March 29, 2025
Spivey Hall
Morrow, Georgia – USA
Arita Zhulla & William Fedkenheuer, violins; Molly Carr, viola; Astrid Schween, cello.
Antonín DVOŘÁK: Selections from Cypresses, B. 152
Leoš JANÁČEK: String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters”
Bedřich SMETANA: String Quartet No. 1 E Minor, “From My Life”
Mark Gresham | 1 APR 2025
On Saturday afternoon at Spivey Hall, the Juilliard String Quartet presented a program steeped in the rich traditions of Czech chamber music. JSQ violinist Arita Zhulla, violist Molly Carr, and cellist Astrid Schween, with violinist William Fedkenheuer of the Miró Quartet stepping in for an indisposed Ronald Copes, performed works by Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, and Bedřich Smetana, offering an evening of profound lyricism, emotional intensity, and Czech national fervor.
The concert opened with five selections from Dvořák’s Cypresses, B. 152, a cycle of 18 love songs originally composed for voice and piano in 1865, from which the composer arranged 12 selections for string quartet in 1887. The JSQ played nos. 5, 2, 7, 12, and 3, in that order. The quartet’s interpretation highlighted the delicate interplay of melody and harmony, allowing Dvořák’s deeply expressive lines to unfold with warmth and sensitivity, delivering a performance that balanced nostalgia and tenderness, evoking the youthful romanticism of the composer’s original songs with elegance.
The program took a dramatic turn with Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2, “Intimate Letters,” a work brimming with passion and emotional volatility. Inspired by the composer’s infatuation with Kamila Stösslová, a married woman nearly four decades his junior, the piece is an intensely personal musical confession. The quartet navigated the work’s jagged rhythms and abrupt mood shifts with unwavering commitment, capturing its raw, speech-like phrasing and moments of searing intensity. Fedkenheuer, seamlessly integrated into the ensemble, engaged in fervent dialogue with Zhulla, while Carr’s viola, a role Janáček originally intended for the ethereal-sounding viola d’amore, carried impassioned melodic lines with haunting resonance.
The concert culminated in Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor, “From My Life,” an autobiographical work chronicling the composer’s artistic aspirations, romantic experiences, and eventual struggle with deafness. From the commanding viola statement that opens the first movement to the ominous high-pitched harmonic in the finale that represents the onset of Smetana’s hearing loss, the quartet fully embraced the piece’s dramatic arc. Schween’s sonorous cello anchored the ensemble, while Carr’s viola lent the performance a poignant sense of reflection. The rhythmic buoyancy of the second movement polka contrasted starkly with the sweeping lyricism of the slow third movement, a heartfelt homage to love and loss.
While each of the three composers brought a distinct stylistic voice to the program, a common thread of national identity and personal expression united their works, contributing to an evening that was as intellectually engaging as it was emotionally resonant.
Despite the last-minute substitution, the Juilliard String Quartet delivered a performance of remarkable cohesion and expressive depth. Fedkenheuer proved a natural fit within the ensemble, adding his voice to a long-standing tradition of excellence while honoring the legacy of the quartet and the spirit of the Czech masters. The audience responded warmly, acknowledging both the ensemble’s artistry and the enduring power of the music presented. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Juilliard Strng Quartet: elisabethbrauss.com
- Spivey Hall: spiveyhall.org
Read more by Mark Gresham.
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