Fresh delivery by Heath

IT’s hard to think of another visiting quartet which exudes such an air of focused seriousness as the Heath.

Fortunately, BBC Radio 3 chose this opportunity to record their concert for future lunchtime broadcast. Thank heavens for the Oliver Heath focus and presence of mind, for just as the recording was to begin, so a siren-wailing police car sped towards south Leamington.

Thankfully, Oliver Heath delayed the opening bars of Haydn’s wonderful Quartet in B minor and maintained great leadership throughout, most especially in the exquisitely-played third movement (andante) during which he was followed with intense concentration by his colleagues. Even more so in the dramatic finale.

Mendelssohn’s light and breezy Quartet in E flat provided Heath with the perfect opportunity to show an understanding of when to play loudly and when to play quietly. The final movement’s ending requires the most tender of tender playing as it ebbs away.

“There is something very fresh about the way Heath play,” remarked a concert regular as we left the Pump Room. That freshness was most evident in the playing of Schumann’s Quartet in A Opus 41 No 3, the most popular of his three 1842 compositions. The delivery was every bit as quick-witted and energised as the recording by the Takács Quartet.

With the recording complete, we were treated to an encore, the playing again of the canzonetta from the second movement of Mendelssohn Quartet. Heath look a very professional outfit and are enjoying considerable success. We are very fortunate to hear them in Leamington.

Clive Peacock