck with force before the mood switched to an ebullient gallop. The combination of talent and application in these performances amounted to gold indeed, with a surface sheen supported by the mass of an ingot.
EDWARD BHESANIA
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