New Zealand String Quartet at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

Many Chamber Music New Zealand patrons would have been anticipating the New Zealand String Quartet's evening of Mozart and Brahms quintets with some eagerness.

The participation of German violist Hariolf Schlichtig could only have increased the general enthusiasm of punters.

What eventuated was, on the whole, a disappointment.

Early on, within a few pages of the first of the Mozart quintets (C major, K515) it was apparent that big gestures on the part of the musicians become particularly irritating if all that comes out is a thin, and often shrill, tone. Leader Helene Pohl was the main culprit, and, in the slow movement, echoing Schlichtig's masterly viola phrases, her phrasing and intonation were shown up as comparatively crude.

The boisterous bonhomie that opens the E flat major Quintet, K614, Mozart's last chamber work, was adroitly caught although it wasn't long before Pohl's contribution started to pall, particularly in the upper register.

The Andante, most effectively rendered in its simpler passages, provided some treacherous moments in its central section and the ensemble was at its happiest in the rumbustious Gypsy Rondo Finale.

After interval, the Brahms Second Quintet proved to be one of the biggest challenges of the NZSQ's career, but I wasn't prepared for the shock of what should have been a glowing G major chord in its opening bars. Once again, all the theatrical energy in the world can't disguise or atone for raw intonation. And worse was to come as the music became more demanding. The rest of the work proved to be the most satisfying fare of the evening. The Adagio was unassailable in its beauty, highlighting the rich expressivety of the ensemble's lower instruments, particularly when playing over Rolf Gjelsten's roving pizzicato.

The mood continued with a gently conceived and shapely Un poco Allegretto, while the sheer energy of the Finale carried it through.

An encore of the Finale from Mozart's D major Quintet, K593 gave us some of the best Mozart playing of the evening, and it was a particular delight to watch the flustering fugato being handed around from player to player.