Turtle Island String Quartet by Jo
The small, quiet room had a casual feel. Being among the small audience, it almost felt as if we were on stage and the performers were watching us. I expected a long, boring night of haughty orchestral music. My conjecture, however, couldn’t have been more inaccurate.
The opening piece had a breezy, walking bass line with a very homey feeling. Bohm bomp bomp bohmme. The nonchalant mood was immediately set and I was instantly comfortable. Ahead of me was the happy, rhythmic movement of the head of an elderly man whose great interest in the music was admirable. At the end of the first song he quickly moved to a seat closer to the stage to enhance the intimacy. Then alone in my section of the theatre, I was absorbed in the music. I had almost no interest in watching the performers, although, the tapping string bean legs of the man whose feet wouldn’t stop tapping was almost entrancing. I was free to daydream while enjoying the insouciant music of Miles Davis. When each member of the quartet did their brief introduction, I was surprised by what came out of his mouth. While listening to the music and observing the performers, I started to imagine what each one was like. Judging by the looks of things, I would’ve expected the skinny man with glasses to be quieter and less funny than he later proved to be. I never would’ve guessed the bass player was such an audacious story teller. I was impressed by the stories and the animation of the musicians. Their friendly stage presence and charming small talk was a pleasant surprise compared to my ill-informed forecast. Unlike the Moscow State Symphony, I was not sitting through the latter three-fourths of the performance wondering if I would ever live to tell the tale. I was surprised when they announced the last song, and I was completely intrigued the entire way through. My premature judgment was proved wrong, and my previous lack of excitement about seeing a quartet on what would’ve otherwise been a social night was not as bad as I’d thought.
The opening piece had a breezy, walking bass line with a very homey feeling. Bohm bomp bomp bohmme. The nonchalant mood was immediately set and I was instantly comfortable. Ahead of me was the happy, rhythmic movement of the head of an elderly man whose great interest in the music was admirable. At the end of the first song he quickly moved to a seat closer to the stage to enhance the intimacy. Then alone in my section of the theatre, I was absorbed in the music. I had almost no interest in watching the performers, although, the tapping string bean legs of the man whose feet wouldn’t stop tapping was almost entrancing. I was free to daydream while enjoying the insouciant music of Miles Davis. When each member of the quartet did their brief introduction, I was surprised by what came out of his mouth. While listening to the music and observing the performers, I started to imagine what each one was like. Judging by the looks of things, I would’ve expected the skinny man with glasses to be quieter and less funny than he later proved to be. I never would’ve guessed the bass player was such an audacious story teller. I was impressed by the stories and the animation of the musicians. Their friendly stage presence and charming small talk was a pleasant surprise compared to my ill-informed forecast. Unlike the Moscow State Symphony, I was not sitting through the latter three-fourths of the performance wondering if I would ever live to tell the tale. I was surprised when they announced the last song, and I was completely intrigued the entire way through. My premature judgment was proved wrong, and my previous lack of excitement about seeing a quartet on what would’ve otherwise been a social night was not as bad as I’d thought.
posted by ISC On Stage @ 7:58 AM
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