Strings To Die For

The burden of portraying the musical roulette Shostakovich played with Stalin is enough to make any musician sweat profusely; the furrowed brow of violinist Frederick Lifsitz glistened as it reflected the bright lights, but it never dripped those anticipated drops. The Alexander String Quartet played a world-class free concert to a packed Knuth Hall Sept. 20. The quartet opened with Mozart’s whimsical 1782 composition “Quartet in G,” and were later joined by pianist Roger Woodward to play Shostakovich’s frantic 1940 piece “Piano Quintet in F Minor Op. 57.” The concert was recorded for broadcast on National Public Radio.

The ease and joy felt after a lyrical conversation with Mozart was shattered by Shostakovich’s tension. Lifsitz directed with his eyeballs as members of the quartet and Woodward nodded to each other for confirmation before returning to their music sheets.

During a quiet moment, Lifsitz held his violin to his chest, closed his eyes and nodded. His eyebrows lifted while his head sunk and rose with the music. The quartet leaned forward as they played with a dreamy melancholy that crescendoed into a screeching neurosis with Woodward ominously pounding on the ivory. As the piece reached its climactic point Lifsitz nearly jumped out of his seat with anticipation.

“Shostakovich’s music became almost a weapon, although this piece received a prize from Stalin,” Lifsitz explained after the concert. “At the time, the West thought he wasn’t really great, that he’d sold out to the Soviets. In reality we now know he was sneering at the Congress, making fun of Stalin’s speech patterns. He knew all the fat buffoons in the party and despised them all. It was a very dangerous game he was playing.”

Lifsitz’s further said the Mozart string quartet is the epitome of classicism. “It’s the idea of a conversation between four people,” he said of the first piece.

The quartet has been artists-in-residence for 13 years. Their extensive touring obligations have prevented them from becoming full-time faculty, but they make it a point to be a human and artistic presence on campus. They constantly practice and interact with music students, become mentors and teach a chamber music class on Fridays.

Woodward is not merely a guest pianist but the new director of the school of music and dance at the College of Creative Arts. He had previously met Alexander String Quartet through mutual acquaintances at the Incontro di Solisti Quintet in Europe.

“When you’re a musician it doesn’t matter where you live in the world because you still play your concerts, write your books,” Woodward said.

Woodward has directed music festivals worldwide and has invited the Alexander String Quartet to play with him at an upcoming festival in Japan.

“I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” he said of his first performance with the quartet. “We all left the stage feeling like there’s a lot more ahead of us to do.”

The quartet is keeping itself busy. It is currently recording all 15 Shostakovich quartets and touring in Germany.

Lifsitz said of touring in Europe, Amsterdam being a big example, that people have a history with the music and the seats to these quartet series are handed down from one generation to the next; someone has to die for a seat to open up.

“When you go in there you know the people have heard all the great quartets that have passed through for the past 45 or 50 years. They’re great listeners but they’re also intensely critical. Some places, like the Republic of Georgia, have news media coming up and filming us. There are crowds of people there to show their respect because so few groups come to play for them,” he explained.

Stateside, Lifsitz said classical music is generally healthy. He explained record sales declined because music collectors have already bought all the CD reissues of old LP recordings and have now eased off on making new purchases.

“Our Beethoven CDs have been in the top 100 of the classical lists but those sales are miniscule compared to rock sales. Also, it’s very expensive to record an orchestra, so record companies only get a small return on their investment. With us, they can spend seven thousand on a recording and still get a hundred thousand back. So it’s still worth it,” Lifsitz said.

But performing live is still where it’s at: “We want our audience to feel good, to enjoy themselves, and feel like they’re really welcome,” Lifsitz said. “I want the stage to feel like a living room and for everyone to feel like they’re in my house.”