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The Tippett Quartet, 27th January 2008

Whilst many football fans have their ‘dream team’, I have a dream string quartet, comprising of my favourite musicians and, as of today, one addition to my ‘quartet’ is the Tippett quartet’s cellist Bozidar Vukotic.

The Holywell Music Room was full with an audience eagerly anticipating the Tippett Quartet’s performance of Michael Tippett’s string quartet no.1 and Beethoven’s string quartet in C sharp minor (op.131).  And the young ensemble’s performance did not disappoint, with both energetic and lyrical passages being performed equally effectively.

Tippett’s string quartet no. 1 opened the concert.  The cello’s two cadenza-like solos in the first movement were particularly resounding.  Tippett’s neo-classical music was heavily influenced by Beethoven, which made the choice of Beethoven’s string quartet in C sharp minor as the second piece of the concert most appropriate.  The cohesion of the quartet was apparent in this seven movement work, which was well received by the audience.

The ensemble was generally very well balanced, although the melody line was perhaps slightly lost in the second movement of the Beethoven. However, this was a rare problem in an otherwise excellent performance by all four members of the quartet.

by Robin Thompson, C24 Music Editor

 

The next coffee concert at the Holywell Music Room is next Sunday, February 3rd at 11.15am, and will feature the Adderbury Ensemble playing quintets by Mozart and Vaughan-Williams (tickets available from Tickets Oxford 01865 305305).

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