The Jasper String Quartet answered our call for help. We had an unexpected cancellation by a group that had played for us before. We had a concert date set at the Vancouver Playhouse but no artists. And we always want to ensure that we continue to present the world’s best chamber music for our audience. Now, with the willing help of the Jasper String Quartet we could do that while taking an unanticipated opportunity to experience a new group.
These dedicated American musicians added our concert date to their current tour itinerary. That meant catching flights from the eastern USA to Vancouver, arriving on Monday evening, and leaving early Wednesday to then fly back again for a Thursday concert on the Eastern Seaboard.
Violinists J Freivogel and Karen Kim, violist Andrew Gonzalez, and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel spent extra time travelling from east to west for us so that they could play their first ever concert in Vancouver. And they gave us an evening of passion and precision, with some achingly beautiful slow melodies. Their delivery of some familiar and some adventurous music warmed the ears and hearts of our audience members on a chilly, very wet, late October evening.
One quality of the quartet members’ shared artistry that stood out was seeing and hearing their capacity to communicate with each other about details of their performance. They listened carefully back and forth while building the timbral architecture and aural tension of the music in all three works on the programme.
The evening once again started with a Haydn quartet, coincidentally following on from our concert two weeks ago that featured the composer’s Opus 76 No. 4 “Sunrise”, this time leading off with his Opus 76 No. 5. While the Jasper String Quartet traversed this late Haydn masterpiece with less swing and humour than what we heard from the Aris Quartett a fortnight ago, they brought an elegant suspense and tautness coupled with melodic charm and moments of stillness that warmed our hearts.
Then came the biggest surprise of the evening. Second violinist Karen Kim introduced us to Gabriela Lena Frank, a new-to-us Peruvian-American composer. She told us that the music, “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout” from 2001, would have the sounds of Andean music emerging from the four European string instruments of the quartet. When they played, we could hear that she – and the composer – were absolutely correct. Our musically sophisticated audience was entranced and listened intently. When the quartet finished playing, the applause was enthusiastic and prolonged. During intermission, one longtime subscriber commented, “I wish I could hear that music again soon to figure out and enjoy even more of it.”
After the break, the musicians gave us a rendition of Claude Debussy’s only string quartet, one of his key works that led to the French “impressionist” musical transformation near the turn of the 20th Century. The playing was pleasingly transparent, allowing us to hear each of the layered motifs played together by all four musicians. To achieve this sort of “effortless” transparency in sound and structure takes training, hard work, and careful listening, as well as controlled tone. All while making the combined sound musical and building the overarching music structures. This was a delicious interpretation that finished an evening of masterful music-making.
Our audience was duly impressed, giving them an ovation lasting several curtain calls. As people left the hall in small groups, several groups commented that they would like to hear this ensemble again. Sometimes being a surprise last minute substitute can lead to a more regularly scheduled appearance, and that should be the result for the Jasper String Quartet.
Meanwhile, we hope that all of you will join us for our next presentation, the last of 2025, when we continue to bring the world’s best chamber music to Vancouver. The Quatuor Modigliani from France take a break from their current residency at Radio France to make a welcome return, playing music by Haydn (surprise), György Kurtág, and Johannes Brahms.
The concerts in our 2025-2026 season are dedicated to the memory of our long-serving volunteer board member, the late Eric Wilson (1927-2025). Eric booked all the groups playing for us this season except the Jasper String Quartet. Tickets for the Quatuor Modigliani as well as the seven concerts in the spring (2026) can be obtained at:
https://friendsofchambermusic.ca/
