The Escher Quartet in the bucolic Catskill Mountains

By Edward Sava-Segal, 04 July 2017

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“the Eschers’ interpretation never lacked an underlying tension”

Reviewed at Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock on 2 July 2017

Schubert, Symphony no. 2 in B flat major, D.125

Bartók, String Quartet no. 3, Sz. 85

Sibelius, String quartet in D minor "Voces intimae", Op.56

Escher String Quartet

The Eschers explores Eastern European repertory at Lincoln Center

Edward Sava-Segal, 3rd April

The quartet focus on composers' efforts to integrate folkloric elements into classical music structures in their recital in Alice Tully Hall.

*****

Zemlinsky: from dying Romantic era to birth of modernity

Jacob Slattery, 29th October

Much like Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, Zemlinsky’s string quartets signifies the death of the Romantic world while laying the groundwork for the 20th century, but in contrast to Mahler’s cry of distress, Zemlinsky indulged in the new and eagerly descended into the future.

****1

Proms Chamber Music 6: Hugh Wood and Claude Debussy

Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, 20th August

This year the Proms Chamber Music Series returns to the bright and spacious environment of Cadogan Hall to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Claude Debussy’s birth. At the sixth concert in the series an inspired programme given by BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the Escher Quartet, paired two works exactly one hundred years apart in their composition: String Quartet No. 4, Op.

****1

Three Pieces from 1918 at the Cheltenham Music Festival

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 13th July

Red, white and blue bunting, with matching lighting, adorned the balconies of Cheltenham Town Hall, setting a patriotic scene for a concert of music from the year that World War I ended. Television presenter Julia Somerville opened the evening sat at a vintage newsdesk with her own careful research, for which she can be highly commended.

****1

Back to 1915: Kraggerud, Isserlis and more at the Cheltenham Music Festival

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 11th July

The concert opened with BBC newsreader Julia Somerville, summarising news from the year 1915 at an old-fashioned broadcasting desk complete with microphone. It was informative, and set the scene for this recital, one in a series of ‘time capsule’ concerts, solely featuring music composed in 1915 – including two of Debussy’s last chamber pieces.

****1

A dream of a Gerontius from Pappano, the LSO and Chorus

Roy Westbrook, 21st April

Giving their 27th performance of the oratorio, the London Symphony Chorus excel as angelic angels and demonic demons.

****1

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Edward Sava-Segal

Edward has been living in New York for the last 25 years, one of the reasons being the extraordinarily rich cultural life in this city. He has studied piano and classical music in his early years. He switched later on to computer science and data architecture but he kept an unwavering interest in following the classical music phenomenon here in New York and in his travels. Edward occasionally reviews fine arts events for the most prestigious literary magazine in Romania, his home country.