Guildhall questions: Beauvoir Quartet answers

The LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists recital series sees senior Guildhall musicians take to the Barbican Hall stage before LSO concerts with free performances of complementary repertoire.

On Wednesday 14 November, the Beauvoir Quartet perform Debussy’s String Quartet prior to the LSO evening concert featuring the composer’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un Faune.

The Beauvoir Quartet consists of violinists Enyuan Khong and Brenna Carey, violist Agnieszka Zyniewicsz, and cellist Pedro Silva. They are a group of diverse musicians who hail from the UK, the United States, Poland, and Portugal, respectively. They have worked together for just over a year in the Guildhall school and have been taught by renowned chamber music coaches Eberhard Feltz and Alesdair Tait, as well as members of the Endellion Quartet, Tacasz Quartet, and Emerson Quartet.

What would be your dream concert to perform in?

We would love to perform any of the Beethoven string quartets (But I especially love No. 12 Op. 127 in E flat Major), and it would be a huge honor if we had the chance to play in one of the great London chamber music venues like Wigmore Hall.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt about music in the last year at Guildhall?

One of the greatest lessons we have learned so far in our time at Guildhall is the vast diversity of musical interpretations that exist, and the different ideologies about classical music that come from different parts of the world. Attending a school like Guildhall which has so many international students from every corner of the world provides a huge influence in how we think about our own interpretations and constantly inspires us to challenge our own thinking about the musical traditions we are accustomed to.

What makes this piece so special?

We think what makes this piece so special as performers, is the freedom with which you are able to experience an entirely unique soundscape. Playing in a group, you get a very physical sense of becoming a part of this world, evolving through sound and texture as a single organism.

Debussy rejected the label of Impressionism, but for me it encapsulates a particular sensual quality of playing the piece, much like the wealth of light and colour beneath the surface in a Monet painting. This depth of sound paints a specific picture, while also creating a world of suggestion, sweeping both performer and audience into an entirely sublime and imaginative realm.

What are you most looking forward to musically in the coming year?

We are looking forward to more opportunities working with coaches and utilizing the fantastic chamber music resources available at Guildhall. We plan to work on Haydn string quartets this year to further solidify our sound as a group.

What are the particular challenges of performing this piece and how have you solved them?

The difficulty in creating Debussy’s sound world is that each voice has to have an internal life of its own while corresponding with each other into a seamless whole. It is this push and pull of sound and texture that give the piece its seeming fluidity, built on waves of colour. Each part in this quartet is individually extremely challenging, but even more so is understanding how all these complex patterns ebb and flow, intertwining with each other into something that seems entirely free formed.

What are your favourite moments in this piece?

We love when Debussy arranges melodic sections as duets in octaves, this happens several times such as the duet between the viola and second violin at the end of the first movement. We also love the jazz-like rhythms and swing of the beginning of the second movement.

How do you feel to be performing on the Barbican stage?

We feel honoured for the opportunity to play at such a beautiful and internationally famous venue. It is a great privilege that we have access to this facility as Guildhall students, and that performing here will be an experience that we will never forget.

Hear the Beauvoir Quartet Debussy’s String Quartet in the Barbican Hall at 6pm on Wednesday 14 November. Admission is free and unticketed.