This is not a tribute to GroundSwell, although it should be for bringing the Penderecki String Quartet to Winnipeg.

This also isn’t a review of Winnipeg arts organizations in general, and how some of those organizations have gone away from presenting works like Messiaen’s Turangalila Symphony and instead present shows with no heart and no soul.

GroundSwell, celebrating its 18th year of bringing new music to Winnipeg, has thankfully not gone that route. If they had, the packed house at Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall Mar. 7 would have missed one of the most inspirational evenings of new music to have graced a Winnipeg stage in a very long time.

The PSQ consists of Jeremy Bell and Jerzy Kaplanek on violins, Christine Vlajk on viola and Simon Fryer on cello. They are the string quartet in residence at Sir Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, but are in demand all over the world.

They performed five pieces during their concert. The highlight of the first half was the piece by Ana Sokolavic, Blanc dominant, for string quartet, the most beautiful part of which was the dirge that followed a period of extreme frenetic bowing. How that transition was achieved was a testimony to the abilities of these five finely-honed musicians.

The most challenging piece was Tan Dun’s Eight colors for string quartet, which demanded the creation of formerly unheard sounds by a string quartet. These were achieved through unorthodox bowing techniques played at light speed – under control, no less. The auditorium erupted into a standing ovation upon completion. This knowledgeable audience knew that what they had witnessed was immortality.

This concert was about taking risks. Each of the five pieces challenged both the performers and the audience. Better than the cookies and coffee provided at the end was the banquet of sound the audience was fed during each of the five compositions.
Good art is about playing something to perfection. Great art is about taking risks while doing so.

This was great art.

Published in Volume 63, Number 23 of The Uniter (March 12, 2009)