Quatuor Mosaiques at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

Chamber Music New Zealand wound up its 2003 season with guests to remember in Quatuor Mosaiques, four musicians who have made their considerable reputation by bringing the music of the 18th and 19th centuries to life on period instruments.

In the Auckland Town Hall, their Haydn and Beethoven were revelations.

For sheer poise, the first quartet of Haydn's Opus 54 couldn't have been bettered. A slow movement that was mindful of the composer's Allegretto direction was particularly appreciated; its two pivotal climaxes, the second of which slipped into some minor intonation problems, were gripping.

Around this we had an opening Allegro that was not only con brio, but also the collegial dialogue that Haydn intended, a Minuet with cellist Christophe Coin proving every bit as elegant as his CDs had suggested, and a taut, vigorous Finale.

Haydn's Opus 77 no 2 revealed its strengths in the opening four bars; these people phrase with that uncanny combination of heart and mind that is just what this music needs. Sforzandi might sometimes be softened to telling inflections but, by the same token, unisons can bustle with an almost orchestral intent. In the Minuet, the period instruments added just the right resonance to the rusticity.

Beethoven's A minor Quartet of Opus 132 took up the second half of the concert, and the Austrian musicians made it into the visionary experience that it should be. In this age of ours, which has debased the word "extreme" almost beyond reclamation, Beethoven explored this very concept in his late string quartets, taking his music right to the edge and, on occasion, looking boldly over it.

The Quatuor Mosaiques revelled in Beethoven's challenge, with extremes of both tempo (A molto adagio in which you could hear almost every beat of the vibrato) and dynamics (pianissimos that demanded to be overheard rather than heard). They were also totally at ease with the curious mix of strutting marches, spiritual hymns and intricate counterpoint that renders the work so personal and persuasive.

One can only hope that this fine concert, broadcast live on Concert FM, has been persuasive enough to encourage more subscriptions for Chamber Music New Zealand's enterprising 2004 series.