Shropshire Star - 05 Mar 2008

Concert given by very fine players

Carducci String Quartet

The Lion Hotel

Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 59 No. 2 in E minor was the final work in the Carducci String Quartet's programme at the Lion Hotel, organised by the Shropshire Music Trust.

Considered the work of a lunatic when composed, it is now rightly seen as a high-point of the string quartet's repertoire.

In each of the three works, the Carducci created a sound world which was geared to the music being played.

Haydn's "Frog" Quartet was delivered with wit, but the contrast between that and Janacek's first quartet, the "Kreutzer" could not have been greater.

The demands made on the musicians are considerable. The viola player, Eoin Schmidt-Martin, produced a rich, burnished sound that seemed right for the emotional demands of Czech music.

The interplay between all the musicians was remarkable - first violinist Matthew Denton, second fiddle Michelle Fleming and cellist Emma Denton were technically accomplished and finely attuned to each other's playing.

The concert, the first of three in which the Carducci will play all three of Beethoven's "Razumovsky" quartets, was also an indication of the way the string quartet has developed as a musical form.

We were in the hands of a fine group.

Andrew Fetch

Last Updated : 07/03/2008