MUSIC REVIEW : Smithson Quartet’s Sound Is Pleasant Echo Out of Past

Not even the string quartet, that stuffy elitist institution, hasbeen spared the bane of specialization. There are all-female quartets, quartets that play only 20th-Century music, quartets that offer jazz improvisation, and quartets that sport punk attire and play Jimi Hendrix encores.

It would be easy to put the Smithson String Quartet into one of those specialized niches, noting that the ensemble performs on period instruments. But such a facile categorization would miss the point, as Saturday evening’s Smithson concert at UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium so amply demonstrated.

These four musicians, who are in residence at Washington’s Smithsonian Institution, play the 18th-Century quartet repertory with an unforced, natural grace that sheds new light on familiar works. The group’s unaltered 18th-Century instruments--fitted with gut rather than steel strings--and lighter bows corroborate this interpretive approach, but it is Smithson’s understanding of the style that sets it apart from other string quartets.

With the program-opening Haydn Quartet in G Major, Op. 17, No. 5, Smithson staked out its approach: unforced but lively rhythms, phrasing with generous breathing space, and a mellow sonority of intimate proportions. In the slow third movement, for example, violinist Jaap Schroeder displayed his virtuoso chops, not with the cutting brilliance associated with modern violin-playing, but with a flexible lyricism close in scale and warmth to a vocal cadenza.

This is not to imply that Schroeder is right and other violinists are misguided in their approach to Haydn. In a short preconcert talk, Smithson violist Judson Griffin disavowed claims to “authenticity” of performance practice. He stated that using period instruments guides the quartet members into the soul of the music, and Schroeder’s solos were indeed soulful on an intimate scale.

In Smithson’s hands, the familiar Mozart C Major Quartet, K. 465, (“Dissonance”) combined brio and elegance. The independence of each player gave greater clarity to each line, especially the exceptional contributions of cellist Kenneth Slowick, who never lacked point, power or breadth of sound. Marilyn McDonald is the ensemble’s second violinist.

Beethoven’s C Minor Quartet, Op. 18, No. 4, was notable for its understated drama and an inner vitality that did not rely on speed to create excitement. The Scherzo was full of genial contrasts and carefully planned ensemble accents. It reminded the Mandeville audience, not quite a full house, that string quartet playing in the 18th-Century was more sophisticated recreation than worshipful performance.