Quartet shows it's quality

The concerts in this year's festival are geographically more widely dispersed than in previous years, for the first time covering both the most southern and northern points of the county (Ulverston in the south and Carlisle in the north) and it was pleasing to see Ulverston's recently refurbished Coronation Hall almost full for this fine opening concert.

One of the threads running through the programmes this year is the music of Mozart, Dvork and Jnacek so it was good to hear music by all three composers in one programme.

Mozart's String Quartet in B flat major, K585, written at a time when the composer was beset with anxieties over money, his own and his wife's health, opened the concert. None of these inner tensions show through in this finely-wrought work which bubbles with vitality - fully released in this finely controlled but exciting performance.

Jnacek's passionate second string quartet, which the composer himself entitled Intimate Letters, followed the Mozart. This is an autobiographical work in which the composer expresses his emotional turmoil as he seeks to come to terms with his obsessive and unrequited love for a married woman less then half his age. The inner tensions of this work make huge technical and musical demands of the performers who released all the inherent drama with control and energy.

The evening concluded with Dvorak's energetic and lyrical String Quartet in G major Op 106. The warmth of the quartet's playing allowed the composer's lyrical lines to shine through the often dense texture.

The playing throughout the evening showed why the Chilingirian Quartet is so highly regarded. All four players show complete mastery of the string quartet medium, playing with commitment and technical mastery, and always getting to the emotional heart of whatever they play.

The LDSM festival runs until August 14.

For further details contact the box office on 08456-442144.

Clive Walkley