Arts Festival Review: Borodin Quartet

Monday, 8 March 2010, 10:56 am
Opinion: Scoop Review

Arts Festival Review: Borodin Quartet

Review by Janet Newdick

Borodin Quartet: Russian Legacy
Wellington Town Hall
6 March

The Borodin String quartet performed as part of the International Festival of the Arts and the Chamber Music NZ 2010 programme to a packed Town Hall. The programme was exclusively Russian and featured: Borodin – String Quartet N0 2 in D; Shostakovich – String Quartet No 8 in C minor opus 110; and Tchaikovsky – String Quartet No 1 in D Opus 11.

What a treat was enjoyed by the audience. This string quartet, described over its 65 year history by endless superlatives, and as having a particular affinity with Russian music, certainly lived up to its reputation. Its playing was quite remarkable with its perfect blend of sound, flexible but immaculately-shaped phrasing, and a unity that is rarely heard.

The three quartets provided a good balance and included two very well-known sections in the Andantes of the Borodin and Tchaikovsky. A range of emotions was produced with a deft touch, the romantic elements played with sonorous and beautiful tone but never overdone. There was good melodic and rhythmic contrast brought out in the Borodin and Tchaikovsky, and added stark and striking contrasts in the Shostakovich, reflecting the devastation of war and his own experiences in the Siege of Leningrad (now St Petersburg).

The enthusiastic and persistent applause persuaded the quartet to play a delightful encore.

********

The Borodin Quartet is now touring NZ, playing concerts in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. Details at www.chambermusic.co.nz

Press releases: Classical Music Premieres at the NZIAF Chamber Music Weekend, Borodin Quartet Headlines Chamber Music Season
Arts Festival website: Borodin Quartet: Russian Legacy
Scoop Full Coverage: Arts Festival 2010

Scoop

Scoop Independent News

Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.

CONTACT SCOOP

Phone - 04 910 1844
Facebook

Twitter - @ScoopNZ
YouTube

Top Scoops Headlines

COMMENT > >

Selpius Bobii: Genocide continuing against Ethnic Papuans: For whom and for what was the UN created?

West Papua is continuously burning. It has become the arena for the playing out of a conflict between a number of parties. The consequence of the fundamental political rights of the nation of West Papua having been pawned unilaterally by the Netherlands, ... More>>

Franklin Lamb: What happened to the Palestinian refugees at Masnaa this Eid al Fitr weekend?

On 8/5/13 this observer decided, quite on the spur of the moment, to take a three day break from Damascus the next morning and make a quick trip to Beirut to do some errands because offices would be closed starting at dawn for Eid al Fitr celebrations ... More>>

Sherwood Ross: U.S., Russia, China, All Torture Prisoners

The three most powerful nations all operate prison systems that are places of sadism, sickness, and madness unfit for human habitation, much less human reformation. More>>

Franklin Lamb: Seven of Syria’s Palestinian Camps Controlled By Salafi-Jihadists

Jihadists are entering Syria at an accelerating pace, according to Syrian, UNWRA, and Palestinian officials as well as residents in the refugee camps here. For the now-estimated 7000 imported foreign fighters, Palestinian camps are seen as optimal ... More>>

David Swanson: Her Name Is Jody Williams

Jody Williams' new book is called My Name Is Jody Williams: A Vermont Girl's Winding Path to the Nobel Peace Prize, and it's a remarkable story by a remarkable person. It's also a very well-told autobiography, including in the early childhood chapters ... More>>

Bathurst Decision: Denniston's "Caviar" Of Coal And Westport's Story

A little known aspect to the controversy around mining coal on the Denniston is the remarkable story of the coal itself. This has been mined continuously for the past 130 years due to its special properties - properties which also mean that it commands the highest prices in the world for "metallurgical" coking coal. More>>

ALSO:

Scoop Business - Green light imminent for Bathurst’s Escarpment mine
Bathurst Resources - Positive Environment Court Decision announced for Bathurst
Greens - Denniston decision an environmental and climate disaster
Forest And Bird - Denniston decision a blow for NZ
Environment West Coast - Statement On Bathurst Decision
EPMU - EPMU urges MPs to back mine check inspectors
Denniston's "Caviar" Of Coal? - The Westport Story, part 3
At the Crossroads in Coaltown - The Westport Story part 1
Photo Albums Out-Link - The Westport Story as told by Scoop (Day One) - (Day 2) - (Day 3)
YouTube Playlist Out-Link - The Westport Story as told by Scoop

Walter Brasch: Royal Dutch Shell: They Really Have A Friend In Pennsylvania

Royal Dutch Shell, which owns or leases about 900,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale, had a great idea. It wanted to frack the Ukraine. But, there was opposition. So, Royal Dutch Shell decided to create a junket for some of the Ukrainians opposed to ... More>>