Sausalito Quartet Has Unified Edge

The Sausalito String Quartet first stepped into the limelight in 1995 by taking first prize in both the Fischoff and Coleman national chamber music competitions. On Sunday afternoon, the foursome brought some of that light to a rainy-day performance, given at Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton as part of the Fullerton Friends of Music series.

Violinists Nicholas Lozovsky and Luigi Peracchia, violist Paul Nahhas and cellist Matthew Lavin may not yet reveal a unique voice as an ensemble--there are others with more breadth and more insight--but they can claim unity, purpose and precision, all of which they displayed with involving clarity in a program of Classical and Romantic works.

Mozart’s Quartet in G, K. 387 unfolded in animated elegance and controlled drama--particularly in the counterpoint of the Finale. At times the control seemed too tight--overly subdued in the Andante, when the cantabile might have been more expansive, so focused on the shifting voices of the last movement that flashes of Mozartean humor flew by apparently unnoticed.

*

Self-contained single-mindedness coupled with great sensitivity to shading yielded heady results in Beethoven’s F-minor “Serioso” Quartet, Opus 95, and in Smetana’s String Quartet, subtitled “From My Life.” In the “Serioso” Quartet, the group alternated vehement attack with stark, inward exploration. Nahhas began Smetana’s autobiographical work by couching the viola solo in biting, determined tones and setting the stage for tortured statements from his cohorts. Amid the strife, the musicians floated tender melodies, despite balance that tended toward the lower instruments.

The larger-than-capacity audience rose for a standing ovation, but no encores were offered.