Spy Review: Chesapeake Music’s Series Ends with a Flourish

On Sunday afternoon, at The Ebenezer Theater in Easton, the Hesper Quartet, a Korean-American string quartet based in New York City, charmed the audience with the music of Benjamin Britten and Bedřich Smetana. The quartet was then joined by Chinese pianist Ying Li for a piano quintet by Dmitri Shostakovich. The result: technical mastery, inspirational interpretation, and flawless execution. The concert was held in memory of Anne Moran, who served on the Board of Chesapeake Music and co-chaired the organization’s International Chamber Music Competition.

Last year, the Hesper Quartet swept Silver Medals at the Chesapeake International Music Competition, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Lyon International String Quartet Competition, and the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition. And just last weekend, the Quartet won first prize at the St. Paul Chamber Music Competition.

Yi Ling was the First Prize winner of the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, as well as the recipient of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Prize and the Tri-1 Noon Recitals Prize, in addition to a host of other awards. 

The Hesper Quartet played Britten’s Three Divertimenti for String Quartet, which Britten wrote in his early 20s and created to represent character portraits of various school friends, sometimes referred to as Go play, boy, play.

The second piece was Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 (“From My Life”) which is a four-movement autobiographical piece which includes memories of his youth, some nationalistic references, a tribute to his wife, and the final movement which correlates with his declining health and the reckoning of his mortality. Its notable features include a prominent viola solo in the first movement and a sustained harmonic E by the first violinist in the last movement. 

The Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G Minor consists of five movements—a Prelude, Fugue, Scherzo, Intermezzo, and Finale. The Quartet captured the essence of much of Shostakovich’s music, which is characterized by emotion, sharp contrasts, and technical complexity. 

The Hesper Quartet and pianist Ying Li did more than justice to each of these pieces and received a well-deserved standing ovation for their artistry and interpretations. 

Next up on the Chesapeake Music calendar is the much-awaited Chamber Music Festival, which offers six concerts from June 6 through 14, including some with the world-renowned Juilliard Quartet. Subscriptions and individual tickets for the Festival are available on ChesapeakeMusic.org.