Kalla and Neruda Quartets
Royal Academy of Music
Lunchtime concert, 24 February 2026
The advertised work in this pleasing concert was the Mendelssohn Octet, but it began with the Kalla Quartet playing Beethoven Op 18 no 3. Their cellist explained at the beginning that this was the fruition of a recent five-day training session at Minterne House in Dorset with Marije Johnston who teaches them at the Royal Academy of Music along with her husband Magnus (Concert master at Royal Opera House) and brother-in-law Guy who is a renowned international cellist.
That input certainly showed. Their tone, especially from the viola (who is an outstandingly collaborative player) was pleasing. They managed the rubato in the second movement with cohesion and there was some lovely cello work. The third movement, in 3/4 but not quite a minuet and trio, came with verve and the final presto rose to an exciting climax before the witty Haydnesque ending. It was an enjoyable effort with only one or two infelicitous moments.
They were then joined by the Neruda Quartet for Mendelssohn’s remarkable Octet, famously written in 1825 when he was only sixteen, All players apart from cellos stood for this performance which, as always, freed up the music and the interpretation because it allows much more body movement and eye contact. Highlights included the intricate, silken beauty of the second movement which came out pretty well as did the exposed first violin solos although everyone is a soloist here. I liked the way these young players brought lightness and tension (shades of A Midsummer Night’s Dream concert overture which came a year later) to the third movement and they played the finale, complete with Messiah quotes, with impressive youthful energy.
Of course these students must breathe with the music – as singers and wind players do. It’s crucial to phrasing and no doubt they’ve been encouraged in it since childhood. They should, however, not do it so loudly that the audience can hear it as if it were part of the texture of the music. At times in this concert it sounded as if there were a fault in the central heating or air conditioning.
That may have been exacerbated by the sensitive acoustic of the Angela Burgess Recital Room which I hadn’t been in before. It’s at the top of the building in the new extension and it’s a very beautiful space whose design allowed me to hear every note on every instrument without any kind of fuzziness or echo which was an unusual delight.
