The crown of chamber music in the creativity of composers of classicism and romanticism, and still according to contemporary music, has always been the writing of string quartets. Santa Barbara Artists - Violinists Jessica Guideri i Ina Velji, violist Different Rinearson and a cellist Trevor Hand, as a string quartet, performed on Thursday, in the monastery of the Church of St. Nikola on Prčanje.
They brought crucial works from those two eras to KotorArt - the classicist String Quartet in D major, K. 575 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the romantic String Quartet in F major, Op. 98 Antony Dvořák, but also a contemporary work of that genre, Jesse Montgomery.
KotorArt has been cooperating with artists from Santa Barbara for several years, supporting the fraternity between that city and Kotor from the position of a cultural employee. The previous focus of cooperation, which was mainly on young artists and their exchange, was expanded by adding this string quartet to this year's festival program. The performers are members of the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra. The first violinist of the quartet, Jesika Guideri, is the orchestra's concert master, while Ina Velji is her deputy. Erik Rinearson is the leader of the viola section and Trevor Handy of the cello section. It is interesting that artists build their careers playing simultaneously in several orchestras and ensembles, as well as that they are very dedicated to the film industry by recording music for famous directors and films.
Monastery of the Church of St. Nikole na Prčanje, as a concert venue, was discovered by KotorArt many years ago and included in its permanent locations. It is not only about the inspiring space of the atrium, but also about the acoustics, which, as was shown at the previous concert, are suitable for chamber music. Given this, the echo is almost inaudible - the atrium is, after all, in an open space, interpretations can be directed towards the repertoire of a more subtle and elegant musical narrative. That is why, in the performance of Mozart's Quartet, which in terms of form and texture is highly reviewed and as the first in a series of so-called of the Prussian quartets based on the tradition of Haydn, the artists easily highlighted the leading melodic lines in their mutual dialogue. Without perfection that would strive for perfection, the musical interpretation had elements to remain a counterbalance to the Quartet Antony Dvořák, known as American. In this regard, the composer's references to American folklore, first of all African Americans, then Indians and Irish, were not difficult to perceive aurally, even the sound onomatopoeia of the bird in the first movement, although it is often contested in musicological analyses.
Between these two antipodes in terms of style and poetics, the artists performed the one-movement piece “Sturm” by American author Jessie Montgomery, winner of the Grammy Award and Composer of the Year in the USA (2023). Although at first glance the program concept seems like a stylistic roller coaster, a sudden jump from classicism to contemporary music and then a turn towards romanticism, it is always valuable to present contemporary pieces, especially those that in today's world of mass production and high competition cannot easily reach concert halls in our region. However, this stylistic tremor was mitigated, because the work "Sturm" served as a musical key word for Dvořák. In addition to the fact that in a relatively short space - the composition lasts about seven minutes, they showed technical dexterity and skill in presenting the diversity of the basic pizzicato motif, the artists highlighted the author's inspiration from American folklore and thus hinted at the poetic world of Dvořák.
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