{"id":58,"date":"2017-06-29T15:37:36","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T05:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/?p=58"},"modified":"2018-06-05T15:42:33","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T05:42:33","slug":"pacifica-quartet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/pacifica-quartet\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacifica Quartet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

reviewed by Neville Cohn<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

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. Intimacy is its crucial requirement. As a critic who has long since lost count of performances devoted to such music, I can say that during those many years, the number of times I\u2019ve listened to high-end chamber music in the sort of space which the composers might have had in mind for this or that work, is very, very low indeed. Commercial considerations demand continuation of the status quo. It\u2019s virtually non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

I dare say that box office takings at concerts featuring musicians who are paid very high fees are a necessary requirement.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photographer Matt Landy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But there was a delightful departure from this state of affairs at a concert given in a suburban Perth residence in a conventionally-sized room. The Pacifica Quartet, US-based, was to give a performance at the Concert Hall on the night following. But to raise funds for bringing music and musical instruments to young people living miles from cities and so far away in some cases that even radio reception is uneven or non-existent, the Pacifica ensemble agreed to participate in a re-creation of an old-style chamber music environment..<\/p>\n

Bringing the musical action so close to the listener can be an extraordinary experience, not the least of it being the strikingly different sound that reaches the ear, for instance, the unmistakable but only-very-rarely encountered grainy quality as bows bite strings. A first encounter can \u2013 and often is \u2013 a startling and even off-putting experience. I have known some listeners who find the experience so grating and unpleasant that they find it necessary to leave the room. In larger performing spaces such as purpose-built auditoriums, this is a non-issue.<\/p>\n

Some liken close listening to bow on string to the sound of a finger nail scraping down a blackboard. Its metallic, ratcheting sound can be offputting.<\/p>\n

So it was a fascinating experience to listen to Beethoven\u2019s late quartet \u2013 opus 135 \u2013 under these conditions. Of all Beethoven\u2019s chamber music produced in the twilight of his life, opus 135 would be one of the most accessible. To be frank, I\u2019d have preferred to listen to it in a larger space. Although this was a rare opportunity to listen to a music masterpiece under conditions similar to those in Beethoven\u2019s time, I found the nearness of the instruments eventually oppressive. But it was a rare experience and I\u2019m so glad I had that opportunity to experience chamber music as it might have sounded in the composer\u2019s day. I think every enthusiastic chamber music follower might benefit from an insight of this sort if only on a one-off\u00a0 basis.<\/p>\n

There was more than Beethoven on offer. We listened, too, to utterly different music in the form of\u00a0 Astor Piazzolla\u2019s Four for Tango. This, too, came across as a sonic gem to cherish.<\/p>\n

My there be more of these events, fascinating in their own right \u2013 and beneficial in a very real and important way for young musicians in remote places. Bravissimo!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

reviewed by Neville Cohn   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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[97,18,17,19,16,24,98,96],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-performance","tag-beethoven","tag-chon","tag-cohn","tag-neville-chon","tag-neville-cohn","tag-neville-cohn-cohn","tag-opus-135","tag-pacifica-quartet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Yv33-W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/sabine-meyer-clarinet\/","url_meta":{"origin":58,"position":0},"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":181,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/royal-schools-music-club\/","url_meta":{"origin":58,"position":1},"title":"Royal Schools Music Club","author":"reviewer","date":"October 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Fiddling with Castanets: Deanna Blacher (castanets)\/ Neville Cohn (piano) Callaway Auditorium reviewed by John Meyer \u00a0 \u00a0 Following on from their very successful concert last year, Deanna Blacher and Neville Cohn again combined their remarkable talents in an entertaining October recital entitled Fiddling with Castanets.\u00a0 The programme consisted of piano\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\/10\/Low-Res_MareeLaffanPhoto_UWA-Recital_2018-10-14-34-300x255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/w-a-symphony-orchestra\/","url_meta":{"origin":58,"position":2},"title":"W.A. 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The joie de vivre that lies at its\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\/04\/sheet-music-277277__340-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":69,"url":"https:\/\/ozartsreviewonline.com\/oz\/grigory-sokolov-piano\/","url_meta":{"origin":58,"position":3},"title":"Grigory Sokolov (piano)","author":"reviewer","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Schubert, Beethoven, Rameau DG 479 5426 reviewed by Neville Cohn \u00a0 During the years when I taught music criticism, I would, early on in the course, ask how many of the students had listened to Beethoven\u2019s Hammerklavier piano sonata, either \u2018live\u2019 or\u00a0 recorded. 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