Strangeness at Strathmore

Last night J and I went to Strathmore to hear Lynn Harrell with the Tokyo String Quartet. Or rather, the Tokyo String Quartet sort of with Lynn Harrell.

The world-famous four began the evening with Haydn's String Quartet in G, Op. 76, No. 1. This means nothing to me except that I like Haydn. (When I took the "What Famous Composer Are You?" quiz on Facebook, it said I was Haydn. So scientific.) But one thing I like about Haydn--and many composers of his day--is the almost mathematical precision of the interweaving of the different instrumental voices. In places in this quartet, the precision was lost, I think because the first violin and the cello had different ideas about tempo. This is baffling to me in a group of this renown. I was left with an uncomfortable feeling that I couldn't explain until the intermission, when J agreed that I wasn't crazy--they were off. It reminded me of the sportscaster on TV the other night who actually compared the Nats' moves that night to Little League action. It shocked me to hear it, but now I understand--with great repution comes great responsibility. The Tokyo String Quartet had let me down. (The Nats always let me down.)

They redeemed themselves somewhat with Beethoven's String Quartet in C Minor, op. 18, No. 4. I've always loved Beethoven's compositions for strings, and this was no exception. The tempo became a problem again at one point, but they resolved it quickly, and I was able to enjoy the piece.

Then, after the intermission, Lynn Harrell joined the group for the Schubert Quintet in C Major, D. 956. I've never been to hear Harrell live and was looking forward to it immensely. The cello is still probably my favorite instrument--it brought J and me together! What was odd to me was that Harrell took the easy cello part, leaving the lyrical lines to the Quartet's celloist, whose tone was higher, thinner, and reedy rather than woody. J thought this was a good choice because Harrell's instrument has a huge, resonant, woody sound that served the piece well by playing the second part. Nevertheless, we were both surprised because Harrell is such a draw.

A quick note about Strathmore: While this is a gorgeous hall, it might not be the place to hear chamber music. It's a beautiful, blonde-wood airplane hangar, and the four (or in the second half, five) instruments just didn't produce enough sound to do them justice in the stratosphere, where we sat. While we didn't have a problem with volume when we sat on Mars to hear little Joshie Bell, it was a problem last night. The Mansion would have been a much better venue, or even the Barns at Wolf Trap. I guess there's just not enough money in that.

And again, I'm really tired of being one of the youngest people at a classical music concert. I'm 45, for crying out loud! What will the audience be like when I'm one of the blue-haired ladies riding the golf cart to the concert hall from the parking deck? Will there even be an audience? Seriously, if you're under 65, please go support your local classical musicians. And expose your kids to this stuff while they're young. They'll say they hate it when they're teenagers, but they'll remember it fondly when they're adults. You owe them this experience.

Rant over.