Melanie Walters, The Advertiser
October 30, 2017 10:02am
THE final Adelaide concert of the Selby and Friends chamber music series featured popular piano quartets by Mozart and Dvořák.
For this tour, pianist Kathryn Selby was joined by violinist Andrew Haveron, violist Tobias Breider, and cellist Umberto Clerici (all members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra).
Opening the concert was Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor K.478. Selby and Friends’ interpretation of this work was quite romantic, but the full, warm tone the ensemble produced sometimes obscured the more subtle nuances of phrasing in this piece.
Although Joaquín Turina was a Spanish composer, the first movement of his Piano Quartet in A Minor revealed the influence of his time studying in France, with typically French colouristic textures using the upper registers of the strings. The second movement felt more Spanish, with lively dance-like rhythms, while the third movement returned to the idiomatic string writing of the first movement, with effective use of unison passages.
Dvořák’s second piano quartet is already an intense work, but in this performance the drama was heightened. Selby was clearly in her element here, producing a particularly rich tone in the loudest passages, and playing with impressive control in the quieter moments. The slow second movement showcased the cello, and Clerici’s melodic lines were beautifully lyrical and full of pathos. There was a pleasant lightness to this performance of the third movement, with charming interplay between viola and violin, and the final movement, played with gusto, provided an exciting finish to the concert.
Quattro
Selby and Friends
Elder Hall
October 29