September 16, 2025
Stude Concert Hall, The Shepherd School of Music
Houston, Texas – USA
Balourdet Quartet (Angela Bae & Justin DeFilippis, violins; Benjamin Zannoni, viola; Russell Houston, cello).
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: String Quartet #3 in D major, Op.18 No. 3
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: String Quartet #11 in F minor, Op. 95 (“Serioso”)
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: String Quartet #16 in F major, Op.135
Lawrence Wheeler | 18 SEP 2025
Tuesday evening, Chamber Music Houston opened their season at Stude Concert Hall with the Balourdet Quartet. Each year CMH features an emerging quartet, and last year it was the Balourdet Quartet. Since that auspicious debut, the quartet has been quite busy with 150 concerts, including a performance at the Chamber Music America 2025 National Conference in Houston last February. Performing at the Shepherd School is a homecoming of sorts, since the quartet was formed and trained there in 2018. They have developed a loyal and enthusiastic following, as evidenced by the audience’s response.
Their program included three Beethoven string quartets– one each from his early, middle, and late periods. All are among Beethoven’s shortest in each category. The works were unified by playing that was expressive, colorful, and vibrant, though the stylistic differences in Beethoven’s compositional evolution were less fully explored.
Part of a collection of six quartets, Op. 18 No. 3 is the first Beethoven wrote in that genre. Given the first movement’s extended lyricism, his publisher placed the livelier F-major quartet first in the book to generate interest. With Angela Bae playing first violin, the players presented an interpretation of the first movement that seemed more suited to a later musical period. Themes were given different tempos while accompaniments were overly active and lacking in charm. While the intent may have been sincere, the result was episodic. Allowing Beethoven’s expert use of functional harmony to speak for itself, along with the influence of Mozart and Salieri, would have avoided a musical anachronism.
The quartet’s beautiful and sensitive sound was effectively utilized in the second movement with a lovely and loving dialogue between the violins, then viola and cello. After a briefly ragged start, the third movement sparkled with energy. The group elected not to slow down before the fermatas and treated consecutive sforzandos equally, rather than shaping them into a progressive crescendo. The final Presto was spirited and kinetic, with brilliant playing throughout. Less convincing was a slowing at the coda, with a return to tempo in the final bars.
The two violins switched places for the Op. 95. Justin DeFilippis picked up a microphone and spoke to the audience about the pieces. His delivery was articulate and informative. This is becoming an increasingly important part of the quartet’s educational mission, as was a masterclass held earlier that day. DeFilippis mentioned that Beethoven said this quartet was written for connoisseurs – fitting for the CMH audience, which brims with ardent amateur musicians, talented students, and accomplished teachers.
Throughout the quartet, Beethoven experimented with compositional techniques, resulting in greater freedom of form, meter, and tonality, and making it an ideal vehicle for the Balourdet’s musical explorations. In the first movement they had precise control over sudden shifts from explosive energy to intimate expression. Violist Benjamin Zannoni’s second theme triplets and fugue subject were expressively played.
The beginning of the second movement was a bit too vibrant for the indicated mezza voce. A sensitive reprieve between the turbulent first and third movements, it needs to unfold gradually to convey the pain of unrequited love. The quartet used a variety of vibratos in the movement. In one mysterious section typically done non vibrato, cellist Russell Houston elected to vibrate his descending scale line, somewhat blurring the ascetic effect.
The ferocious third movement “serioso” Scherzo reflects the battle with canon fire Beethoven experienced while in Vienna, as well as his personal battle with deafness. This was given a forceful and percussive performance by the quartet, along with animated movements from Zannoni. The contrasting hymn-like Trio offers hope for resolution. In this section, Beethoven introduced a new violin technique of finger replacement, which was not fully realized by DeFilippis. The movement ends with the repeated musical signature “Beet-ho-ven.” The last movement’s “Larghetto espressivo” is followed by a tense and anxious “Allegretto agitato.” Dynamic and color contrasts were deftly executed within pristine ensemble and intonation. The surprising Coda in F-Major brings a sense of victory over adversity, and was played with virtuosic precision.
Following intermission, the quartet returned to play Op. 135. Also in F, but this time F-Major, it was a perfect segue from the previous quartet’s ending. The last complete work that Beethoven wrote, it is the shortest of his late quartets. He seemed to be looking back, either to reflect or to gain inspiration. The opening material is motivic, with individual instruments passing fragments to complete the musical line, a technique he also used in the opening of his Fifth Symphony. The slow introduction to the last movement harkens back to his Op. 18 No. 6 quartet. Stylistically, this is the most “classical” of his late quartets.
The quartet gave a spectacular performance. Clearly the most comfortable and assured quartet performance of the evening, it was memorable for its wide range of nuance and expressive tone colors. Bae produced an extraordinarily delicate sound where needed, but also played with presence when required. Bowing gymnastics sounded deceptively easy. DeFilippis was supportive while also taking a leadership role to give Bae freedom. Violist Zannoni produced a powerful and warm sound. Cellist Houston had a supportive sound and admirable pitch. The Balourdet Quartet played as one– the single mind of Beethoven was played by four individuals who were of a single mind. It was ideal chamber music.
For an encore, the quartet played the second movement, “Allegro moderato á la Polka,” of Smetana’s Quartet No. 1, “From My Life.” While quite exuberant, the tempo was considerably faster than the classic recordings by the Primrose, Curtis, and Guarneri quartets, making it feel more urban than country. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Chamber Music Houston: chambermusichouston.org
- Balourdet Quartet: balourdetquartet.com
Read more by Lawrence Wheeler.
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