Calder Quartet members Tereza Stanislav, Benjamin Jacobson, Eric Byers, and Jonathan Moerschel (photograph by Jesse Holland, courtesy of SFP)
Last night the Calder Quartet returned to Herbst Theatre for their second appearance in the San Francisco Performances (SFP) Shenson Chamber Series. The quartet, whose members are violinists Benjamin Jacobson and Tereza Stanislav, violist Jonathan Moerschel, and cellist Eric Byers, launched the series this past October, when they performed with pianist Timo Andres. This time they partnered with the deaf choreographer Antoine Hunter, who performed with two members of his Urban Jazz Dance Company. The title of the program was The Mind’s Ear: Motion Beyond Silence; and, sadly, only one of the two dancers that joined Hunter was cited by name: Zahna Simon (which could only be found in the “press area” of the SFP Web site).
The high point of the evening extended through the entire second half of the program. Hunter began with a solo performance in total silence. Through his movements, however, he communicated to the audience to encourage them to join him through a series of his motions. This resulted in a “concert experience” that was probably unique to everyone in that audience.
Following the perfect silence of that episode, the Calder Quartet took the stage to perform the original version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 130 quartet in B-flat major. That is the version that concluded with the “Große Fuge” movement, which, taken on its own, usually lasts for more than a quarter of an hour. Since this was the last of six movements, Beethoven composed an alternative final movement, an Allegro that is about five minutes shorter. The fugue was then published separately as Opus 133.
Those that recall my preview article for this concert know that Paul Taylor tried to create choreography for this music, and the result was one of the more annoying performances I had to review in my early days as a dance critic! Hunter was perceptive enough to recognize the folly of that undertaking, so he confined his choreography to only three of the movements. One of those was an obvious choice, the fourth, in E-flat major, an Allegro assai identified as “Alla danza tedesca” (in the manner of a German dance). He also created a solo for himself set to the second (Presto) movement in B-flat minor. All three dancers then contributed to the choreography for the “Große Fuge.”
Calder could not have given a more convincing account of the music. They knew exactly how to pace themselves through the full duration of this extended journey. Where the choreographed movements were concerned, it was clear that their tempo selections accommodated the needs of the dancers. In spite of the extended duration, the pace was such that both dancers and attentive listeners were ready for the final movement, which the Calder players delivered as the wild ride that gave due justice to every note that Beethoven wrote.
The evening began with a very brief quartet composition by Julius Eastman entitled “Joy Boy.” This was very much a “mood” composition; and it is one that I hope I shall be able to get to know better. It was followed by music that was actually composed for choreography. The work that John Cage entitled “String Quartet in Four Parts” was inspired by an orchestral work created for Merce Cunningham’s dance, “The Seasons.” In following the program, the listener could appreciate how those seasons were ordered, as well as the tonal and rhythmic ambiguities evoked for summer, autumn, and winter. It is only with the emergence of spring that a distinctively clearer rhetoric emerged in the form of a quodlibet. The entire cycle was danced by Simon and the other unnamed Urban Jazz member, making for a thoroughly memorable experience.
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