Wow. The St. Lawrence String Quartet… They performed approximately 2 weeks ago, but it has taken me this long to let the performance sink in. I'm also going to compare them, in ways, to Time for Three. Impossible. That would be a sin. You're probably correct.
Differences:
Time for Three (I believe) writes their own arrangements. SLSQ does not.
SLSQ has four people, Time for Three has… you can guess.
Time for Three would not touch Mendelssohn
Similarities:
Bad Names – I understand neither of them are rock bands, but, come on.
They don't mind educating people – SLSQ had GREAT program notes [written by Iowa City's own Art Canter], and I know both groups like to visit classrooms.
They met at school.
Time for Three and The St. Lawrence String Quartet are really fun to watch. They use their whole bodies to communicate.
Both groups make me tired.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one in the audience who felt fatigued after watching The St. Lawrence String Quartet. A woman leaned over to express her exhaustion at studying the first violinist's movements during the show. I must say, a lot of this was based off of the frenzied ending of Mendelssohn's String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 80. And thank God. I really don't like Mendelssohn ... The guy created lots of music while he was alive, but I still stick to my rules of quality vs. quantity. (I will surely be stoned for this statement). Yet, they succeeded in picking a work which he wrote at the end of his life – a piece sounding extremely different than the rest… Yay! Minus the middle dream-like sequence, I had to go shake off the emotional "Mendelssohn surprise" during intermission. Therefore, SLSQ gets a few bonus points for personal reasons. Still, I would say the real gem of the first half was Haydn's String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2, HOB.III:20. I will never hear Haydn the same. The Adagio movement swept me off my feet and made me want to cry. But I guess this is how the members of the SLSQ have made a name for themselves.
Now, I guess you could have left the show just like that, but (and this is why I like the St. Lawrence String Quartet), they support new work. John Adams <gasp>, made another string piece (this time, without electronics). It was definitely an Iowa City premiere, but I was more excited to find out that it was only the second time to be heard by an audience – the first time being in NYC. John did not let us down, and he had a good ear when choosing the group - every atom in their bodies being in-sync with one another. The popping heights, sweeps, jabs, and gaping silences gave way to a supreme beauty and simple intensity. I have always loved how John Adams carefully chooses his dissonances/harmonies, and I'm proud of him for working inside the containment of stringed instruments. The SLSQ said he was once quoted saying, "The string quartet is dead," but I'm glad he changed his mind. It was wonderfully abstract, yet very listenable. New music is going in the right direction – and the St. Lawrence String Quartet is going to help.
— Molly
