by Kevin McLaughlin
The Escher String Quartet, performing as a trio on Saturday, May 3, due to the injury of its second violinist, offered a beautiful plan “B”: a trio of trios by Schubert, Dohnányi, and Beethoven. Violinist Adam Barnett-Hart, violist Pierre Lapointe, and cellist Brook Speltz delivered engaging and refined performances in the intimate space at the Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster.
The group’s thinning and their positioning in front of the stage due to a lightbulb outage might have bothered a lesser ensemble, but the Escher players carried on with expansive lyricism and technical bravado throughout the evening.
The concert opened with Franz Schubert’s String Trio in B-flat, D. 471, an unfinished work begun when the composer was just sixteen. Listening to this single movement, a gem of a mere 205 measures, was like being invited to a private chamber music party. We were privy to some of Schubert’s most intimate music, with Barnett-Hart’s lyrical phrasing and warm tone, Lapointe’s sensitive inner voice, and Speltz’s velvety cello.
Ernó Dohnányi’s Serenade in C major, Op. 10 provided an expressive contrast. The five-movement work brims with spirit and old-world charm. Lapointe’s soaring viola solo in the second-movement Romanza was a standout, closely rivaled by Barnett-Hart’s elegant crooning in the fourth-movement Tema con Variazione. Speltz’s contribution was subtle and nuanced, a combination of burnished tone and rhythmic drive.
The Scherzo was full of finesse and wit and the players held nothing back in the Finale.
After intermission, Beethoven’s Trio in G, Op. 9, No. 1, anchored the program with structural depth and drama. The Allegro developed with natural momentum, and the Adagio offered a moment of introspective stillness. The Escher’s tonal balance and dynamic control added polish, especially in the closing Presto, a model of quiet but no less thrilling virtuosity.
Throughout the performance, the Escher players exhibited impressive refinement and musical sway, providing admirable models for the students in attendance from the Ashland City School District, where the Quartet had taught earlier in the day.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com May 14, 2025
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