{TABLE} Quartet in D minor K421 ............... Mozart String Quartet (1981) ................. Petr Eben Quartet in E minor Op 59 No 2 ......... Beethoven {/TABLE} PETR EBEN'S string quartet has the subtitle "Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart", which is the name of an allegorical book by the 17th century Czech religious teacher, Comenius. So it may he assumed that the Quartet, like Eben's other works is at least partly religious in inspiration, but we would not have known had we not been told. It is a stimulating four movement work reminiscent of Bartok in its barbaric vigour and harmonic language, but with a strong individuality of its own. The Skampa String Quartet gave it a stunning performance, making it a worthy companion of Mozart's K421 and Beethoven's Op., 59 No. 2.
The little church of St Matthias in Ballybrack was well filled last Wednesday night and the audience was most appreciative of the Skampa Quartet's richness and sweetness of tone and accurate ensemble. Mozart's Quartet in D minor is a work in profoundly serious mood and this was conveyed without any heaviness or over emphasis, and the playing in the lighter moments made one smile with pleasure.
Beethoven's Op. 59 No. 2 was, in spite of its familiarity, as exciting, and even disturbing, as Eben's Quartet. The performance was controlled and vivid, equally persuasive in the hypnotic traceries of the slow movement and in the headlong finale.
