The July/Aug 2013 issue of Fanfare Magazine includes an interview with us and a a review of our JANÁČEK String Quartets: No. 1, Kreutzer Sonata”; No. 2, “Intimate Letters” Arianna Str Qrt CENTAUR 3198 (44:12)
Here is an excerpt from the interview by Jerry Dubins, "All Hail Arianna - An American Quartet Comes of Age."
Jerry: Most string quartet ensembles that have been together for some time develop a distinctive sound. Do you strive to create a unique Arianna Quartet sound, and if so, can you describe it and explain how you go about achieving it?
John: I used to try quite consciously to have a unique sound and interpretation with all the pieces I played, but really as long as you are sincere in your approach to the music there’s no way you can sound like anyone else. Since a string quartet is four times more individual than any individual can be, that magnifies exponentially the uniqueness of every quartet. In our group each of us has our own individual window into the music based on our personality, aesthetic sensibilities, and sometimes even on the role our instruments play in the drama of that moment, each of which is crucially important and equally valid. What we try to achieve musically is a vital sound where each instrument is involved emotionally in the drama of each moment, and where each person’s musical contribution is clear to the audience and to each other. To that end we need to spend a lot of time on technical as well as musical priorities to make sure we understand, appreciate, and create the acoustic situation that best suits the drama and how to create it with our instruments. We have developed a lot of short cuts based on recurring situations that help us save time in rehearsal and also help us to be effective in teaching other groups.
Julia: Allow me to disagree with you on this topic. I would not necessarily say that most string quartets that are around for some time develop a distinctive sound. Perhaps the old Juilliard Quartet or the Budapest Quartet did, but those are few and far in between, just like there are only a few soloists who had a distinctive sound: Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, William, Primrose, Gregory Piatigorsky. I don’t think that distinctive sound is necessarily something one can or should set a goal to achieve. If and when it happens it happens naturally without trying to make it happen. It’s sort of like when two people live together for a long time they begin to look alike. I don’t believe they are working on trying to look alike, it simply happens as a result of a certain amount of chemistry and habitual behavior (displayed) towards one another. This same idea applies to a string quartet. I don’t think we (anyone) should have a goal to strive to create a unique sound; I think it happens (it will) naturally when all the ideas and emotional concepts come alive in the playing.
Joanna: I’m not sure I would describe it that way. We don’t necessarily set out to create a distinct sound, but we’re always searching for depth and variety of expression and sound, clarity, and flexibility. We want the person with the melody, or with the primary line, to be able to play beautifully, with the kind of sound he or she is looking for, and with the other voices always expressive, adding to the energy, drama, and emotion of the music. We like having organization in the putting together of a piece, and even when putting together our sounds, but it is ultimately to enable freedom between us, between the notes, within a phrase or between phrases.
Kurt: After having talked with many audience members over the years, I have come to understand that we have a unique approach to sound. I often hear from folks at concerts that what is unique to the Arianna Quartet is our clarity of expression and balance and blend of sound. There is a process to this; we tune and blend each phrase with the needs of the acoustics of the music in mind. The color of sound is influenced by which instrument is playing the various notes in a given chord. For example, a chord with the third of the chord in the cello, rather than in the viola, is much more unstable; the same chord, in a different inversion, with the third in the viola (and root in the bass), is much more stable, and has a completely different kind of expressive potential. Awareness of this kind of shift is essential to the interpretive process for the Arianna Quartet. We hear sound as chemistry, where we have stable elements (perfect intervals), unstable elements (dissonance), and notes that function as catalysts for change (sevenths and suspensions, for example). Our process for sound is all about looking for the next expressive opportunity in the score, and balancing that moment for the best possible expressive outcome. This method of rehearsing means that each member of the quartet is equally responsible for every other part. Our theory of sound and balance in the quartet is that we hear our other three colleagues all the time, and endeavor to control the balance through constant nuanced alteration to quantity and quality of our individual sounds. We don’t ever want any instrument in the quartet to struggle to sound beautiful, and we want the collective blend of sound to serve the power of the chords, the needs of the phrase, and the drama of the music
