Leoncuro Quartet Review – A lively, intoxicating play from future luminaries | classical music

eEven by the standards of Beethoven’s late quartets, his String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor Op 131 is an odd piece. It begins with a long fugue, extending across seven movements – although one lasts only 11 bars and several extend directly into each other. The mood changes fantastically. Motifs are obsessively repeated and developed. Beethoven supposedly considered it his best quartet, but two centuries later this work remains demanding of its listeners as well as its performers.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Berlin-based Leonkoro Quartet has programmed this special memorial to their most recent Wigmore Hall appearance since bursting onto the scene with multiple wins in the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. It’s a very serious statement of ambition from a group whose newest member was born in 2006 and who recently received rave reviews for their second album.

There was much to admire: the deep, cold fissures of the opening theme, the absolute transparency of texture in the denser passages, and the harmonious pianissimo that seemed to emerge from a single 16-string instrument. Details were vivid—from the no-frills frills to the surgically precise bending and the occasional chaotic pizzicato—and the tone quality shone throughout.

However, the drawback of polishing each strip or piece to a high gloss is that it avoids the strangeness of this work, correcting its meanderings rather than shaping them into a larger narrative. The final strings of the last movement thus landed with a bump, lacking the hard-won sense of inevitable closure. The decision to play the Haydn Minuet was also telling. Another masterful turn from musicians with energy to burn – but for the listener, it’s no different than being served another appetizer at the end of a big meal.

The first half was very romantic. Webern’s early “Langsamer Satz” (all wonderful vocal longing) was followed by a deliciously subtle take of Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in Minor Process No. 13: rapid vibrato, huge collective breaths in sensual phrases, as the players throw themselves into the noise as solo equals. This was a lively and surprising performance and the Leonkoros are certainly stars in the making.