MUSIC REVIEW : Quartet Gives Dynamic Read on Beethoven

The printed program at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Saturday promised an encapsulation of Beethoven’s total quartet output.

First, one of his early forays into the genre--the fourth, in C minor, Opus 18--in which he embraced the inroads of Haydn and Mozart while clearly establishing his own path.

Then the last, Opus 135, in F--the secure reflections of a master during the last summer of his life.

Finally, the monumental E-minor, Opus 59, No. 2, commissioned by Count Andrey Razumovsky, powerful, personal and path-breaking in its dimensions and treatment of tonal relationships.

Yet the historical overview seemed a mere aside in the hands of the Cherubini String Quartet.

Throughout their concert in Founders Hall, violinists Christoph Poppen and Ulf Wallin, violist Hariolf Schlichtig and cellist Christoph Richter delivered a sensual, gripping performance.

They seized every dynamic nuance with intensity, driving relentlessly toward inevitable goals with remarkable unity of purpose, emphasizing darkness over light, poignancy over contentment.

For this ensemble, the historical import of these pieces seemed to be their significance as forebears of Romantic individuality.

Except for a few humorous glimpses at the close of the evening, inherent in the fragmented echoes of Beethoven’s Presto, there was little that did not sweep the listener into the maelstrom.

Fugal sections pushed forward with exacting energy, rigorously sculpted down to the finest detail. Stormy climaxes took on brutal fierceness. Lyrical contrasts were imbued with a sense of sotto voce mystery.

Even the cantante e tranquillo of the late work dripped with emotional significance, more searching than contented.

Everywhere, the Cherubini created an exhausting and enriching experience for those who chose to partake.