Kuss Quartet’s Beethoven tour with Paganini-loved instruments

By Yawara Watanabe, 15 June 2019

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Reviewed at Suntory Hall: Blue Rose (Small Hall), Tokyo on 13 June 2019

Beethoven, String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, Op.131

Beethoven, String Quartet no. 16 in F major, Op.135

Mantovani, String Quartet no. 6 "Beethoveniana" (World premiere)

Kuss Quartet

Jana Kuss, Violin

Oliver Wille, Violin

William Coleman, Viola

Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, Cello

Kuss Quartet brings late Beethoven to Liverpool

Leighton Jones, 2nd February

The Kuss Quartet sandwich Kurtág’s Officium Breve between two late Beethoven quartets in the elegant surroundings of the Small Concert Room, St George’s Hall, Liverpool.

***11

Frank Dupree's Liverpool debut has the audience crying out for more

Glyn Mon Hughes, 14th May

A concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA saw Liverpool audiences treated to a sumptuous Copland as well as a symphony as well as a barn-storming performance of Gershwin and Duke Ellington, performed by Frank Dupree who was making his debut with the RLPO.

*****

Hilary Hahn’s French odyssey of refinement and fire in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 14th May

Two technical mishaps punctuate the evening, but Hilary Hahn maintains poise throughout a French programme crowned by a finely judged, deeply expressive performance of Fauré.

****1

Korngold and Mahler from Ray Chen, Vasily Petrenko and the RPO

Roy Westbrook, 12th May

Few violin concertos soar from the first bar as Erich Korngold’s does, especially as in Ray Chen's high-wire account at the Royal Albert Hall.

****1

Petr Popelka delivers a thrilling opening for Prague Spring

Frank Kuznik, 12th May

With Petr Popelka on the podium, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra brings a native feel and colorful exuberance to a cultural icon.

****1

Energetic Currentzis and Utopia at the Elbphilharmonie

Mengguang Huang, 12th May

From Berg’s crystalline intimacy to Dionysian Mahler, Teodor Currentzis and Utopia defy orchestral tradition with standing musicians, spatial acoustics and an emotional intensity that breathes new life into the concert life.

****1

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Yawara Watanabe

Yawara Watanabe is a Tokyo based music writer with a special interest in chamber music. He has visited major international chamber music competitions all over the world, especially string quartets, and is now a member of a brain trust for the Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Festa. He has also toured a lot with chamber music groups in Asian countries. His another interest is modern opera and he has worked as one of the writers for “Operas after WW2” published by the New National Theater Japan, Tokyo.