The shadows of this life: the Emerson Quartet on tour in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó, 09 September 2019

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Reviewed at City Recital Hall, Sydney on 7 September 2019

Haydn, String Quartet no. 55 in D major, Op.71 no.2, Hob III:70

Bartók, String Quartet no. 5 in B flat major, Sz.102

Beethoven, String Quartet no. 8 in E minor, "Razumovsky", Op.59 no.2

Emerson String Quartet

Renée Fleming and friends bid adieu to the Emerson String Quartet

Sam Jacobson, 15th October

In one of their final performances, the Emerson String Quartet comes to Cleveland to present André Previn’s Penelope, featuring Renée Fleming and other special guests.

***11

The Emerson Quartet begins its last series at Lincoln Center

Edward Sava-Segal, 23rd April

In the first leg of a chronological traversal of the string quartet repertoire, the Emersons were on top form.

****1

The Emerson Quartet bid a bleak farewell to London

Stephen Pritchard, 9th November

An elegiac farewell as the Emerson String Quartet – retiring next year – close their Shostakovich cycle at the Southbank Centre.

*****

White-hot intensity from the Emerson Quartet at Milton Court

Mark Pullinger, 8th November

From the claustrophobic intensity of Britten and Shostakovich to the sunny balm of Beethoven, this was an excellent recital.

****1

Evgeny Kissin and the Emerson Quartet at Carnegie Hall

Edward Sava-Segal, 27th April

There was a palpable sense of communion during a performance bringing these great musicians together at Carnegie Hall for the first time.

****1

At Tanglewood, a weak contextualization of Shostakovich

Edward Sava-Segal, 19th July

Linking Shostakovich and Chekhov, a full of good intentions performance at Tanglewood, was marred by a shaky mise en scène.

***11

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.