Profile | Reviews
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Though still two years from its tenth anniversary, the Badke Quartet already seems into its first maturity. Closing the London Chamber Music Society’s season, the players mixed Haydn and Mendelssohn with the world premiere of James Francis Brown’s String Quartet.
In Haydn’s ‘Fifths’ Quartet op.76 no.2 leader HeatherHöhmann produced a vibrant, open tone that the other members instinctively matched, enlivening the slightly unforgiving acoustic of Kings Place’s Hall One along the way. Their first movement was propulsive and dramatic, and the ‘Witches’ Minuet’ swaggered and cackled. But the highlight was the intimate, moonlit pizzicato of the three instruments supportingHöhmann’s aria-like theme in the Andante.
Mendelssohn’s A minor String Quartet op.13 moved into another dimension with a well-judged, plushed-up tone whose richness diverted rather than compensated for a slightly leaden second-movement fugue and an Intermezzo whose central-section scherzo episode didn’t quite flicker enough.
The Badke players gave their all to James Francis Brown’s substantial, 35-minute String Quartet. Its bustling counterpoint, modal flavour and parallel harmonies point to Tippett. The players never stinted on projecting its joyful exuberance, revealing it as something of a showpiece, though it’s
much more than that. They were equally attuned to imaginative episodes such as a magical, returning distant madrigal and a section calling for strummed pizzicato.
Edward Bhesania
The Strad (July 2010)
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Quartet provided Haydn highlight
Although you can never have too much of a good thing, Haydn’s centenary year has meant that you’re rarely that far from a performance of his works.
So it was no surprise that the Badke Quartet should open their recital with his G major quartet, Op 76 No 1. But there was certainly nothing ordinary about their utterly delightful performance, from the ravishing tone of the slow movement, to the numerous typically humorous moments elsewhere, all despatched with impeccable precision and meticulous articulation.
As cellist, Jonathan Byers pointed out, there could hardly be a greater contrast between this immediately-appealing work, and Bartók’s Third Quartet, arguably his most intellectually-demanding essay in the genre. Here, though, the players had definitely done their homework, crafting a performance that was almost as exciting to watch as to listen to, and which very much succeeded in presenting the often difficult musical argument in a highly intelligible and quite absorbing fashion.
Schumann’s A major quartet, Op 41 No 3, provided the perfect antidote, where the reading was at once passionate yet never over-sentimentalised, and which again demonstrated a greater insight into the composer’s intentions and thought-processes than might perhaps be expected from a younger ensemble. The Badke’s playing was always outstanding, but there was also that vital sense of shared enjoyment and real empathy, which then made it so very convincing.
Philip R Buttall
The Herald Plymouth (5 Oct. 2009)
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The Badke Quartet were a revelation at St Peter's. Their flawless and sensitive music-making reveals that mutual respect and dedicated attention to each other's playing which lies at the heart of any great quartet. This was beautifully illustrated in their performance of Mozart's Hoffmeister quartet, where the Alegretto's subtle dialogues between pairs of instruments were handled with memorable felicity. The intense harmonies of the opening Adagio were conveyed by the Badkes with incisive intelligence, recalling the enigmatic lyricism of Beethoven's last quartet, Op. 135. If Mendelssohn's and Schumann's Romantic experimentation was founded on the radical interiority of Beethoven, it was the interpretative brilliance and exuberant playing of the Badke Quartet that reminded us of the irresistible energies of their chamber music.
Michael J Franklin
South Wales Evening Post (July 2009)
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Badke String Quartet
If anyone had any doubt about the contribution of Music Network’s touring programmes to Irish musical life, the Badke Quartet’s 11-stop tour has some of the answers. Music Network has always encouraged performers to include Irish works in their programmes. And Ian Wilson, currently the most prolific Irish composer of string quartets, has benefitted greatly from this policy.
His First String Quartet, Winter’s Edge, commissioned for, as well as premiered, toured and recorded by the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, has been taken up by a number of quartets’ Network tours. By the time the Badkes have finished, Winter’s Edge will have achieved some 40 performances in Ireland since its 1993 première.
The quartet, inspired by “the idea of Redemption as exemplified in the life of St Paul” is gesturally strong, and imaginatively resourceful in its handling of string quartet colours and textures. The Badkes delivered it with focused energy and lyricism, with Eniko Magyar’s long viola solo near the start being particularly memorable. And yet, every time I hear the piece, I stumble at the extended evocation of part of the Danse sacrale from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring . The borrowing does not explain itself, and it’s just too large to ignore.
Schumann’s Quartet in A, Op.41, No.3, is a piece that’s experienced a quite extraordinary blossoming in popularity. Its appearance in concert programmes used to be sporadic, but since 2001 it’s been heard in Ireland every year.
Schumann is one of those composers, like Boccherini, who seems to repeat certain ideas simply because he likes them so much. At times he even gets locked in to what can seem like obsessive patterns. But the ideas in this particular quartet are so individual, so strong, so piercingly memorable that the sense of indulgence never seems misplaced. The Badke Quartet’s performance was fully sympathetic.
The Badkes also know how to make Haydn sound rich and full without ever trespassing into areas of romantic expression that could undermine the style or scale of the music.
In the Quartet in D, Op.76, No.5, there were some infelicities of intonation which sounded like warming-up problems. But there were felicities in abundance, too. The Badkes are all prepared to spend time in each other’s shadows, so that even Haydn’s biggest gestures – like the extraordinary outburst of energy in the slow movement – were captured without any sense of forcing. On tour until Apr 4.
Michael Dervan
Review Irish Times (March 2009)
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WHAT a super young string quartet.
Quality oozes from their playing. Individually they are highly accomplished and collectively they sound fresh and vigorous with exceptional balance and unison.
The distinguishing feature that kept recurring was fulsome, homogeneous, rich tone, instantly noticeable in a musicianly Bartók No 2, its first movement building to overwhelming intensity, the second vibrant and technically assured, and the third's sombre desolation admirably captured and sustained.
Debussy's solitary quartet was even finer with broad splashes of velvety sound lavished on the surging passion of the first movement and, later, a wonderfully expressive andantino.
Approaching it boldly, the Badke were not too profound (a benefit of being young) in the sadness that permeates Mozart's K421 quartet (No 15), an irresistible, memorable highlight being the ray of sunshine that is the trio of the menuetto, delightfully skipped through by first violin Heather Badke.
Bernard Lee
Sheffield Telegraph (Nov.2008)
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Winchester Festival: Badke Quartet review
Over the years, the Winchester Festival has had a knack of engaging performers who go on to make their mark on the world stage, particularly chamber ensembles. Those who attended the Chapel of St Cross on a wet evening were well rewarded by the peerless playing and teamwork of the Badke String Quartet.
The group was formed in 2002, and has quite quickly built up a reputation that has taken them far, and will surely take them further. Their programme was well-considered, with two Viennese masters contrasted with Debussy's only work for the genre. What all the works have in common is a sense that boundaries are being stretched, and new styles being explored.
Starting the programme was the fifth of Haydn's Opus 20 set - not an early work, despite the relatively low opus number. The adage about Haydn being forced to be original' because his work kept him out of the Viennese loop of the 1770s could well have been coined for this work. Real interplay of the four instruments was quite new for those days, and the frequent contrasts of texture were, if not revolutionary, then at least innovative - and frequently charming as well.
From the intensity of the opening movement through the deceptive simplicity of the minuet to the fugal finale, the Badke Quartet had the full measure of this music, conveying all its intricacies without losing sight of the pleasure that is there to be savoured. Such was also their response to Debussy's masterly quartet, with each of the four players bringing out the details in a way that reflected the group's obviously careful preparation. Every pizzicato moment was perfectly controlled, and phrases uniformly shaped, with the range of colours and effects all present, but over-riding this all was a vision of what the music has to offer, looking beyond the norms of the nineteenth century, towards the new age.
To finish the programme with the third of Beethoven's Rasumowsky quartets took us back to Vienna, but to another composer who was stretching beyond the past. The extreme contrasts of mood and dynamic were all presented with impeccable control, with all four players facing the often virtuosic writing with fearless aplomb. Yet here, as throughout the programme, the precision and technique were always put to the service of the music, presenting this music as if it were the extraordinary new creation that it must have seemed 200 years ago. Beauty of tone was uniform, especially in the slow movement.
This was a masterclass in what good ensemble playing should be, but more importantly, there was music-making at a very high level to be enjoyed. We suspect that many people from Winchester will now be looking out for the Badke Quartet's progress. It will be good to follow.
John Caffry
Hampshire Chronicle (July 2008)
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Formed in 2002, the Badke Quartet has nothing like the Takács’s 30-year experience, but its St John’s, Smith Square, concert with Warren Mailley-Smith showed promising potential (12 November). In the opening movement of Haydn’s String Quartet in G major op.76 no.1 the players exhibited a stylish, collegial spirit and a simple youthfulness that was carefully measured rather than intuitively overdone. The broad Andante sostenuto second movement came across with great depth and a Beethovenian sense of fantasy, while most of the movement was daringly dispatched without vibrato. The presto theme of the minuet may not have been fleet-footed enough, but its variations were suitably varied and coloured.
Then came a perceptive performance of Shostakovich’s String Quartet no.10, where the understated but unmistakably dark opening Andante was balanced by a second movement whose bold, driving rhythmic energy was never over-pushed. The pivotal, intense cello solo of the third movement was skilfully played by cellist Jonathan Byers. After the interval the group accompanied pianist Warren Mailley-Smith in Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.12 in A major K414. This is a well-balanced quartet, led with attitude and flair by Heather Badke, its Wigmore Hall debut this June should be an exciting event.
Edward Bhesania
The Strad (Feb. 2007)
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