On Friday January 29th I had the pleasure and honour of attending a performance of the Tokyo String Quartet with Andrew and Karen Dawes. This was very exciting as Andy was  frist violin of the Tokyo for more than a year  touring and concertising. It was also fitting that while Andy was on tour with the Tokyo, present first violin Martin Beaver filled Andy's position at the University taking on Andy's students.

We pulled up the the Church, which was packed, and we went immediately backstage where there was much good cheer at the reunion of these musicians.

It was exhilerating to be sitting with mentor and friend Andrew Dawes as I listened with rapt attention to the music he has performed so often and so beautifully. The Tokyo Quartet performed with astonishing refinement, beauty and grace. The sound was so perfectly blended and balanced I felt a sort of ecstasy just from the beauty of the sonority. They performed on the matching Stradivarius instruments known as The Paganini Quartet" on loan form the Nippon Music Foundation.

The Tokyo opened with the "Sunrise"  Quartet in B flat major Opus 76 No. 4 by Franz Joseph Haydn. I was immediately mesmerised by the transparency and elasticity in the sound. The approach was urbane and tasteful, with delicious control of the bow, articulations were clear and precise, and the phrasings were bouyant with wonderful interplay, and ease in the sound.

The Alban Berg  Quartet opus 3 (1910) was such a treat to hear, beginning with a spellbinding solo from Kikuei Ikeda and continuing throughout with natural phrasings letting the music at times sigh and breath, and at times come forcefully into play with strong rhythmic impetus and gorgeous interplay of voicings. This is one of the first works Andrew Dawes recorded with the Orford Quartet  in 1968.

The Schubert "Death and the Maiden" Quartet No. 14 in d minor was big and full of life pasion drive and brilliance, and also gentle tender and delicate. For me the ultimate moment was the indescribable pianissimo reached  in the Andante con moto movement which was like the gentle kiss of a young lover.... absolutely breathtaking.

All in all, the concert was superb with all musicians weaving gorgeous and intricate texture while the solo lines floated above, inside and throughout the inner voicings. Martin Beaver was flawless throughout performing with mastery ease and beauty, as was Clive Greensmith a wonderful presence carrying melodic lines with grace in the Haydn, commanding presence in the Berg and driving the melodic lines in the Schubert, but never once did the solo voices take over the ensemble. The inner voices created  a myriad of textures and dynamics, structuring and constructiong crescendi and diminuendi to wonderful effect and really bringing the repertoire to life. This was truly as inspirational concert awakening our senses and touching all of our emotions. BRAVO!