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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > September > 19 > Entry
Review: Cassatt String Quartet
Captivating and full of nuance, the Cassatt String Quartet delivered a mesmerizing concert that was very warmly received Thursday night at UT’s McCullough Theatre.
The New York-based ensemble was there to feature the Texas premiere of String Quartet No. 3 “Cassatt” by Austin composer, and UT professor, Dan Welcher, a piece they commissioned from Welcher.
The quartet did so with passion, extracting considerable affection from Welcher’s complex three-part composition. Welcher based the quartet on three paintings by American impressionist, and ensemble namesake, Mary Cassatt, reproductions of which shared the stage with the musician. (That the quartet, now entering its third decade, had asked Welcher to compose its first namesake piece is an honor.)
Welcher’s appropriately very impressionistic piece made delightful use of a recurring theme that wove through the three movements. Yet each movement had a distinct profile thanks to some clever musical quoting and riffing. Shades of Gounod’s “Faust” percolated up in the atmospheric second movement; Debussy in the melodic and melancholy third. Tone and mood ruled mightily - and delightfully — in Quartet No. 3.
(The Cassatt String Quartet recently released a CD on Naxos of all three of Welcher’s quartets.)
The Cassatt finished with a breathtakingly moving performance of Ravel’s String Quartet.
Perhaps what give the Cassat String Quartet its distinction is the distinctive presence each musicians brings to her instrument. Seamless as an ensemble, Nicole Johnson, Jennifer Leshnower, Michiko Oshima and Muneko Otani nevertheless offer rare individual clarity and appeal.
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