The Molinari Quartet celebrated its 25th anniversary in a packed room at the Conservatory with composers “not recognized for their festive music” as Olga Ranzenhofer, 1st violin and founder of the ensemble, wittily pointed out. The menu was none the less of a high quality and remarkably well served.
In his recent interview with To have to, Olga Ranzenhofer was quite right to declare: “We have never played so well, so well sounded. Cohesion, sound, atmosphere everything is at the best level. To tell the truth, there is something comical about the show. Pierre-Alain Bouvrette on the cello steers his boat implacably, but almost impassively, while his three partners manage to go wild like the beautiful devils. But rightly and wisely, because the Agitato of the 2nd Quartet de Schnittke must probably be one of the most difficult things in the whole repertoire and the symbiosis of the two violins and the viola is necessary to translate this exasperation into the ultimate pain.
Censor Schnittke?
How topical is this wild quartet, haunted by death, and how ironic when you think that a few months ago, in Montreal, Ukrainians still thought it was smart to want to censor Schnittke (yes, censor Schnittke!), so that through time this cursed genius speaks of them and their current fate in such a work, as in that then played by Daniil Trifonov. The Molinaris, who have so much faith in this music, succeeded in almost everything, except somewhat the transition towards the ethereal and evanescent end, which, in itself, was extraordinary.
The unfinished Quartet No. 4 by Penderecki is not a masterpiece. It has not been developed, the initial Andante is a minimal portion before a Vivo which fortunately leads to an effective folk melody. On the other hand, the second part was a gem from start to finish, with the 1st Quartet of Ligeti where a composer less experimental than his reputation takes over from Bartók in a work with episodes and especially with the 6 Moments of Kurtág.
Placed at the beginning of the second part, this suite of six short but essential pieces, without a note, without a sound, without a misplaced nuance was astounding in intelligence and sensitivity, moreover perfectly described in the instructions. Kurtág has composed here “sound haikus” but going to the heart of the musical essence. All is fair; musical references to the means of expression and, with their expertise, the Molinari have rendered this with perfect finesse.
25 years of Molinari
Penderecki: Quartet No. 4. Schnittke: Quartet No. 2. Kurtag: Six musical moments op. 44. Ligeti: Quartet No. 1. Molinari Quartet. Montreal Conservatory Concert Hall, October 14.