Alke Quartet

Beethoven’s F minor String Quartet was the first work whose opus number (Op. 95) I could remember. Its themes are so sublimely tuneful that they stuck in my fickle adolescent mind. Although called ‘Serioso’ by Beethoven himself, it is anything but unsmiling. I wish the Alke Quartet could have looked as if they were enjoying it as much as I was.

There demeanour was as severe for Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5, which they afforded all the attack and attention to detail that you could want. Their performance, so full of magical moments, was delivered impassively like an academic assignment.

Studio Theatre, Brighton Dome, 11 May 2016

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