By Lyn Bronson

No stranger to Peninsula audiences, the Alexander String Quartet returned to Carmel for a triumphant concert last night. We heard the four players of this fine quartet at the top of their form, and we heard them in the magnificent acoustics of All Saints Church in Carmel. The event marked the first concert in the Mozart Series presented by the Carmel Music Society, and there was a significant added attraction as famed clarinetist Eli Eban joined the quartet to perform the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets.

The opening work on the program was a performance of the early Mozart Quartet in F Major, K. 168. Listening to the ensemble repartee between violinists Zakarias Grafilo and Frederick Lifsitz, violist Paul Yarbrough and cellist Sandy Wilson, right from the first notes of the Allegro we heard precision, elegance, refinement, and charm— that’s a winning combination and the Alexander String Quartet has it in spades. After a brief Andante, the Menuetto was a surprising movement, with its agitated phrases boldly and rudely interrupting each other, and the final fugue was a knockout.

Even more surprising was the following work, Mozart’s Quintet in A major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581, with clarinetist Eli Eban joining the ensemble. There are not many things in life that are perfect, but the performance of this Mozart Quintet we heard last night was just about as perfect as it gets. The strong playing from members of the quartet was matched by the velvety smooth and seamless playing by Mr. Eban. His beautifully shaped phrases and refined mastery of dynamic control (always devoted to musical ends and never to virtuosic display) seemed totally natural and easy. Mr. Eban produced a lovely rich sound, such as we rarely hear from the clarinet.

Concluding the concert, we heard a performance of the Brahms Quintet in B minor for Clarinet & Strings, Op. 115. This is a demanding work for the performers, and we could hear that the players were working hard and sometimes overplaying in an attempt to match these demands. However, the greatness of the work prevailed, and it achieved a powerful cumulative effect. Especially memorable in this performance was hearing Eban spinning out beautiful Brahmsian legato melodies (one of them was almost as long as the great clarinet solo in the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony). This was playing of a very high order, indeed.

The entire audience was invited to a lavish reception (beautifully managed by board member Victoria Davis) downstairs in the All Saints Church parish hall. Eli Eban and the members of the Alexander String Quartet mingled with the guests.

End