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July 29, 2005
Crossing musical styles
British quartet blur boundaries between genres.
EVA COHEN
Contemporary music hits the main stage at Festival Vancouver next
week as British sensation The Smith Quartet present three shows.
It's part of the festival's theme this year, focusing on classical,
world and jazz artists from the United Kingdom.
The quartet, formed in 1990, is comprised of Deidre Cooper, Charles
Mutter, Ian Humphries and Nicholas Pendlebury. Now in their 15th
year, the group is world-renowned in the music community for superb
musicianship and an original approach to music. The Smith Quartet
has been commissioned to play more than 50 works, ranging from rock/pop
to jazz.
The group was originally associated with the Siobhan Davies Dance
Company and toured with other companies such as Shobana Jeyasingh
Dance Company and Candoco. Their first name was The Degas Quartet,
after the French artist whose stock in trade was ballet dancers.
This name seemed suitable at the time, as they were connected to
the dance community, but as the quartet expanded their musical base,
a change in name became necessary.
"We started playing new music and Degas Quartet didn't fit,"
said Smith Quartet member Nicholas Pendlebury. "We looked for
a name that was different than all of the flamboyant names out there.
We wanted a name that stood out and was memorable; was down to earth
and unique. The Smith Quartet felt appropriate."
The quartet is most recently known for their contribution to BBC
Television's Holocaust – A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz,
filmed on location in Poland last November in collaboration with
the national broadcasters of Poland, Canada and Germany. The film
was made for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,
as a tribute to the millions who died in the death camps. In the
film, the quartet performed Steve Reich's "Different Trains."
Reich is an American composer who, as a child, had to take the train
between Chicago and New York following the separation of his parents.
"Different Trains" is based on his feelings about how
different it would have been for him riding the train as a Jewish
child in Nazi-occupied territory during the Second World War. After
interviewing his nanny, railway workers and Holocaust survivors,
Reich created musical notations to tell their story. "Different
Trains" is both lengthy and powerful and will be one of the
main pieces played by The Smith Quartet during their visit to Vancouver.
The performance will also be accompanied by tape-recordings of interviews
and sounds of trains and weaponry.
The quartet will be playing other pieces, such as "Servant,"
by young British composer Graham Fitkin. As well, the group will
première work specially commissioned from Canadian composer
Dorothy Chang.
The Smith Quartet has travelled to Canada before, on a tour to five
destinations including Vancouver, alongside American electrical
guitarist Tim Brady. The quartet hopes that their upcoming trip
will be equally successful.
"We hope that Canadians will enjoy our music," said Pendlebury.
"It will not have been something they have heard before.
"We play very exciting music. We have a vibrant quartet and
we really get to the heart of the music. Our choice of repertoires
are also very exciting [for the Vancouver shows]."
The Smith Quartet will be playing Aug. 3 and 4 at the First Baptist
Church and Aug. 6 at the First Nations Longhouse at the University
of British Columbia. For more information, visit www.festivalvancouver.bc.ca.
Eva Cohen is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.
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