Whitman Quartet Radiates Energy

Under the gold dome and the ring of cherubs in the Doheny Mansion’s Pompeian Room on Friday, the gifted Whitman String Quartet served up an insightful concert. This was the kickoff to the Doheny Soirees, part of the Chamber Music in Historic Sites series, and a reminder that this room is one of L.A.’s best and most picturesque musical “chambers.”

The audience enjoys a nearly visceral connection with the performers here, especially when they’re as focused and present as the Whitman. For this in-the-round setting, the audience radiates outward from the center, with the quartet set up in a circle--a natural, communication-friendly configuration.

The Whitman, winner of the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Award, nicely demonstrated why it is considered a quartet that rises above the pack.

Beethoven’s classical-leaning Quartet in C Minor, Opus 18, No. 4 emerged as a finely wrought thing, yet also with a sizable emotional investment.

Showing their mettle with Brahms as well, in his Quartet in C Minor, Opus 51, No. 1, the players offered up a romantic spirit, smartly measured.

They also proved adept at the knottier demands and complex emotional landscape of Prokofiev’s Quartet No. 1, Opus 50.

In the second movement’s shift from eloquent brooding to fervent cross talk, and the finale’s mournful yet sensual air, their engaging playing hinted at their reputation for tackling more contemporary work--an aspect of their musical life not heard this night.