PACIFICA QUARTET, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Jan. 18

The world of string quartets is crowded today to the point where one can be choosy in picking favorites. But one group to be reckoned with in the concert hall and recording studio is the Pacifica Quartet. The members are consummate musicians whose musicality, technique and ensemble playing is impeccable. The four bring passion, feeling and a rich palette of emotions and expressions to bear in everything they play.

The Pacifica returned to Libby Gardner Concert Hall Wednesday, thanks to the Chamber

Pacifica Quartet (Photo Credit: Anthony Parmelee)

Music Society of Salt Lake City, with a memorable program of music by Nikolai Miaskovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Miaskovksy’s Quartet No. 13 in A minor, op. 86, which opened the concert, is on the first of their planned four-album set of the complete Shostakovich quartets that also includes pieces by his contemporaries. And the high caliber of playing on the recording was at hand at Wednesday’s performance.

The A minor Quartet is an interesting mix. One hears shades of romanticism a la Tchaikovsky and hints of Shostakovich. But Miaskovsky doesn’t slavishly imitate either. He music is uniquely his own. And the Pacifica gave a wonderfully lyrical account that captured this forcefully. They brought passion, feeling and emotion to their playing.

Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 9, op. 117, rounded out the first half. Shostakovich’s quartets, like his symphonies, are large scale works. There is a lot to be gotten from them, even without trying to read between the lines (which is risky, especially with Shostakovich’s music, since one can always find some sort of psychological interpretation where there is none). But taken at face value, the 15 quartets are significant contributions to the literature.

The Ninth is intense, dark, driven and at times ominous. The Pacifica played it with forceful articulation and delivery. Their account was nuanced and beautifully phrased. They delved into the core of the work and brought an intimacy to their interpretation that was wonderfully effective and compelling. The work is heavy but they didn’t fall into the trap of playing it with a heavy hand. Everything flowed effortlessly.

Closing out the evening was Beethoven’s first Rasumovsky Quartet, op. 59, no. 1. The four colleagues captured the scope and depth of the work with their musical reading. Their playing was lyrical and engaging and brought a freshness to their account that made the music come alive. It was a beautifully crafted and executed performance that didn’t miss any of the work’s nuances and subtleties.