cyntillating sounds: w

a column on the state of classics

Vitamin T

They had the unthankful task of performing first, never a fun job in an international music competition.

Cecilia String Quartet, four elegant young American women in smiles and spaghetti straps nevertheless

won my heart instantaneously with their humorous Haydn (The Sunrise) and luminating Lutoslawksi (his first).

Even single notes were laden with rhetoric, every phrase was its own saga.

Unfortunately, duty called after my hearing only the first three of the nine string quartets accepted into

the second round of the Tromp International Competition now going on in Eindhoven.

9 x 4 = 36 people still healthy enough to perform together as flu season hit the happy few

survivors of the first CD round hard.

There are not many things more invigorating than young musical talent.

This edition’s Tromp participants are of a very high standard, if the first three ensembles

were today in any way indicative. I would not have minded staying longer for an extra dose

of my favoured vitamin T.

Often true battlegrounds of empty-headed pyrotechnics, chamber music contests are the

exception to the competition rule, an occasion where truly warm and intelligent youth come to

aspire to greater things than ‘Oe’, ‘Ah’ and ‘O my gosh, how did he do that?’.

The 21^st century is clearly reserved for the ladies: of the 12 instrumentalists I heard today,

11 were wearing makeup and killer heels, not ties. After Cecilia, Attaca took the stage,

wildly intense and certainly talented, even charismatic but with a few too many intonation problems for my taste

and lacking perfect balance, this despite a long and laboured tuning up between their Haydn (The Joke)

and the fragile Ravel quartet. Yes Ravel is especially difficult, and tuning remained a problem throughout,

the end of many notes was hurried and ruffled, truly a pity considering the intelligence of Attaca’s

phrasing as well as their group gusto.

When the third competitor appeared in folkloristic matching blouses,

they immediately lived up to their name, RusQuartet. Biting into a Haydn with a tad too much

fury for this point in performance practice history, one wondered where their editions were printed

and what for non-ürtext nonsense was included on its pages. The Russians rallied with a poignant

First Quartet by Shostakovich: no folklore here, just pure musicianship by an excellent ensemble.

Primarius Anna Snezhia is a true star, daring and delightful, and the group’s balance suffers from

her being just so darned outstanding.

One was tempted to start up a game of Go Fish (which in Dutch is the very appropriate ‘kwartet’):….

I’ll take your cellist from A if you give me your viola from B…

The Tromp Competition has even had one printed up featuring all the candidates.

Refreshed, optimistic and defiant towards germs while sneaking out of the beautiful hall in Eindhoven

with its absolutely perfect acoustic for chamber music, my shot of T rushing through my veins,

if string quartet performance is at this level these days, no blazé bug can keep it down!

Go get your own dose of preventative medicine if in the neighbourhood of Tromp,

or at least check out the Tromp Talent on one of the broadcasts via the internet listed below.

It is definitely very good for your health!