The nine quartets competing for more than $500,000 worth of cash and career development support at the 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition were all asked on Friday morning (Aug. 29) to perform Kati Agócs’ new nine-minute string quartet, Rapprochement, her third piece in the genre. All nine had had an opportunity to discuss their interpretations of the new work during the competition week with the composer. They received her score in May.
Agócs writes in her performance notes for the score: “Slurs, dynamic shaping, and articulative markings are suggested only. They are meant as a starting point and can be modified/developed collaboratively by the players, as long as the overall forward motion and trajectory of the piece are maintained.” She adds, “In the interpretation of Rapprochement, players are encouraged to think about vocal models.”
And so with that and perhaps other advice, each quartet brought to the Jenny Belzberg Theatre a relatively small range of interpretations of this world premiere, and the audience of about 500 seemed happy with all of them. One reason may have been that Agócs has a penchant for lyricism; she writes a tune one may find oneself humming at the end of a performance. In the case of Rapprochement, the flavour of its most prominent lyrical element might generically be referred to as middle eastern; melodic lines with a harmonic minor interval arrangement, or some modal variation on that sound,
Another feature of the piece was how its many ideas flowed from one to the next in a narrative that never jarred, although there were spots that did rise to a dramatic peak, however briefly. Much of the piece maintained a wistful, harmonically accessible quality; pleasing music as opposed to the gnarly sort of new music that competitors have faced in past competitions. I’m thinking of Zosha Di Castri’s String Quartet No. 1 in 2016, and Vivian Fung’s String Quartet No. 3 in 2013, to a lesser extent. (There has been a new Canadian commission for every BISQC going back to its beginning in 1983.)
Most of the quartets opted for a subdued, wispy opening. KAIRI and Viatores started ethereally. HANA, Nerida and Magenta offered what might be called a more matter-of-fact approach. Poiesis was somewhere in between. The piece called for a few, what might be called, outbursts. The early minutes and the last section featured the middle-eastern melody, played by the lower voices. The cellists, I suppose, brought the vocal sensibility to the music that Agócs invited them to consider. I’ve liked the attitude of Elmire’s cellist in every round so far, and he gave that cantabile element of the piece a relaxed, confident performance.
In the middle, Agócs introduces some mellow syncopated interplay and occasional stratospheric violin notes that heighten the tension without ever presaging more provocative emotions. The quartets utilized tempi that were similar overall, given the relatively strict time restriction placed on the commission.
Agócs wrote a piece for this competition that, because of the way Banff arranges numerous concerts for the winner throughout North America and Europe, will be heard by thousands of listeners. This is not typical for new works, and I suspect the ensembles that take her Rapprochement on the road will share their experience with the piece happily. But no audience will have to hear it nine times in a row!
