BY JOSEPH ASQUITH, LEAD WRITER (EDUCATION)
Czech Fantasy
Orava Quartet
Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, 26 October
What’d you miss?
- Seinfeld references from the musicians
- A kind of spooky sounding work (great timing with Halloween…)
- A concert worthy of a trip in from Newcastle
Last Friday, the intimate Uzton Room hosted Orava Quartet’s Czech Fantasy. With Daniel Kowalik (violin), David Dalseno (violin), Thomas Chawner (viola) and Karol Kowalik (cello), Orava delivered a program featuring works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Erwin Schulhoff, and Claude Debussy.
It was well worth braving the peak-hour traffic travelling from Newcastle.
The concert began with Haydn’s 1799 String Quartet Op.77 No.1 Lobkowitz. It was prefaced with a brief talk about the timelessness of Haydn’s melody writing, which was even complemented with a Seinfeld reference (a first for me to witness at a chamber music concert). The quartet delivered this early classical work with the brightness, melodic sensitivity, harmonic symmetry, and joyousness necessary for a classical string quartet.
Next on the program was Schulhoff’s 1924 Five Pieces for String Quartet. Admittedly, I had never heard of the composer, which made this performance more exciting. Comprising an enigmatic concoction of styles, including jazz, tango, tarantella, waltz and serenata, this performance of these five works was pulsating, beguiling, thrilling, and perhaps even a little spooky (appropriate for this time of year being Halloween).
The final piece on the program was Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor. Given that this year marks one century since Claude Debussy’s death, Orava felt it an appropriate work to include in the program. Indeed, it was performed superbly – not only with a masterful grasp of the technical demands of the piece, but with a total immersion in the mellifluous melodic shapes, tight driving rhythms, seraphic harmonies, and exquisite delineation of delicate pianissimo, allowing the audience to indulge in this virtuosic reverie.
As an encore, Orava Quartet performed Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa (which inspired the name ‘Orava Quartet’). This finale was performed with a gusto that left the audience totally spellbound and enthralled.
Orava is certainly one of Australia’s most exciting chamber music ensembles. Not only are they all very fine young performers, but also display a warmth and enthusiasm towards the audience, always willing to engage in post-concert conversation with audience members.
READ NEXT: Joseph chats with Orava’s Karol Kowalik about the gig.
Image supplied.
