{"id":168,"date":"2018-10-09T09:30:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T22:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/?p=168"},"modified":"2018-10-09T10:58:13","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T23:58:13","slug":"australian-string-quartet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/australian-string-quartet\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian String Quartet"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h2>\n

Government House Ballroom<\/h2>\n

review by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was a fascinating experience listening to James Ledger\u2019s String Quartet No 2. It was played by the visiting Australian String Quartet which is giving the work its world premiere performances on its current tour of Australia.<\/p>\n

When it comes to predicting success or otherwise for compositions being given their first performances, critics have a terribly unreliable reputation. Music history brims with instances of critics giving the thumbs up for this or that new work but in very many instances, these compositions extolled as works of genius have quietly sunk into oblivion.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there\u2019s many a new work which critics have slammed for any of a long list of reasons \u2013 and an embarrassingly high number of these critically panned works have gone on to universal recognition as masterworks! Consider just a few of those which were initially given the thumbs down: Puccini\u2019s La Boheme (\u201csilly and inconsequential\u201d), Tosca (\u201cdistinctly raw-boned and hideous\u201d), Stravinsky\u2019s Rite of Spring (\u201cbaffles verbal description:, \u201cto say that much of it is hideous as sound is a mild description\u201d), Gershwin\u2019s Rhapsody in Blue (\u201dtrite, feeble, conventional \u2013 fussy and futile counterpoint\u201d). The list is very long.<\/p>\n

This notwithstanding, and while not a betting man as a rule, I\u2019d put money on Ledger\u2019s latest offering.<\/p>\n

As pointed out in a useful program note, each instrument plays into its own microphone, the sound travelling to a computer where it undergoes a series of manipulations whereby the sound is recorded and instantly played back in a continuous, repeating loop. This is the essence of the work\u2019s electronic dimension. The loop alters in a number of ways according to the score. The beauty of this process is the discreet manner in which electronics are utilised. They never dominate proceedings but complement the players\u2019 contributions in the most effective ways. The combined effect is consistently pleasing, often fascinating, with Adele Conlin doing wonders as electronics cum sound engineer positioned at the rear of the hall.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d really like to listen to this work again because there was so much intriguing detail here, that it wasn\u2019t possible to assimilate it at a single hearing. It certainly deserves the widest listenership. Hopefully, it will soon become available on CD.<\/p>\n

Schubert\u2019s Rosamunde Quartet opened the program. Incredibly, this was the only chamber work of Schubert\u2019s that received a public performance during his tragically short lifetime. Knowing this, it is impossible to listen to the work and remain unmoved by the sheer unfairness and tragedy of the composer\u2019s all-too-short life.<\/p>\n

How beautifully it was played by the ASQ. I particularly admired the andante movement unfolding seamlessly with notes clothed in splendid corporate tone. There was excellent internal balance here. Most importantly, its poignancy was impeccably evoked. And the bittersweet essence of the Menuetto was no less convincingly conveyed. The finale was essayed with high finesse.<\/p>\n

\"Photographer:<\/a>
Photographer: Samuel Jozeps
Australian String Quartet with Adele Conlin (3rd from left) and James Ledger (2nd from right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prior to the concert and during the interval, finest cheeses and biscuits on exquisite, white napery were available to concertgoers in the ballroom\u2019s undercroft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Government House Ballroom review by Neville Cohn   It was a fascinating experience listening to James Ledger\u2019s String Quartet No 2. It was played by the visiting Australian String Quartet which is giving the work its world premiere performances on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[208,206,18,17,207],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-asq","tag-australian-string-quartet","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-government-house-ballroom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-2I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/pacifica-quartet\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":0},"title":"Pacifica Quartet","author":"reviewer","date":"June 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 In its original and accurate sense, chamber music, by definition, is intended for performance in a small space \u2013 perhaps, say, in the lounge room of a suburban home or the entrance hall of a mansion or, at most, in a small commercial space. 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During that time, I have experienced some of the most satisfying listening I could have hoped for. And in Mahler\u2019s Fourth Symphony, Asher Fisch and the WASO\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stefanie-Ir\u00e1nyi_Credit_Christian-Debus","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Masters-4_Stefanie-Ir%C3%A1nyi_Credit_Christian-Debus_V2A2762_2-Mahler5-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/sabine-meyer-clarinet\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":3},"title":"Sabine Meyer (clarinet)","author":"reviewer","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Alliage Quintet Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn It was an evening of pure delight with six players, each at the very top of their game, delivering the sort of musical magic critics long for but so rarely encounter in reality. For Perth audiences, the stand-out name would have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/23-Sabine-Meyer-0607-by-Thomas-Rabsch-EMI-Classics-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":173,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":4},"title":"W.A.Symphony Orchestra","author":"reviewer","date":"October 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 Sibelius\u2019 name and reputation are inextricably linked to his symphonies. They are the bedrock of his fame. But, these aside, he was a most prolific composer. A fair number of these works could fairly be described as tripe \u2013 but there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":195,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/centenary-remembrance-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":5},"title":"Centenary Remembrance Concert","author":"reviewer","date":"November 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Perth Symphonic Chorus Armistice Choir Perth Philharmonic Orchestra Perth Concert Hall reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 It could not have been a more solemn occasion: a performance devoted to the fallen in World War I exactly one hundred years to the day since the curtain finally came down on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Live Performance"","block_context":{"text":"Live Performance","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/category\/live-performance\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/PSC-4-195x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}