MUSIC REVIEWS : Juilliard Quartet Graces Ambassador

Lyric grace may not be what we most expect from Robert Mann and the Juilliard String Quartet. But that was certainly one appreciable characteristic Wednesday, when the ensemble--still astonishing after all these years--returned for its 17th concert at Ambassador Auditorium.

At first blanch, the sweet songfulness of Schubert’s “Rosamunde” Quartet seems almost counter-programming for this group. Wednesday, though, they reminded us of their honorable history with Schubert in a sonically glowing, structurally imposing reading.

Founder and first violinist Mann infused the work with warmth and expressive nuance. Violinist Joel Smirnoff, violist Samuel Rhodes and cellist Joel Krosnick joined him in a balanced web of individually defined parts, thoughtful as well as emotionally unabashed.

They put their emphasis on the middle movements, projecting wistful charm in the Andante and carefully contrasting the brooding mysteries and courtly formalities of the Menuetto. The more straightforward outer movements made an articulate frame, despite a scrambled patch in the finale.

Janacek’s Quartet No. 1, with its allusive “Kreutzer Sonata” scenario, made another display case for contrast. The surprise here was that its abrasive edge did not dominate the performance, which instead took hyper-romantic soulfulness as the interpretive ground.

From this foundation of heated passion the Juilliards fanned its neurotic sparks with typical vehemence. They provided a rich range of distinctive sound, tough and appropriately independent in textures fully responsive to the drama at hand.

The first movement of Haydn’s Quartet in C, Opus 74, No. 1, was fraught with peril as Mann’s concentration seemed to fade. He recovered in the Mozart-haunted glories of the Andantino, however, and led an emphatically Vivace finale of virtuoso vigor and flair.

This was not a purist’s Haydn, nor consistently polished. At its best, though, it lived up to the spirit of the style with energy and clarity.

The four returned to Haydn in encore, with the sotto v oce fugue of the Opus 20, No. 2 finale, realized as a democratic debate of wit and elegance.