Review: Harlem Quartet proves order counts

by Tom Aldridge
What happens when - half an hour before their concert is scheduled to begin - the performers discover they left the music of one of their program's three works back at their hotel on Indy's far Northside? TheEnsemble Music Society president quickly dispatched a "runner" to retrieve the Harlem String Quartet's scores while nimbly negotiating our streets without garnering a speeding ticket. Jazz composer Chick Corea's string quartet entitled The Adventures of Hippocrates (2004) was the forgotten item. To play it safe, the program's two halves were switched such that it became the final offering.

And that ordering was thus regrettable, as the four-movement Hippocrates falls into that unhappy no-man's land between jazz and modernism, failing to convince in either one. As announced from the stage, the movements are titled "tango," "waltz," "funk" and "Bach fugue-like." While the rhythms for the first two were spot on, the final two were a wandering mish mash, with no fugal structure really heard. This was a crossover piece that got stuck in the middle.

Mozart's Quartet No. 15 in D Minor, K. 421, preceding the Corea, had been scheduled to begin the program. The second of the six quartets Mozart dedicated to Haydn, it is certainly mature Mozart, perhaps a bit less inspired than his No. 14 and No. 16, but with a strong minuet and trio. The Harlem players - violinists Ilmar Gavilán and Melissa White; violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez; and cellist Paul Wiancko - gave it a well polished reading with good balance among the four and a tendency toward being lean-toned.

The latter performance element had a worse effect on Schubert's great "Death and the Maiden" Quartet (No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810), played first but scheduled last. Filled with impassioned drama (rhythmically including the Beethoven Fifth's four-note "fate" motive) inseparably linked with supreme Schubertian melody, the 40-minute work lacked a vibrant sonority in the sustained lines. The Harlem ensemble thus gave us their best playing in the two fast outer movements. I imagine they'll never forget a score again. March 14 at the Indiana History Center.

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Harlem Quartet Takes The 'A' Train In Boston

The members of the Harlem Quartet (from left: Ilmar Gavilan, Desmond Neysmith, Melissa White and Juan-Miguel Hernandez) were each top prize winners at the Sphinx Competition for Black and Latino string players

September 24, 2009When I first heard about the Harlem Quartet, I admit, I was not immediately enthused. It seemed as if it might be just another group of young players on a social mission — gifted with more energy and enthusiasm than talent. I have been eating crow ever since.

From the moment they put their bows to strings in this studio performance, something extraordinary was evident. I heard an assured technique, a vibrant tone and, yes, enough energy to be harnessed as a new source of green power. The Harlem Quartet was formed at Detroit's Sphinx Competition, which is open to all junior-high, high-school and college-age black and Latino string players residing in the U.S. The Sphinx goal is "to encourage, develop and recognize classical music talent in the black and Latino communities."

The Harlem Quartet's members come from very different communities themselves, with roots in Cuba, Canada, Britain and the U.S. From those backgrounds, and from the Sphinx influence, they cultivate a refreshing range of music. They play great tunes by iconic jazz composers, as well as traditional classical pieces. Sometimes the two intersect: In this studio session, they play Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train," but in an arrangement by the contemporary American composer Paul Chihara.

But the real test — dispelling forever any concern I may have had — is in Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F. This is a fantastically challenging piece, requiring not only a constant sharp focus on the technical demands, but also a refined flexibility of tone and timbre. I am elated to say that the Harlem Quartet's performance, live in our studio, is equal to the very best we have in our library stretching back 25 years.