Brodsky Quartet
Complete Shostakovich Cycle
Pump Rooms, Leamington
Any creative career, any life, lived in the second half of the twentieth century will have had moments of upheaval. It was an exciting and frequently frightening time to be an artist.
But a life lived out against the intimidating background of post-war Russia under the shadow of Stalin will have been more turbulent than most and that is clearly evidenced in this expansive cycle of quartets.
Legendary for their intellectual rigour as well as the depth and breadth of emotion they contain and produce in the listener, the presence of Shostakovich on any chamber programme invariably heralds an interesting and challenging concert.
The Brodsky Quartet went not just one better over this Leamington Music weekend, but fourteen better with a complete reading of all the composer’s quartets compressed into two days and six concerts bringing an unbelievable standard to a very attentive and grateful audience.
At times in his life Shostakovich found himself pinned by the gaze of the regime and the political climate it fostered. So many of his pieces reflect the turmoil and precariousness of the free artistic mind. Finding increasingly more desperate ways of expressing himself while always fearing the knock at the door has produced works of sophistication and sheer bravery unequaled elsewhere.
If Shostakovich had only written for the quartet this remarkable sequence of outpourings and defiant statements would have represented a life lived beyond that capabilities of most. Of course a similar story of the battle for integrity over intimidation could be traced through his other works, but the fifteen quartets have always held a special place in the hearts of music lovers.
To pick highlights from such a vast canvas is daft. No quartet, no individual movement or fleeting moment didn’t have everyone completely rapt. The level of expertise, performance and commitment was at peak from the off and never dropped, not even for a second.
It takes stamina to play for this length of time. The fingers, wrists and arms must take quite a battering, not forgetting that the Brodskys choose to deliver their music standing. Six intense concerts back-to-back must also make huge demands on concentration and presence of mind.
But more than anything this marathon effort requires love. To play for this long with this much intensity, you really have to love the music and the Brodsky Quartet clearly do. It’s evident in the delicacy and tenderness of the playing but it also shines through in the entertaining introductions and reverential silences which bookended most pieces.
Any one of these six concerts would have been a delight for the audience, but those who opted to take the long walk through the whole lot will never forget the experience, the faultless, inspirational playing and, above all, the sheer limitless genius of this incredible body of work.
Visit leamingtonmusic.org for details of the coming season of concerts in the area.
Matthew Salisbury
