The Observer
Jerusalem Quartet's Haydn recital is a revelation
By Fiona Maddocks
As part of Wigmore Hall's Haydn celebrations, on Tuesday the Jerusalem Quartet played four of his 68 quartets, including the early, melancholy Op 20 No 5 in F minor and the ravishing, expansive Op 77 No 1 in G major. To describe exactly how these players achieved such mesmerising results - an imaginative use of raw, unison down-bows in the trio of Op 74 No 3, "The Rider"; the impeccable phrasing and intonation displayed across the group - risks getting into the realms of comparing fetlocks or crankshafts.
Suffice to say this was one of the best chamber music concerts I can remember, riveting from start to finish and already ranked as one of my concerts of the year. Here, in every note, was revelation and revolution, pure and simple.
February 15, 2009