TAKÁCS QUARTET, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Jan. 15

Takács Quartet (Photo Credit: Ellen Appel)

Schubert and the Takács Quartet – there really is no better combination around today. The group understands Schubert’s music like no other ensemble, and they play his quartets as if they own them.

Of course, being consummate interpreters and superb musicians also helps immensely. They know how to delve into a score and find the essentials and create an interpretation that brings new life to well known works.

The Takács made a return visit to Salt Lake City Thursday evening, part of the Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City’s season. The program was all-Schubert: No. 12 in C minor (Quartettsatz); No. 13 in A minor (Rosamunde); and No. 14 in D minor (Death and the Maiden).

Among the composer’s final quartets (the great G major, D. 887, was his last), these three are all very different from each other. And the four players underscored that in their perceptive readings.

The Quartettsatz, another one of the composer’s unfinished works, is a deftly constructed piece that effectively contrasts the stormy main theme with more lyrical motives. The four players brought out this dichotomy wonderfully. Their playing was passionate where needed while maintaining a seamless lyricism throughout. It was an effusive account full of vibrancy and with a sense of spontaneity. Their interpretation certainly showed that this is a movement that is a completely contained work in itself and can stand well on its own.

The Takács paired this with the Rosamunde Quartet in the first half.

Offering stark contrast to the preceding work, the Rosamunde exudes a warmth that is tinged with sadness. It’s laden with feeling but isn’t weighed down at all by pathos. This isn’t Shostakovich, after all. Schubert knows how to temper tragedy without bogging it down in remorse or worse, self pity. There is a definite streak of hope and lively spirit in the music; there is more than just a glimmer of sunshine in the murky night.

The foursome knew how to explore that. Their well formulated phrasings and execution were infused with wonderfully nuanced expressions. There was also a  quiet energy that coursed through their reading that gave it potency and a sense of urgency.

The second half was devoted to the Death and the Maiden Quartet, which the Takács played with passionate energy and romantic expressiveness. They captured the dramatic tension of the work with their finely honed execution and subtly nuanced delivery.

The second movement Andante con moto, a set of variations on the composer’s Lied of the same name, was without question the highlight of the evening. It is exquisite music that was played with feeling and emphasized the delightful conversational nature of this movement. Their reading was gorgeously nuanced, engaging and poetic.