As a chilly rain fell outside, interspersed with blankets of rolling fog, the music of a long dead 18th-century composer worked its magic inside the Goldfarb Library. The award winning Lydian String Quartet's rendition of Beethoven's "Quartet in G major, Op. 18, No.2" - played last Wednesday at noon in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall - was good enough to ensure that all in attendance forgot about the dreary weather that day. I'll be honest, I know next to nothing about classical music or musical theory. I can't tell an oratorio from a toccata. To me, an allemande might as well be the same thing as a ritornello. Yet I know when something sounds pleasing or is enjoyable to listen to, and the free concert the Lydian String Quartet gave last week - the first in a series - was immensely pleasing. I felt reassured that my enjoyment of the performance was valid when, at the end of each movement and at the end of the pieces, the presumably musically educated audience smiled, breaking into a loud applause.

The quartet performed for a mostly filled Rapaporte Treasure Hall of a crowd of about 30-40 attentive listeners. Almost all in attendance were captivated by the quartet's performance, sitting quietly and completely focused while listening to the music. Their attention was certainly not on the ceaseless patter of the rain outside.

The quartet began their performance with the aforementioned Beethoven piece. It was a beautiful piece of chamber music of what I imagined to be evocative of Sunday tea in an English garden. While listening, I became so engrossed and mesmerized by the music that I felt as if I could have been an extra in the latest Jane Austin screen adaptation. The piece was alternately energetic and soothing - it would start off fast paced and then switch gears and become tranquil, with an almost lulling effect.

The acoustics of the Treasure Hall complimented the four string instruments perfectly. Their lush sounds filled the large open room with a clean, and clear sound. The way in which the sound so completely filled the space also made it easier to become lost in the music.
The fact that the quartet was extremely in tune, both with each other and with the music they were producing, was also astounding. Their impressive ability to play beautifully together is evidence that they've been playing together for a long time. The violinists, Daniel Stepner and Judith Eissenberg, seemed to mirror each other and were getting their whole bodies into the music. Responding to the music, they leaned their torsos forward, moved their legs about, arched their necks and angled their heads from side to side. Meanwhile, the cellist, Joshua Gordon, moved to his own unique rhythm, jerking his head about in an abrupt manner with the notes he played. Mary Ruth Ray, on the viola, was the most sedate of the quartet and was far subtler, though no less effective, in the way she played her instrument and moved to the music.
After the Beethoven piece, the quartet played "First String Quartet" composed by Brandeis music professor Eric Chasalow. Before the piece began, Chasalow stood and gave a brief introduction. The composer said that the piece had three separate influences: jazz, Beethoven, and electronic music. According to Chasalow, the four movement piece is very rhythmical, full of energy and featuring many sounds you would not hear in Beethoven's works.

Chasalow's "Quartet" began slowly with just two notes being played, but it quickly accelerated into a fast paced and suspenseful work. The contrast between Chasalow's piece and the Beethoven piece, which the quartet had played first, was striking. While the Beethoven Quartet was soothing and relaxing, the Chasalow Quartet was filled with danger and almost violent sounds. The piece featured many sharp and abrupt noises, like the plucking of violin and cello strings. It was also rife with long drawn out violin notes that added to the frightening atmosphere of the work. While the Beethoven piece sounded like a Victorian period movie, the Chasalow piece reminded one more of the soundtrack to an avant-garde horror movie. It was an interesting contrast to what the quartet had first played, and it showed their flexibility as musicians.

After having seen the Lydian String Quartet perform live it is easy to see, even for a classical music amateur like myself, why they are so critically acclaimed. Although the concert was brief, they gave an impressive performance and awed the audience into a state where they could forget about the torrid weather outside. Beethoven would have been proud.