Russian doom and gloom proves highlight of a merely good performance

Queensland Conservatorium

September 22, 2014

The Borodin Quartet is one of those rare ensembles that has become an institution, the very name connoting a performance of the highest standard. A pity, then, that this concert was only good, rather than truly great.

The concert opened with Beethoven’s String Quartet in G major, Op 18 No 2. The Op 18 set of six works were the very first quartets to be published by the great composer, and many have seen the collection as a statement, showing his understanding of the string quartet format.
No 2 finds Beethoven in a cheerful and unbuttoned mood – there are conversational gestures across the whole ensemble, and there’s an air of friendliness and grace to the majority of the work. Perhaps the Borodin Quartet was simply jet-lagged, but there were some fundamental issues in their performance. Intonation was occasionally somewhat questionable, but, less forgivably, the Beethoven at times simply ran out of puff. The third movement scherzo in particular seemed far longer than usual, and decidedly not its usual effervescent self. This is a movement that can burst from the pages and glow with colour,...