The Tetzlaff Quartet at SF Performances

* Notes * 
The Tetzlaff Quartet (pictured left by Alexandra Vosding) is just finishing a tour of the United States. The ensemble's penultimate stop at Herbst Theatre was presented by San Francisco Performances. The evening began with Haydn's String Quartet in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3, which was played with fire and nuanced dynamics. Violinist Christian Tetzlaff came off as very much a soloist. The second piece, Mendelssohn's String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13 was likewise fine, the third movement was particularly droll. After the intermission we heard Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 7, which sounded the most cohesive of the three. Violist Hanna Weinmeister had some lovely moments, as did cellist Tanja Tetzlaff and violinist Elisabeth Kufferath.

* Tattling * 
Someone behind me in Row P of the orchestra level was occasionally humming with the Mendelssohn, and it was disconcerting as she was so close to me it almost felt like the sound was coming through my body. Someone on the right side of the orchestra level intermittently crumpled cellophane throughout the Schoenberg, but left before the encore. Christian Tetzlaff called out the title of the encore, and someone in the audience expressed confusion, so violinist responded rather adorably by putting his hands on his hips and yelling "Dvořák!"