Triumph and Tragedy featuring Robert Greenberg
2014-01-11
St. John's Presbyterian Church
2727 College Ave, Berkeley, CA
10:00 AM, Saturday, January 11, 2014

[10:03 AM announcements from Ruth Felt]

1. [10:05 AM] Lecture
   [set ends 10:31 AM]

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906-1975): String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op.110 (1960)

1. [10:32 AM] Largo
2. [10:36 AM] Allegro molto
3. [10:m AM] Allegretto
4. [10:m AM] Largo
5. [10:m AM] Largo
   [set ends 10:52 AM]

1. [11:14 AM] Lecture
   [set ends 11:54 AM]

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): String Quartet No. 3, Op.94 (1975)

1. [11:55 AM] Duets. With moderate movement
2. [12:00 PM] Ostinato. Very fast
3. [12:03 PM] Solo. Very calm
4. [12:09 PM] Burlesque. Fast - con fuoco
5. [12:12 PM] Recitative and Passacaglia (La Serenissima). Slow
   [set ends 12:21 PM, no encore]

• Robert Greenberg: lecturer.

Alexander String Quartet

• Zakarias Grafilo: violin;
• Frederick Lifsitz: violin;
• Sandy Wilson: cello;
• Paul Yarbrough: viola.

Another cold night, interrupted by the struggle to control the blankets and stay cozy while retaining enough space to toss and turn as somnambulance requires. Probably came up a little short on REM time, but here I am, ready for the show without too much stress.

Set break. Another fine lecture from RG, and an inspired performance by ASQ. Somehow I missed noting the fact that the movements of the Shostakovich SQ8 run together – I caught the dramatic start to the allegro molto but then drifted away into reverie and missed the other transitions, to be caught by surprise as the piece ended. Must have been off wool-gathering! In retrospect, I wish RG had spent a little more time identifying the various themes embedded in the work – particularly the exquisite cello melody that caught my ear somewhere there in the middle of the ?fourth? movement. Molto bene!!

During the break I caught a mood to move, and so spent several minutes pacing laps in the courtyard – it was a cold morning, and walking seemed like a good way to stay warm instead of letting my body heat leak out into the chill air.

And set two? Another excellent lecture, and an even better performance from ASQ. So good, in fact, that at the end of the work, I leap to my feet and begin clapping madly. A few other folks respond similarly, but most of the audience isn't quite so enthusiastic. Must have been napping instead of listening, I say!

Back to the calendar!