Orion String Quartet @ Dallas Chamber Music Society
—Gregory Sullivan Isaacs
On October 9 at Southern Methodist University's Caruth Auditorium, the Orion String Quartet opened the 79th season of the Dallas Chamber Music Society with a heartfelt "goodbye." After a 36-year partnership, the quartet is stepping down after their current tour. The members are/were violinists Daniel and Todd Phillips (who are brothers), violist Steven Tenenbom, and cellist Timothy Eddy. Perhaps the music was meant to match the occasion, with two twilight compositions from Schubert and Beethoven.
From Schubert, we heard the composer’s last string quartet, No. 15 in G Major (D. 887). We didn’t hear Beethoven’s last string quartet (Op. 135), but his next to last, No. 13 in B flat Major (Op. 130), which includes the problem-child Große Fuge (“Grosse” translates to big/great). And that it is—for sure. And also, though the connection is tenuous, it’s worth noting that both quartets were composed in 1826.
The Orion tackled both works with determination, as if they would slip away if not securely nailed down. This made for an exciting evening of music making, although dynamics were sometimes exaggerated and intonation occasionally suffered. However, I would gladly accept that trade in the service of an exciting performance such as Orion delivered.
The Schubert quartet eases into its first movement and slowly takes form out of the musical ether. The Orion gave it plenty of time to form so as to give it a satisfying feel when the theme actually appeared. (Fortunately, they didn’t observe Schubert’s suggestion to repeat the exposition.) They took a similarly subtle approach to the second movement, which meanders through various keys, tempi, dynamics, and other incarnations, before fading away.
They opened the third movement with a spray of scurrying notes that they allowed to metamorphosize before they took charge and drove it to the ending. They opened the finale with a jaunty je ne sais quoi attitude and reveled in its changes of mood. Indeed, the Orion reveled from start to finish in performing this quartet—full of transformations right up to the huge two chords that bring it to an exciting close.
On the other hand, Beethoven’s quartet is a conundrum, mostly because of the last movement mentioned earlier, the Große Fuge. This piece of music has baffled audiences right from its premiere. Comments then and now range from “spectacular” to “incomprehensible” and "bizarre." The movement’s “eternally avant-garde” nature was why it was played at futurist/scientist Carl Sagan’s memorial service, and placed on board for the 1977 launch of the spacecraft Voyager. The Große Fuge was included among the sights and sounds on the “Golden Record”—a disc representing the highest human achievements to whoever (or whatever) might find them.
Later, Beethoven was convinced to write a less adventurous finale for this string quartet. But these days, as with the current performance, the Große Fuge usually occupies its intended place as the finale.
But first, of course, the Orion presented the quartet’s five relatively short movements, quite varied in tempo and feel—tossing them off as a series of amuse bouches before the huge bite of the Große Fuge. They began with a thoughtful Adagio followed by a slightly rushed Presto. An Andante followed by a perky Danza prepared us for the highlight of the entire quartet, a sensitively played Cavatina.
Thanks to the carefully planned buildup, we were properly prepared for the monumental Große Fuge. It was the major achievement of the entire concert, and the Orion made great sense of it.
In a way, the fugue is a complete work in itself, with eight separate but connected mini-movements of its own. The actual fugue doesn’t appear until after this multi-faceted series plays out. Once it arrives, the subject seems unlikely for fugal treatment with its jagged and widely separated leaps. But in Orion’s hands, it was boldly presented in a “take it or leave it” fashion, and was easily recognized in all of the iterations and fugal tricks Beethoven imposed on it. It brought the audience, baffled or not, to its feet in appreciation of the whole performance and the nostalgic love of the Orion String Quartet itself..
On the way out, we were left to wonder what was going through their minds as they finished this final Dallas concert after so long a career of collective music-making. Over the years, they bravely approached music from the modest to the monumental. And perhaps even more legacy-making, they were responsible for a gaggle of commissions that greatly expanded the repertoire.
But this question was left to speculation on Monday evening. Perhaps that was for the best.
WHEN: October 9, 2023
WHERE: SMU’s Caruth Auditorium, Dallas TX
WEB: dallaschambermusic.org [Upcoming: the Castalian String Quartet, November 6]
