The Opera Tattler

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!"

Christian Tetzlaff at Cal Performances

* Notes * 
Christian Tetzlaff played Bach's complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin in Berkeley last night as part of Cal Performances 2010-2011 Koret Recital Series. In the first half he played Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Partita No. 1 in B minor, and Sonata No. 2 in A minor. It seemed he only paused briefly between pieces to tune. The contrasts in tempi and dynamics were clear. Tetzlaff was focused without sounding labored. There were a few passages that were muddy and a note or two may have been slightly squeaky, but the intensity of the playing was impressive.

After the hour-long dinner break were heard Partita No. 2 in D minor, which was incisive but passionate. After the second movement Courante Telzlaff left the stage, and when he returned he explained that there was a noise in the hall that was bothering him. He played the rest of the Partita without further incident. This was followed by Sonata No. 3 in C Major and Partita No. 3 in E Major. The music poured forth relentlessly and the sheer stamina required to play this was in and of itself extraordinary.

* Tattling * 
The audience was silent, murmuring approval after each movement, and clapping excitedly after each piece. Someone in G 5 of the orchestra level was even reading the score. There some coughing, and one person may have been asked to leave during the first half, and seemed rather offended. One watch alarm was heard at 7pm, and a cellular phone on vibrate was heard during the third Sonata.