Classical string quartets are renowned for their longevity, but few have lasted as long as the Brodsky Quartet, founded in 1973. Violinist Iain Belton and cellist Jacqueline Thomas remain from the original line-up but violist Paul Cassidy is hardly an apprentice, having joined in 1982. Only violinist Krysia Osostowicz (joined 2021) can be considered a newbie, but she has many years of quartet experience behind her.
The Brodskys are known for their cross-genre collaborations, including with Elvis Costello and Björk, but this Kings Place concert was straight-ahead classical. Not everything was a major work, but the result was a pleasingly varied showcase. The largely wood-based architecture of Kings Place provides an acoustic that is lively and perfectly transparent, as if the players are right in front of you. That suits the Brodskys’ forthright, strongly accented style.
Having celebrated its 50th birthday last year, the quartet dedicated this concert to Rachmaninov’s 150th anniversary, even though the composer’s writing for string quartet is barely known. The Brodskys made a persuasive case for his Two Movements for String Quartet, dating from 1896 but not fully annotated until 1947, four years after the composer’s death.
It's assumed that Rachmaninov intended to write at least one more movement but never got round to it, yet this performance felt like a complete entity. The second movement was particularly impressive, moving so slowly that it seemed to be going nowhere, but beautifully. The second Rach piece was Vocalise, originally written for voice and piano but skilfully arranged for quartet by Cassidy, giving the first violin the swooning, crooning style of a 1940s balladeer.
The concert opened with Stravinsky’s Three Pieces, by turns rhythmic, sardonic and meltingly melancholic. The Brodskys caught the wit and the ambiguity, both of which were equally on display in Shostakovich’s Two Pieces for String Quartet. The first showed the composer at his most soulful, the second at his most cartoonish, a quality the Brodskys played up nicely.
The other two works on offer were major pieces, each given its due weight. At times in Britten’s First String Quartet, the rich sound of Jacqueline Thomas’s cello seemed to be the lead, perhaps simply because she was closest to where I sat. In any case, it certainly wasn’t a fault. This was the Brodskys at their most conversational, the music angrily bickering one moment, drivingly rhythmic the next, in the process demonstrating the range of sonic possibilities available by plucking rather than bowing the strings.
The programme closed with the wistful longing of Debussy’s String Quartet. Rich and warm, it felt like the embodiment of the group’s 50 years of playing. It can’t go on forever, but while it lasts, let’s enjoy it.
