The exceptional Brodskys, nonetheless fabulous at 50!

CIMF, Live performance 3 / “Brodsky at 50”. At Fitters’ Workshop, April 29. Reviewed by DANTE COSTA.

YOU can see from the enjoyment on their faces as they carry out that the exceptional Brodsky Quartet are 50 and fabulous.

Not many quartets can declare to have been enjoying collectively for half a century, however Brodsky is one among them.

Befitting this 12 months’s pageant theme –“The Little one Inside” – the quartet mirrored and celebrated its musical journey since forming the ensemble as youngsters within the ’70s. A real ode to an eternal musical friendship.

Violinists Krysia Osostowicz and Ian Belton, violist Paul Cassidy and cellist Jacqueline Thomas started with a vivacious Borodin’s “Scherzo from Les Vendredis”.

With crystal-clear articulation, the piece opens to a candy and tender legato part. The next items, “Playera” and “Zapateado”, that are a number of dances by the Spanish violinist Sarasate, mix passionate flamenco flavours with vigorous syncopated rhythms. It was an lively and classy interpretation by the quartet that captivated the viewers.

Subsequent was Britten’s “Poème”, which follows a delicate ostinato within the second violin, whereas a plaintive but light melody is shared and developed between the opposite devices. Chilling harmonies have been interspersed by the sounds of pleasant pizzicato that left the viewers in a magical trance.

An association of Debussy’s “First Arabesque” continued this serene aesthetic because the quartet masterfully wove strains of legato melodies collectively.

Brodsky’s rendition of Shostakovich’s “Elegy & Polka” – organized by cellist Thomas – supplied a extra playful tackle what most would think about to be morose or intense.

Osostowicz famous that Shostakovich’s music is at all times regarded as being “very severe and solemn” and that they selected to carry out a piece that was extra “light-hearted”. This piece was a wonderful option to convey this concept.

The subsequent two items, Turina’s “Bullfighter’s Prayer” and Cassidy’s association of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” performed on extra stoic and reflective themes, as Osostowicz mirrored on the present ongoing scenario in Ukraine. The quartet carried out these items elegantly and with appreciable dynamic breadth, absorbing the viewers in the great thing about the music.

The ultimate two items, Debussy’s “Second Arabesque” and Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance” resumed the sprightly, ornamented concepts of the sooner items with enjoyable melodies and quirky harmonies. Their fingers danced alongside the fingerboards in a closing flurry of notes that climaxed into an lively finale. This was met with a rapturous standing ovation and an viewers who totally loved this fabulous live performance.