Strings celebrate American sound

The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock was alive with the sound of American and American-influenced music in the Tuesday evening “Visions of America” River Rhapsodies Chamber Series concert by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Rockefeller Quartet and Quapaw Quartet.

Highlighting the evening was “Visions and Miracles,” a work by the orchestra’s Composer of the Year Christopher Theofanidis, who was present to introduce it. The program also served as an introduction to two recent additions to the Rockefeller Quartet, violinists Trisha McGovern and Katherine Williamson, who rehearsed and performed their two concert pieces within a mere two-week period.

First on the bill of fare was Antonín Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 (“American”), composed in Iowa soon after the “New World” Symphony. The first movement, “Allegro ma non troppo,” immediately established the openness and lyrical accessibility of the work, with flawless execution by McGovern and Williamson (violins), Katherine Reynolds (viola) and Daniel Cline (cello).

Emotional depth was conveyed by Reynolds and Cline in the second movement, “Lento,” with sweetly stated pizzicato effects by McGovern and Williamson.

With the players trading off measures in the third movement, “Molto vivace,” and leading the audience on what might be termed a serene romp in the final section, “Vivace, ma non troppo,” one might have thought the group had performed together for two years rather than two weeks.

Samuel Barber’s String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11, displayed the Rockefeller Quartet’s ability to explore a familiar work with freshness and intensity.

But the greatest revelation of the program was the performance by the Quapaw Quartet of Theofanidis’ stunning three-movement “Visions and Miracles,” the second performance by the orchestra of a work by the composer within a week.

Clarity, purity and precision were evident throughout in the playing of Eric Hayward (violin), Meredith Maddox Hicks (violin), Ryan Mooney (viola) and David Gerstein (cello). Whether in the spirited or the contemplative mode, the Quapaw Quartet brought an extraordinary richness of texture to a work that deserves to be recognized as a contemporary masterpiece.