Evening star., 1939-10-15

Stars With
Quartet
Chamber Music
Program Is Well
Received
BY ALICE EVERSMAN,


The members of the Gordon
String Quartet were again the art
lists presenting the program of
chamber music at the Library OF
Congress yesterday afternoon as the
second concert of the Whittall
Foundation. However, a great por-
ton of the honor for the superb
performance went to Gustave Lam
genus, clarinetist, with whose as
sistance was given the Coleridge-
Taylor Quintet in F Sharp Minor"
and the Brahms Quintet in B
Minor" separated on the program
by the Mendelssohn Quartet in D
Major"
Brahms had great fondness for
the clarinet ever since his friend
ship with Richard Muehlfeld made
him more appreciative of its tonal
color. Feeling that it blended with
a string quartet better than his
first favorite, the horn, he wrote
the beautiful quintet played yester-
day. His friend Muehlfeld took
part in its first performance, which
was given in 1891 with another
great friend, Joseph Joachim, as
first violinist of the string quartet.
-Four years later, in 1895, the Joa-
chin Quartet gave the Coleridge-
Taylor Quintet for clarinet and
string, its world premiere.
Set In Lyric Mood.
The two quintets, placed together
on the same program, offered many
points of similarity in idea and
treatment. Both are set in a lyric
mood, although Coleridge- Taylor
has imbued his with more optimism
than Brahms, whose retrospective
thought colors each movement. The
former allows the force of in
spiration to have it's way while
Brahms molds it into the form
he wishes with the restraint and
power of a master. There is per-
haps a more general blending of
the clarinet with the strings, with
1t assuming an equal balance in
tone color in the Coleridge- Taylor
work. With the exception of the
exquisite solos in the Larghetto
affetuoso with muted strings ac-
compartment, the clarinet sustained
its part as one of five instruments
in ensemble.
The Coleridge-Taylor work is
glowing and rich in substance of
romantic character and gratefully
responsive in the hands of such
artists as performed it yesterday.
The Brahms quintet, on the con-
trary, has poignancy written into
It's tenderness and an autumnal
coloring to its lovely melody. At
the same time the master has made
use of the styles in which he ex-
celled. His marvellous gift for song
hnds expression in the beautiful
Adagio where melody of unfor-
getable loveliness is expressed by
the varied tone color of the five in
struments. Again, his love of fun
and gay dance rhythms crop out
even If less exuberant than In
many of his earlier works.
Audience Is Receptive.
These two tremendously interest
ing quintets, the latter one not de-
tracing one iota from the lasting
appeal of the Brahms, formed a
circle around the lighter Mendels-
sohn quartet. Elegant and graceful
in style and beautifully played by
tt< Gordon ensemble, it yet seemed
vapid beside the substance of the
other works. Its superfciality
stood out in spite of the finely
turned phrases and the expert
structure. The members of the
Gordon quartet brought the utmost
Of skill into its presentation and
were rewarded with immense ap-
plause for this as for the quintets
in which Mr.. Langenus played such
an important and artistically sat-
isfying part.