By Stephen Brookes
The Washington Post • November 24, 2005

The redoubtable Guarneri String Quartet – those rock-stars of the classical world – descended Tuesday evening to a packed Terrace Theater, and from the first notes of Mozart's Quartet No. 19 in C, it was clear that the group’s fabled intelligence and consummate musicianship were there in rampant abundance.

For all that, though, the Mozart never quite took to the air; it was high on brainpower but emotionally lackluster, and the Guarneri felt like they had yet to fully hit their stride. A solid, professional performance, to be sure. But music’s like love: If you're thinking, "how professional" while it's going on, something's wrong.

Ned Rorem's Quartet No. 3, a not-so-hot work from this otherwise engaging composer, had been promised as the second work.  But it was replaced by Richard Danielpour's Quartet No. 5 -- and for this we can only offer profound thanksgiving.  Danielpour is one of the most gifted composers on this or any other planet, and the quartet is purely and unarguably gorgeous. Building on the simplest of motivic ideas, it unfolds with intense excitement – propulsive, imaginative, always surprising, deeply satisfying. And the Guarneri (for whom the piece was written several years ago) brought it off in full-blooded style.

Of the Mendelssohn Quartet in F minor Op. 6 which closed the program, it can only be said that this was a ravishing performance from head to toe, and if you missed it you should regret it bitterly for the rest of your life. Sure, it's a thoroughly Romantic piece, with all the the swooping and swooning and throbbing and trembling that can make modern ears cringe. But this was a passionate and captivating performance, with a hang-onto-your-hat finale that propelled the Terrace Theater well into the ozone. In a word: Unforgettable.