Calidore String Quartet at Phillips

After years of observation, I have concluded that string quartets are trained differently in Europe than in the United States. Here, our young prize-winning groups have clearly been drilled to a fare-thee-well on matching and intonation, principally. Across the Atlantic, those elements are certainly important, but such young European quartets as the Quatuor Ébène, the Pavel Haas and the Belcea are more about developing an individual profile and creating a particular sound concept.
This contrast was supported on Sunday at the Phillips Collection, where the Calidore String Quartet, a fine group formed only four years ago at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, made its D.C. debut. The level of micro-nuance the group achieves with timing and tempo is quite rare. The ebb and flow must be meticulously rehearsed but also sound natural and spontaneous. The quartet’s clarity in pianissimo passages also is extraordinary, and its intonation (the hardest thing of all in a medium that seems to amplify the tiniest flaw) is already world class.

But although these elements are necessary, they are not sufficient. It’s not enough to impress with unanimity, accuracy and cleanliness, however rare. Beauty of sound, and individual expression from each player, must anchor everything. In this regard, the Calidore is bottom heavy; its cellist, Estelle Choi, outplayed her three colleagues in every phrase. First violinist Jeffrey Myers was solid and fastidious to a fault, but the tone never bloomed and grabbed the ear, as it did with Choi. Myers needs to learn to caress the line more, to occasionally sound like a soloist than just a good team player. (The Guarneri Quartet made an entire career out of this concept.) The two inner voices (Ryan Meehan on violin and Jeremy Berry on viola) were excellent but, again, they more focused on blend than on individual expression.
The program featured two classical works (Haydn and Beethoven) bookending a local premiere of “Entr’acte” by Caroline Shaw, an immensely gifted violinist and singer who won a Pulitzer Prize in composition last year. Her piece is full of ideas — quirky, whimsical and thoughtful — and blends old and new in ear-catching ways. It makes you want to hear more from her, which we likely will, as Shaw is now in residency at Dumbarton Oaks. A most stimulating afternoon, from all concerned.