REVIEW: Ebène Quartet, Upper Chapel, Sheffield
A SUPREMELY accomplished string quartet, the Ebène's playing betrayed such fluidity and fluency they could well have been one person, so cohesive and seamlessly integrated was it.
Haydn's Op 71 No 2 quartet immediately revealed the effortless ease with which the Ebne play, the admirably clean texturing of the music, the great feeling in its shaping.
Pierre Colombet's faultlessly pitched playing of the virtuoso first violin part in the first movement was mesmerising, the perfectly balanced interplay in the adagio compelling and, while the whole may have had a Gallic feel, it also had a Classical tonal purity, which was not without warmth.
With the tonal colours warmed up considerably for a different sound world, Debussy's Quartet was simply magnificent. The Ebne's passionate response to the music was wonderful, full of finesse and elegance with fabulous touch and feel in the andantino, which at times scaled heavenly heights.
The confluence of styles on Ravel's Quartet had a logical lucidity that was as marvellously transparent as the Ebne's malleable, unified sounds were intoxicating.
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy snow
Temperature: -2 C to -0 C
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