Day 5 of the OSAKA INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION 2023 brought Round 3 for string quartets. Five quartets competed for three spots in the final round, to be held on Thursday. The jury chose quartets from Japan (Hono), Italy (Indaco), and the U.S. (Terra). In fact, these will win First, Second, and Third Prize in the end; it remains now only for the jury to decide the ranking. The Indaco and Hono Quartets both impressed me as First Prize material. A sheen of beautiful sound, immaculate execution, perfection of balance, and an overall sense of refinement surrounded the playing of the Indaco Quartet, which also showed itself capable of projecting even the faintest trace of sound without effort and putting forth great volumes of sound with never a trace of ugliness. The Hono Quartet distinguished itself with stark contrasts of loud and soft, a highly expressive approach, and absolute perfection in technical matters.

The repertory for each quartet was two-fold: one of the middle-period Beethoven Quartets (only Op. 59 No. 2 was missing, while Op. 95 was played twice), and a specially-composed piece by Misato Mochizuki entitled Boids Again.  The title refers to the phenomenon by which flocks of birds (bird-oids)  manage to fly in close proximity to each other, even in a multitude of directions simultaneously without bumping into each other. Mochizuki’s approach was to apply this activity to string quartet writing, resulting in a cleverly-designed piece that was fun to hear, but left one wondering if computer-generated sounds might have been just as effective. The four quartet members did not so much interact as each go its own way, with textured layering effects providing the only source of interest. Though the score indicates 4/4 meter, there was no pulse to the music. What we heard was the simulated peeps and cheeps of an aviary, the wails and whoops of marsh birds, and the quacks and grunts of large birds of prey. At six-to seven minutes, it was just the right length to avoid tedium. To my ears, there was not sufficient difference in performances by the five quartets to render judgment. In fact, the composer herself is on record as saying that she does not expect the musicians to adhere too closely to the printed score.

WRITTEN BY Robert Markow