Four Stars Come Out And Shine As One

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday November 18, 2006

Reviewed by Harriet Cunningham

*CLASSICAL

AUSTRALIAN STRING QUARTET

City Recital Hall, November 16

LIKE a phoenix from the ashes, a new Australian String Quartet makes its debut in Sydney.

Sophie Rowell, Anne Horton, Sally Boud and Rachel Johnston take on the mantel with considerable grace and skill.

Johnston, the cellist, played the melting cry which opens Peter Sculthorpe's String Quartet No.8, leading the quartet into the first movement with great presence and beauty.

This work firmly established the ensemble's technical command - they undoubtedly have the musical chops, handling the rhythmic and timbral intricacies of the fast movements with thrilling focus - but it also demonstrated an impressive emotional depth to their playing.

Mozart's String Quartet in D minor, K 421 was more troubled, technically and emotionally. Rowell insisted on a measured tempo, quietly pulling back if ever it tried to race. The result was thoughtful and fluent, but lapses in energy and a problem problem with intonation filled this resolutely serious interpretation with hard questions, ultimately unanswered.

Beethoven's String Quartet in C major op 59 No.3 (Rasumovsky), in contrast, resolved matters with a deft mixture of charm and heroism. As leader, Rowell has a wonderful sense of how to place a phrase, so that no matter how many notes there are, they fit perfectly, without any sense of haste. She is aided in this by her colleagues, who also seem uniquely sensitive to the ebb and flow of the music's pace, breathing as one even in the helter-skelter finale.

The fugue, lead by Boud on viola, was a triumphant end to an impressive debut.

All power to the board of the Australian String Quartet for snaring this prize. The Tankstream Quartet were already on an impressive trajectory, winning prestigious international competitions and racking up many miles on the European touring circuit.

In Australia, however, their prospects were limited, until now. As the new Australian String Quartet four talented musicians walk into a ready-made full-time performance program.

My only concern is that this still young ensemble does not drown in its busy schedule, because their potential for further development is huge.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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