New York Classical Review

Carnegie Hall’s “United in Sound: America at 250” series this season has already made for a substantial, though subtle, change in the classical music fabric in New York. The American classical repertoire is packed with not only some of the finest works in all of the tradition, but music that is from and about our culture and history—the Germans get their music and the French theirs as a matter of course, and we deserve ours.

Getting more of that than the usual, even just for a special occasion, has been welcome. But there’s been some limit, as many programs have mixed American music with European. While context is always useful, that’s what one gets every season. 

So Thursday night’s beautiful, expressively robust all-American concert from the Calder Quartet in Weill Recital Hall also had the deep pleasure of reflecting the special quality of American culture to the audience,

This was a fantastic program that spanned eras and stylistic voices. There was a 21st-century work by Andrew Norman to open the second half, and surrounding it were 20th-century string quartets from Philip Glass, Ben Johnston, Samuel Barber, and Florence Price—romanticism, modernism, minimalism, experimentalism, the fundamental American quality of creating a clear, organic voice that has no obligation to any previous national or aesthetic tradition. 

Glass’s String Quartet No. 2, “Company,” was first, and set a marker for the evening. The Calder is yet another top-level string quartet in the current golden age for the ensembles, and they play with a notably elegant sound, always with the right color and the right size, in an easy yet concentrated manner. They played this succinct piece—less a full quartet then an integrated set of cues for a Samuel Beckett play—with a romantic touch, a relaxed relationship to the beat, and an appreciation for Glass’ melodic talent.

That was part of the ongoing pleasure of hearing more and more mainstream ensembles bringing Glass into their repertoire. There was the same feeling around Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 4, “Amazing Grace.” But while Glass is famous, violist Jonathan Moerschel introduced the piece by quoting a critic that Johnston was the “most famous unknown composer in America.”

Johnston studied with Harry Partch and like him used microtonality, though centered around just intonation systems. String Quartet No. 4 is rarely heard because it’s one of the more difficult ones to play. 

It’s also the finest American string quartet. It has an experimentalism equal to Ruth Crawford Seeger’s String Quartet with the earthy communicative core of one of the most well-known tunes in American culture. Johnston treats it as a theme and variations, slicing it into ever more refined microtonal phrases and increasingly complex micro-rhythms.

This is extremely difficult to play well, but played well it’s absolutely glorious. The technical structure is clear and staggering to comprehend even as one hears “Amazing Grace” just as clearly. It is one of the utmost American cultural achievements, the profound realization in sound of the Whitman-esque idea that the most common, plainspoken thing can also be the most experimental, and that experimentalism is also authenticity.

The Calder’s playing was fantastic, the intonation precise even while gliding into ever finer-gradations. Solo lines from second violinist Tereza Stanislav and cellist Eric Byers were exceptional. Expressive power expanded with each variation, new corners welcoming the exalted catharsis the hymn delivers. 

With more to come, the quartet stepped offstage for a few minutes, a wise move to avoid anti-climax. Barber’s sole Quartet was next. This also felt perfect, the right amount of force for the aggressive opening statement, emotion but without pathos for the famous Molto adagio in the middle. Ensemble sound was sinewy and full, and the pace in each movement felt ideal. It was also remarkable that, through the quartet’s playing, Barber’s far more mainstream work sounded right at home next to Johnston.

There was also a sympathetic relationship between Barber and Andrew Norman’s one-movement fantasy Sabina. The piece was inspired by a visit Norman took to the Church of Santa Sabina in Rome. He sets aside his usual playful energy for the sonic representation of his memories, starting with the morning light filtering in quiet washes of sul ponticello lines and rocking arpeggios. The contemporary means follow a traditional form of fragments coming together with greater density and clearer direction, rising to a climax, then taking a beat for everything and everyone to catch their breath, and let it all go.

For the finale, Calder played Florence Price’s String Quartet No. 2. This was recovered, by happy accident, from her papers after her death. It was a superb balance with “Amazing Grace,” the same vernacular American core—Price uses a lot of hymn-like phrases and gestures in more traditional form and style—and the cultural poignancy of following Dvořák as model not only for how to structure a string quartet but where to find the sound. For him and Price, that was in the riches of American culture.

This is a lovely work—the second movement Andante cantabile has become a string orchestra piece in the repertoire—full of lyrical lines that leave a lasting impression. It often seems like a set of songs without words, especially in the opening sonata-allegro Moderato movement and the following one. 

The Calder played with phrasing that had subtle touchings that followed how a singer might breathe and shape words. Price’s craft in this piece was just right in every way, the thematic material, the large-scale shape, the duration of each idea, coming together with balanced proportions and complete satisfaction.

The encore was, amazingly, more Johnston, the “Slow, Expressive” movement from his String Quartet No. 9. This was more hymn-like music, original this time, Johnston’s tuning—more exacting intonation from the quartet—coming together like the weary but happy choir of a small congregation at the end of a long, hard spell.

Decoda plays Ives, William Grant Still, Carlos Simon, Florence Price, and more, 7:30 p.m., May 12. carneghehall.org