String Quartet No. 5 ...

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Cypress String Quartet, Turning In A New Lees

By Joseph McLellan
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, October 24, 2002; Page C09

Writing in the Washington Post on October 24, 2002, Joseph McLellan said, "The Fifth Quartet of American composer Benjamin Lees, which had its Washington premiere Tuesday evening in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, is a brilliant essay in contrasts and accommodations.

"The primary contrast, sketched at the beginning and recurring throughout, pits gentle lyricism against violent rhetoric, and often one pair of players against the other, with intensely dramatic effect.

"The Cypress String Quartet, which opened the Washington Performing Arts Society's Kreeger String Series season with Tuesday night's program, also played Haydn's surprise-filled Quartet in F Minor, Op. 55, No. 2, and Schubert's magnificent "Death and the Maiden" Quartet.

"The performances were expertly phrased and accented, and precisely coordinated, though once or twice the group's bows could have bitten more deeply into the strings.

"Even in the exalted company of Haydn and Schubert, Lees's work stood out.

"Some passages were so wild as to make one wonder whether the music would go out of control, but there was always a sense of formal discipline underlying the most drastic excursions. The contrasts were noticeable not only within movements but also between them.

"The third movement, marked "Quick, quiet," called to mind the gossamer scherzos of Mendelssohn. It was followed by a finale, aptly labeled "Explosive," that could rival Shostakovich at his most violent...."

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PLEASE NOTE:
No reproductions of photos, articles, music or reviews are permitted without permission
of the Estate of Benjamin Lees.