CIMF, Concert 3 / “Brodsky at 50”. At Fitters’ Workshop, April 29. Reviewed by DANTE COSTA.

YOU can see from the joy on their faces as they perform that the phenomenal Brodsky Quartet are 50 and fabulous.

Not many quartets can claim to have been playing together for half a century, but Brodsky is one of them.

Befitting this year’s festival theme –“The Child Within” – the quartet reflected and celebrated its musical journey since forming the ensemble as teenagers in the ’70s. A true ode to an everlasting musical friendship.

Violinists Krysia Osostowicz and Ian Belton, violist Paul Cassidy and cellist Jacqueline Thomas began with a vivacious Borodin’s “Scherzo from Les Vendredis”.

With crystal-clear articulation, the piece opens to a sweet and tender legato section. The following pieces, “Playera” and “Zapateado”, which are a selection of dances by the Spanish violinist Sarasate, combine passionate flamenco flavours with lively syncopated rhythms. It was an energetic and stylish interpretation by the quartet that captivated the audience.

Next was Britten’s “Poème”, which follows a gentle ostinato in the second violin, while a plaintive yet gentle melody is shared and developed between the other instruments. Chilling harmonies were interspersed by the sounds of delightful pizzicato that left the audience in a magical trance.

An arrangement of Debussy’s “First Arabesque” continued this serene aesthetic as the quartet masterfully wove lines of legato melodies together.

Brodsky’s rendition of Shostakovich’s “Elegy & Polka” – arranged by cellist Thomas – offered a more playful take on what most would consider to be morose or intense.

Osostowicz noted that Shostakovich’s music is always thought of as being “very serious and solemn” and that they chose to perform a work that was more “light-hearted”. This piece was an excellent choice to convey this idea.

The next two pieces, Turina’s “Bullfighter’s Prayer” and Cassidy’s arrangement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” played on more stoic and reflective themes, as Osostowicz reflected on the current ongoing situation in Ukraine. The quartet performed these pieces elegantly and with considerable dynamic breadth, absorbing the audience in the beauty of the music.

The final two pieces, Debussy’s “Second Arabesque” and Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance” resumed the sprightly, ornamented ideas of the earlier pieces with fun melodies and quirky harmonies. Their fingers danced along the fingerboards in a final flurry of notes that climaxed into an energetic finale. This was met with a rapturous standing ovation and an audience who thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous concert.