Hagen Quartet

Where better than Glyndebourne to hear The Hagen Quartet deliver Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor as a gentle whisper that builds to a pulsing whole. So delicate and quiet at the start that you could almost hear the audience straining to sustain that quiet, that tranquil moment.

After the interval they were joined by clarinetist Jörg Widmann for the Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor. Again there is that real sense that less is more as their delicate restraint, the sense that they are almost holding back, teasing us even, before delivering great luscious sweeps of music that would have you believe that they are being performed by one mind rather than five minds acting as one. This playing was beyond doubt exceptional, and no doubt draining, but there was a sense of being left wanting more, a small encore perhaps or a third piece to satisfy our appetite for such beauty.

Glyndebourne, 6 May 2012
[Rating: 4.5/5 stars]
Andrew Kay