The Ehnes Quartet gave the first of its two concerts on Friday at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival. “Razumovsky” quartets by Beethoven, with Opus 59 No. 2 And 3. The result was astonishing in an evening that met all expectations.
In the qualifier “phenomenal”, which suits the description of the Ehnes Quartet concert in the “Razumovsky” Quartets, op. 59 No. 2 and 3 from Beethoven, there is the word “phenomenon”.
What is part of the phenomenon in the performance of the string quartet composed of James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Che-Yen Chen (viola) and Edward Arron (cello), we understand by rereading the recent interview with Duty with Vincent Coq from Trio Wanderer.
We have indeed known stars of the violin or cello to be part, in parallel with their solo careers, of great piano trios but not really of string quartets. Vincent Coq explained very clearly that string quartet work is much more demanding, long-term work to refine reflexes and accuracy. The phenomenon here is to hear a quartet which gives the impression of working together all year round and which breathes in unison with subtle nuances, perfectly unified endings of phrases (cf. 2nd movement of theOpus 59 No. 2).
Not only do the interpretations benefit from the impetus of James Ehnes’ sure and luminous bow, but the group follows the leader in his most risky bets like the tempo of the Final of Quartet op. 59 No. 3, very ardent and articulate on all sides. The ardor of the delicate movements 3 and 4 of theOpus 59 No. 2 was equally impressive. At this level, few established quartets can compete, and we obviously think of the Dover Quartet, which gave a complete in this context a few years ago.
Rarely, this concert was recorded by Radio-Canada, which is something we rarely see anymore. Denis Brott said in the preamble that a concert last year had been heard in Hong Kong promoting the festival and the metropolis. This one can literally go around the world. Second stage this Saturday evening; very highly recommended outing!