“…they revealed a fire that makes all timeless music forever contemporary.”

- Sunil Freeman, The Washington Post

On Saturday, April 6, the Lydian String Quartet astounded their audience with Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Serioso,” Kurt Rhode’s “seeking all that’s still unsung,” and Maurice Ravel’s “String Quartet in F major” in Slosberg.  All marveled as first violinist Prof. Andrea Segar (MUS), second violinist Prof. Julia Glenn (MUS), violist Prof. Mark Berger (MUS) and cellist Prof. Joshua Gordon (MUS) played with impeccable technique and flawless synchronization.  Up close, one could see the eye contact among the musicians, particularly between Segar and Glenn.  At every change of phrase, they passed a knowing look, a shared secret between their eyes. Throughout the piece, Berger was especially enthusiastic, often jumping in his chair with the sharp downbeats.  At the beginning of every movement, all four musicians would breathe together to synchronize their entrances, marking the start of yet another beautiful movement.  Under the warm stage lights and in the soft silence of the Slosberg auditorium, their playing was truly ethereal.

“Serioso” introduced the quartet’s incredible technique and artistry. The sheer precision of Segar and Glenn’s playing, melding with Berger and Gordon’s harmonic support, carried throughout all four movements. The first hosted elegant yet dangerous melodies, balanced by the second’s romantic gentleness. Jolting the audience out of our daze, the third movement sliced the air with jagged, desperate notes, then melted into a warm, lovely melody. The final movement brought all these aspects of beauty and violence together, leaving the audience applauding long after the musicians had walked off from bows.

The quartet then played “seeking all that’s still unsung,” a contemporary “collection of musings on circles & songs,” marking its world premiere. The various movements weaved between slow, eerie melodies and jarring, violent refrains. Rhode incorporated spoken excerpts from Greta Thunberg’s speech at the 2021 Youth4Climate Conference in Milano, as well as plenty of movement around the stage. “seeking all that’s still unsung” introduced audiences to nuanced structures of quartet music and novel forms of melody.

“String Quartet in F major” had both the gentle melodies of a summer day and the harsh pizzicato of a winter’s night. Throughout the first movement, the musicians let bloom an aesthetic of lost melancholy, of craving for things as they once were.  The second movement began with rapid pizzicato interlaced with Segar’s flowery tones, balanced with Gordon’s soft, sleepy melody in the third movement. Everything wrapped to a close with a fiery final movement filled with erratic runs and haunting countermelodies.

At the final breath of silence, the audience roared with applause. The musicians bowed, wearing proud smiles as they exchanged knowing looks. It was truly another excellent performance.