At Tanglewood, a weak contextualization of Shostakovich

By Edward Sava-Segal, 22 July 2017

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Reviewed at Tanglewood, Seiji Ozawa Hall, Lenox on 19 July 2017

Shostakovich, String Quartet no. 14 in F sharp major, Op.142

Emerson String Quartet

Strathairn, David, Actor

Sanders, Jay O., Actor

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.

*****

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

Zoltán Szabó, 7th September

A disappointing outing for the Emerson String Quartet in the first Sydney concert of their eight-city tour of Australia.

**111

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

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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.

At Tanglewood, a weak contextualization of Shostakovich’s String Quartet no. 14