By TARA WERNER
"Cool and objective" sum up the approach taken at first by Emerson Quartet lead violinist Eugene Drucker when it comes to music and string quartet repertoire.
But mention the technical aspects of programming and the difficulties of interpreting Shostakovich, and Drucker's attitude warms considerably. Though the Russian composer does not feature on the menu in Auckland - the Quartet No 15 will be played tonight in Wellington - it is clear that his quartets have affected the group profoundly.
Fresh from giving performances of the complete cycle of 15 quartets in New York and London, Drucker believes the composer's haunting music is a deeply felt personal musical memoir.
The Emerson has a string of Grammy Awards to its name and its Shostakovich quartets have been described by Gramophone magazine as cool and objective. The New York Times said the group was "a string quartet for the millennium."
Drucker feels that the repertoire chosen for recordings and tours has a vital inter-relationship and is possibly the group's key to success.
"We try to play the same works live as we are recording at that time, so we have a certain consistency," he says. "At times we record live performances, like the Shostakovich cycle. But there is also a need for variety and sometimes we play an entirely different programme for each concert."
So programming is an important issue and decisions on repertoire a communal matter.
"We plan at least three years ahead so that recording fits in with our teaching and touring," Drucker says. "Consensus is very important and we decide together, although Philip Setzer, the second violin, acts as our programming designer."
The quartet is unusual in that Drucker and Setzer have shared responsibilities for first violin, breaking a long-held tradition with string quartets where the first desk is king.
"It's becoming more common, sharing the role of first violin, especially with new and upcoming quartets," Drucker says. "It might not work for all groups, but it seems to work for us. It really depends on the personalities involved. In my father's day - he played second violin - the first violinist was held in awe and the others had to be subservient.
"We do have people who say the same music sounds slightly different depending who is playing in the first chair. But I'm very wary of this - we try for consistency between the two of us."
The four players, based in New York, are very accustomed to each other's approach. Drucker, Setzer, violist Lawrence Dutton and cellist David Finckel have played together for almost 25 years.
The Emerson players are champions of new music, in particular that by women. Their Auckland concert, under the auspices of Chamber Music New Zealand, features a string quartet by Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, commissioned for the quartet by Carnegie Hall in 1998.
Drucker is enthusiastic: "Her music is quite accessible for audiences and this quartet uses motifs that are clearly stated in the beginning. The whole work has a coherence that is quite close to the surface. In the slow sections, Zwilich writes long, sweeping, lyrical lines, while there's lots of energy in the fast movements. It's been great to be involved in its creation."
* The Emerson Quartet - Tuesday, June 27, 8 pm at the Auckland Town Hall .
Emerson Quartet - consensus and noteworthy success
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