Muir performance a study in grace

MUIR QUARTET, St. Mary's Church, Park City, Thursday.

PARK CITY — Elegant. Polished. Whatever they set their hands (and bows) to, the Muir Quartet adds finesse and grace.

On Thursday, that finesse was added to Mozart's Quartet in G Major, Debussy's Quartet in G Minor, and Beethoven's Quartet in C-sharp Minor.

The program began with the lovely Mozart Quartet in G Major, which was seamless, elegant and light in the hands of the Muir Quartet. Infused with a subtle, almost dry sense of humor, the quartet — Lucia Lin, violin; Steven Ansell, viola; Michael Reynolds, cello; and Peter Zazofsky; violin — deftly handled the various motifs, as with the loud/soft passages of the second movement and the upward sliding in the fourth movement.

Their individual artistry was apparent in the performance. Whether in the role of melody or harmony, each played with taste and artistry as they alternately blended and led out with the others. It was also clear that each paid great attention to detail, which particularly served them well in the second piece, Debussy's Quartet in G Minor.

This detail amplified into splendid colors in the Debussy. The first movement had a wonderfully gossamer, shimmering texture, which shifted into pizzicato in the second movement. By the time they got to the third, it was impassioned and soaring.

This piece was, by far, the highlight of the evening. Beyond all the delightful sounds, colors and textures, their performance infused the work with a sense of freedom and flight. All these elements combined made for a winning combination.

The evening ended with Beethoven's Quartet in C-sharp Minor. As with the other works, the performance was lovely. In fact, if possible, the Muir Quartet's performance was lovely to a fault.

It's entirely a matter of opinion and interpretation — after all, how could one possibly complain about the gorgeous sounds spilling from their instruments. But sometimes these late quartets of Beethoven are presented a bit, well, more rough, more raw.

While the musicians certainly presented a wide range of dynamics and moods in the music itself, it was hard to grab hold of the psychological depth and complexity when it was so smooth and polished.

Often the performance of this piece sounded similar to the performance of the Mozart Quartet, rather than distinctively different, distinctively Beethoven. Even when, toward the end, they escalated the fervor and volume, it was still so elegant that it never felt as if they completely embraced that gruffness, moodiness and tempestuousness sometimes heard in Beethoven's musical voice, and especially in his later works.

Having said that, however, there were probably many in the audience who particularly liked this performance of the Beethoven — for the same reasons this reviewer took issue with it.

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E-mail: rcline@desnews.com