The Dvorak Quintet, Op. 81, played Thursday night at The Barns of Wolf
Trap by the Ciompi Quartet (with Jane Hawkins, piano) is easy to
underrate because it stays clear of profundity, making do instead with
catchy tunes that ricochet in the mind, stomping rhythms, tight
craftsmanship and manic energy. This is an easy piece to fall in love
with, and the Ciompi's pert, breathing performance sparked the romance
of the fast movements without slighting the elegiac tunes of the
second-movement Dumka. The piano part is not virtuosic but it is
awkwardly written, and difficult; Hawkins played it bracingly well. The
sound of the strings (Eric Pritchard, Hsiao-mei Ku, violins; Jonathan
Bagg, viola; Fred Raimi, cello) was one of poised, easy musicianship
within a loosened (but never loose) blend that allowed some
individuation from each player.
Cesar Franck characterized Debussy's music as "on the points of
needles." The description is apt for the carefully constructed G-minor
Quartet, and particularly so for its pizzicato second movement, which
the Ciompi gave full due without indulging in edgy nervousness that can
torture this music into caricature. Although the quartet looks
searchingly forward into modernism, it fitfully looks back,through
layers of motif, to song. In according the piece its natural
equilibrium, the Ciompi blew off some of the impressionist mist and
found, here and there, pockets of dry, tinted lyricism.
The Mozart D-Major Quartet, K. 499, that opened the program is Mozart at
the top of his game, which means elegantly polished surfaces masking
startling drama just below. The performance was classically proportioned
but warm; tempos were moderate and unhurried; and the compositional
mechanics were transparently laid out. That is all this piece needs.
