Listeners Taken On Emotional Musical Journey

Spokane String Quartet Sunday, March 19, The Met

Why would anyone give up a springy Sunday afternoon to listen to a depressing, despairing string quartet? Is it really more fun to contemplate death by catgut than it is to generate some life in the garden?

Apparently, quite a number of people thought so. They gathered at The Met to listen to the Spokane String Quartet deliver a rendition of Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 13 every bit as desolate as promised. Could that have been just a hint of a hymn of redemption toward the end of the piece? No, only lonely death. If this work is such a downer, why perform it at all - and why bother coming to listen to it?

Vicariously experiencing unknown terror, or validating lingering disappointments is an expansion and confirmation of our deepest emotions, unsettling though that may be. And Shostakovich provides the perfect angst-ridden vehicle in which to make this emotional journey. Those who are willing to take the ride know they will touch something hidden in themselves which will make it worth the ticket price.

It helped that this piece was sandwiched between two rather sunnier selections, Schubert’s Quartet in A minor, Op. 29, and Ravel’s Quartet in F major. Schubert ranged from pretty to perky, with the SSQ capturing most of its heart-on-the-sleeve romanticisms.

The Ravel work is one of my perennial favorites, with its airy melodies and pleasantly rich chords peering through a yellow filter at a fairy-tale past. The SSQ splashed about in its joie de vivre, making it fun without making it into fluff.

The juxtaposition of the Ravel and the Shostakovich deepened the meaning of both works by revealing two sides of ourselves. After these, you know when you return to the garden, it will be waiting with a new level of intense colors, distilled tastes and precious life.