BONNEVILLE CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL, First Presbyterian Church, Ogden, March 21

An illuminating program that paired a relatively unknown work (by an unjustly neglected composer) with one of the staples of the chamber music repertoire closed out the ninth edition of the Bonneville Chamber Music Festival Saturday.

Anton Arensky

The Russian Anton Arensky is today an obscure composer who, like so many of his contemporaries, stands in Tchaikovsky’s shadow. But his music has a lot of merit and deserves to be revived.

The work by Arensky that was on Saturday’s program, the String Quartet No. 2, op. 35, is a glorious piece that contains many different elements, not the least of which an imaginative use of Orthodox chant-like melodies that are cleverly juxtaposed with effusive, soaring melodies that could have come from Tchaikovsky’s pen. Its problem, and the main reason why it is hardly ever played today, is the fact that it is scored for the unusual quartet combination of one violin, one viola and two cellos.

Fortunately, BCMF’s founder, Viktor Uzur, is a remarkable cellist with a wonderful sense of programming and he invited his former teacher, cellist Suren Bagratuni, to join him, along with violinist Livia Sohn and violist Mikhail Bereznitsky for a spectacular performance of the Arensky.

The four put their remarkable artistry on display as they gave a probing and vibrant reading of this neglected gem. They captured the lyricism of the work with their finely crafted expressions and delivery. The work is sectional in structure, but they brought cohesion to each of the three movements with their seamless and wonderfully balanced playing.

For the Schubert, violinist and Brigham Young University faculty member Monte Belknap joined the others. Their account was magnificent as they delved into the intricacies and nuances of the score. One of Schubert’s chamber music masterpieces, the five play it as if it had been written for them. They brought out the subtleties of the music with their sensitive and beautifully molded phrasings while also delving into its romantic passion.

Their eloquent playing let the music speak for itself and made the work shimmer with lyric beauty. This was especially noticeable in the Adagio, where the five brought an otherworldly glow, even in the more stormy middle section, to their reading that was enthralling, thanks to their carefully crafted and executed delivery.