Adelaide Festival. Adelaide Town Hall. 3 Mar 2014
The Kelemen Quartet hails from Hungary, a land-locked country, and so it is no surprise they should be lured to the famous beaches of Sydney for a bit of R&R when the occasion recently presented itself. Unfortunately cellist Dóra Kokas had an unscheduled run-in with an Argentinian surfer that resulted in her breaking her wrist! At short notice Hungarian compatriot and (very) talented cellist Ákos Takács packed his bag, grabbed a visa on the way to the airport and flew to Australia to allow the quartet’s tour for Musica Viva tour to continue.
Onwards! The show must go on!
The Kelemen Quartet has a string of international successes and awards under its belt, including winning the Musica Viva Grand Prize at the 2011 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, which really put them under the spotlight. However, they have also been on the receiving end of some ‘interesting’ criticism, including the following from the music critic of the Dallas News: “If it could curb its excesses, the Kelemen Quartet could be one of the world’s great string quartets”! Could be?
Last night’s concert was part of part of the Adelaide Festival and was ‘bookended’ by Haydn (Quartet in D, Op.20, No.4) and Beethoven (Quartet in C Op.59, No.3, “Razumovsky”), but the real interest and excitement lay with the two ‘inner’ pieces – the dynamic Quartet No. 4 Sz.91 by Bartók, and Ross Edward’s evocative ‘Ecstatic Dance’ for two violins. The Beethoven and (particularly) the Haydn have measured self-assurance (and delicacy in parts) that need to be respected, and contrasting tempi and dynamics need to be balanced. The players were a little exuberant at times, and perhaps this is what the Dallas critic was getting at.
The Bartok however was scintillating, and each member of the ensemble was perfectly attuned to the dynamism and inventiveness of the composition. It is a piece that is difficult to listen to on a CD – it needs the visuals as well – and the communication between the two violinists (Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas) was electric and was a focus of great interest and attention.
Although a relatively recent composition (1990), the ‘Ecstatic Dance’ has textural and tonal (almost folk music) similarities with the Bartok and was an effective segue into the Beethoven. Kelemen and Gábor Homoki had the (physically) long score stretched out between two music stands and inched their way across the stage as they played it. (Almost a Fringe Festival act!) Apparently they only had the one copy and had not had it long enough to memorise or sufficiently ‘internalise’ it, a result of a program change due to Kokas’ accident. However, you wouldn’t have thought so – they attacked it with zeal and with an understanding that would make you think they had been playing it for years. An absorbing performance.
The Dallas critic was almost right when he observed that the Kelemen Quartet could be one of the world’s great string quartets. They are already.
Kym Clayton
When: 28 Feb to 16 Mar
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: adelaidefestival.com.au
