Double and deeply moved

With no fewer than seven concerts in nine days, Alina Ibragimova, Nils Mönkemeyer, Christian Poltéra and William Youn are currently blazing through Germany. The newly assembled ensemble also crossed the border and delighted deSingel with piano quartets by Mozart, Brahms and … Mahler.

In pop and rock music, they call this a supergroup. Because each member of this unpublished ensemble also has a flourishing solo career and, equally importantly, has been active as a chamber musician for many years. Violinist Ibragimova is principal of the acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet, violist Mönkemeyer helped found the Julia Fisher Quartett and cellist Christian Poltéra is part of the Trio Zimmermann. On pianist William Youn's Facebook page, we read: "I love chamber music, always have and always will, and I am very glad that it plays such a big role in my life as a musician." So this evening, more than enough talent, experience and enthusiasm took the stage to make it a gripping performance. Moreover, the program was of equally high quality. The quartets for piano(forte) and strings by Mozart and Brahms are among the very best in the genre anyway. Both are even in a class of their own. But the quartet began with a unique work: the only chamber music piece we know by Mahler.

When you mention Gustav Mahler, you naturally think first of singing symphonies and orchestral songs. As a composer, that was his core business for a lifetime. But as befits an inquisitive student, he did not shy away from chamber music experimentation during his years at the Vienna Conservatory (1875-1878). On the contrary, Mahler's first compositions were almost exclusively chamber music works. During his studies, young Gustav even won prizes twice for – note well – the opening movement and a scherzo from a quintet for piano and strings. Those examples have unfortunately been lost, as have many of his other works from this period. Or so it is assumed anyway. In the 1960s, however, the first movement of a piano quartet emerged that was first performed publicly in New York in 1964. The convincing way in which this approximately ten-minute Klavierquartettsatz combines dramatic power with warm-blooded lyricism makes us regret that Mahler never returned to this medium. Ibragimova and her male companions gave it an equally poignant and compelling rendition. Between the ominous chords in the piano with which Mahler begins (Nicht zu schnell) and the fading pizzicatos at the end, we heard one block of intensity. Ibragimova and Mönkemeyer drove each other forward with determination towards the greatest possible expressivity. "There has to be passion",

Manic energy

In a letter to his father Leopold, a confident Mozart wrote on February 7, 1778: "[…] denn ich kann so ziemlich, wie sie wissen, alle art und styl vom Compositions annehmen und nachahmen." And that was, what did you think, certainly not an exaggeration. This became clear once again when Wolfgang, just over seven years later, was asked by colleague and publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister to compose three piano quartets. It was a genre that was still in its infancy at the time. In the examples that existed, the strings still had a subordinate role. When Mozart delivered his first example in mid-October 1785 – a three-movement piano concerto in pocket format – it soon became clear that those days were over. The fact that the work was thus beyond the reach of amateurs and music lovers had an impact on sales figures, to the extent that Hoffmeister promptly cancelled his order. But whoever hears this piano quartet today is repeatedly charmed by the great joy of play that this music evokes. So too this evening. As Dirk Mommertz, pianist of the Fauré Quartett, argues in the video below: chamber music is the highest form of communication. And the first movement (Allegro), like the fourth string quintet (KV 516) and the fortieth symphony (KV 550) in the minor key of G, provides a wonderful example of this. The constant dialogue that the four musicians thus conducted, now serious and now sparkling, sounded very spontaneous, anything but theatrical. They reacted cleverly to each other's ideas, which especially in the beautiful working-through led to refined ensemble playing. Youn proved to be a pianist attentive to balance and clear intonation. Also in the gentle Andante, the quartet coupled refinement with restraint and empathy. Now and then the score was adorned with a subtle ornament. Attention to dynamic nuance completed it perfectly. In the melodious finale, every trace of routine was ultimately avoided (Allegro moderato). Rather, it seemed as if the audience was discovering the music together with the performers for the first time: full of freshness, sometimes with a slightly more acerbic sound, but always bearing witness to an unmistakable genius. The heart loves all beautiful things. And so Mozart speaks directly to us, touches us deep in the soul.

Brahms's chamber music is generally not so easy to digest. It does not give up its secrets so quickly, sometimes sits less comfortably on the ear, but for that very reason offers all the more satisfaction when the many notes seem to fall precisely into place. At those moments, it sometimes swings delightfully over the top. As in the lively finale of his third (and last) piano quartet, for example. Yet the tenor of this work is not one to make you cheerful. "You may place an image on the title page, namely a head with a pistol in front of it. Now you can get an idea of the music!", thus wrote a somewhat ironic Brahms in 1875 to his publisher Fritz Simrock. The occasion for this suicidal flirtation was his impossible love for Clara Schumann, which the composer would struggle with to a greater or lesser degree throughout his life, and which is expressed in opus 60 in a most tempestuous dramatic manner. This earned this piano quartet the nickname Werther, after Goethe's tragic but hugely popular 19th-century novel character. None other than Clara herself proved particularly delighted with the final result, although she also had her reservations: "I have thought a great deal about the quartet; the three last movements have deeply moved my heart, but, if I may be so bold as to say so, I find the first not at the same level; it lacks the fresh vigour for me." The largely somber first movement is indeed far from a joke (Allegro non troppo). And yet the almost manic energy with which the quartet overwhelmed the listeners was a pleasure to hear. While Youn pushed through with particular vigor, Ibragimova and company let the strings sigh and screech. That struggle continued unabated in the ensuing scherzo (Allegro). Only the pianist choked somewhat on his brusquely articulated drumming at first. His fellow players too were more than willing to go the rough route: the contrast with the Mozart before the interval could not have been greater. The opening of the tender Andante was then the signal to fully enjoy the splendid 'Mara' Stradivarius of Poltéra, although his fellow string players phrased their parts with equal feeling. In the Allegro comodo, the playing was somewhat too cautiously safe. The pianist started rather sluggishly with the fluctuating main theme, causing the finale not to dart out fully. Yet it was not long before the rougher edges were accentuated here too. But despite all the tumult, the sound remained coherent. An enthusiastic applause followed, and that was thoroughly deserved.

The next morning, Poltéra told me after the concert in the artists' foyer, the newly assembled ensemble had to hit the road terribly early heading towards the South German Göppingen. That there was no encore, was quite understandable. But even without an extra piece, it is fitting to paraphrase a verse by Vestdijk here: And no one mourns … who was present at this concert.

• WHAT: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) – Klavierquartettsatz in a | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – Quartet for piano and strings no. 1 in g (KV 478) | Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) – Quartet for piano and strings no. 3 in c (opus 60)
• WHO: Alina Ibragimova (violin), Nils Mönkemeyer (viola), Christian Poltéra (cello) and William Youn (piano)
• WHERE: deSingel, Antwerpen
• WHEN: Thursday 4 April 2019
• PHOTOS: © Sussie Ahlburg | Irène Zandel | Neda Navaee