The Takács Quartet must have played Beethoven’s B flat major quartet, Op 130, countless times. Yet from the sombre descending unison of the opening bars there was nothing in any way formulaic about their treatment of it in their latest Wigmore Hall concert. To call this an authoritative performance of the work, which in many ways it was, hardly conveys the sense of spontaneous exploration that so strongly marked some of the playing in the opening movement. Edward Dusinberre’s free-spirited first violin always seemed set on daring his partners to test Beethoven’s harmonies to their limits, an exercise in which his partners proved willing and worthy respondents.
Dusinberre pushed the agenda onwards in the hustling Presto and the lilting fourth movement German dance, too, with the beautiful poise of András Fejér’s cello always a well judged and restrained counterpart. But the Cavatina, which stands at the emotional and spiritual core of this piece, and which was preceded by an audible audience hush of expectation, was unfolded with seraphic unity of execution by the whole quartet. The Allegro finale, chosen here by the Takács as the alternative to Beethoven’s original fugal last movement, was played with infectiously incisive brightness.
Like the Beethoven quartet, Mozart’s restless G minor string quintet, K516, encompasses an almost profligate range of melodic ideas and generally dark hues. It is a mark of the work’s stature in the chamber repertoire that it followed rather than preceded such an iconic work as Op 130. The tonal balance and expressiveness of the two violas, with Geraldine Walther and the distinguished guest player Louise Williams always alive to one another’s playing and to the larger picture, produced a performance of the highest quality. But in this half of the concert it was the driven and troubled nature of the work itself, rather than the approach of the players, that made for the memorable experience.
