Review: Endellion String Quartet

It is 10 years since the Endellion began an annual residency in Leeds but its capacity to surprise remains undiminished.

Haydn’s Quartet Op 50, No 2 is a recent addition to its repertory and the work’s genial innovation provided idea preparation for Bartók’s First Quartet and Beethoven’s Op 127 in E flat.

In his introductory remarks, leader Andrew Watkinson had described the combination of composers and pieces as ‘the perfect programme’. In fact, what made the programme perfect was the polished technique, distilled energy and gift for spontaneity that this exceptional ensemble brought to it.

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No note or phrase ever goes unconsidered under the intelligent stewardship of these players. Having illuminated Haydn’s quartet with lyrical beauty and wit they offered a thrilling account of the Bartok, charting its swings of mood and dialect with astonishing concentration.

The concert closed with the first of Beethoven’s Last Quartets, a compelling synthesis of joy and heartbreak, assembled with infinite care.

As cheering broke out, amid echoes of the delicate coda and the scherzo’s jagged unisons, it was hard to decide who was the programme’s greatest modernist. Perfect indeed.

The Venue, Leeds

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