by Angela Sutton
Berlin-based Artemis Quartet appeared at LPR on Tuesday night—minus violinist Natalia Prishepenko, due to unforeseen circumstances. This unfortunate absence, however, merely redirected the ensemble's performance with collaborator Jacques Ammon into different and exciting territories.
The touring members—violinist Gregor Sigl, violist Friedemann Weigle, and cellist Eckart Runge—began with selected movements from Beethoven's String Trio Op. 9/3, serving notice that this would be no ordinary chamber concert. Their group conception was excellent, and particularly in the Adagio, Mr. Sigl performed a quiet tour de force on the featured violin part.
Pianist Jacques Ammon took the stage next, joining the strings for the Adagio and Finale of the Brahms Op. 26 Piano Quartet. The Adagio—the emotional core of the work—developed a shimmering, ethereal sound that truly lay open the players' hearts before continuing with the earthy, rollicking Finale, giving Mr. Ammon the opportunity to show his prodigious chops at the keyboard.
After a short break, Mr. Ammon and Mr. Runge returned to lead a tour of the South American tango. Working from memory, the two presented arrangements of a selection of Carlos Gardel songs, followed by a dance piece using traditional tango rhythms. This group of works ventured outside of the box, featuring moments of improv and a wide range of cello sounds that included slides and percussive effects.
The rest of the strings returned for more tango-inspired music; in this case, movements from the "Angel" suite by Astor Piazzolla. Piazzolla dropped classical rigor and jazz figuration into the tango pot, something he was criticized for during his lifetime. Nonetheless, his work revitalized the tango as a vital art form, and Artemis made a case for its importance with their vigorous performance. They played with both intense focus and abandon, never once losing the charm of its snaky rhythmic thread.