The Friction Quartet and Sarah Cahill

The Friction Quartet performed with pianist Sarah Cahill at Noe Music Sunday afternoon in a satisfying, wide-ranging program. They started with a work they had commissioned, Max Stoffregen's The Gila: River, Mesa and Mountain. I heard the piece at its premiere with Sarah Cahill at the piano in 2019 at Old First Church (click here), and enjoyed the rambling, atmospheric travelogue that ends with an energetic movement depicting The Mountain. (Pictured above are from left to right: pianist Sarah Cahill, violinist Otis Harriel, violist Mitso Floor, cellist Doug Machiz, and violinist Kevin Rogers.)

The quartet formed in 2011 out of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and have been giving amazing performances of contemporary music for the last decade. They seem to be in a transitional period since the departure of longtime violist Taija Werbelow. She was replaced by Lucia Kobza, but then the pandemic arrived, she departed, and it's been a trial finding the right replacement. Subbing in for concerts this spring is Mitso Floor, an SF Conservatory alumni who just finished graduate school at the University of Miami's music school. He was the delightful surprise of the concert, because he's a great musician.

Kevin Rogers introduced one of his favorite pieces of music, Dvorak's 1893 String Quartet in F major "American".

They gave an intense performance that was lively and interesting throughout, though I usually prefer my Dvorak a little gentler.

Performing the audience-friendly Dvorak quartet before the modern music in the second half was a welcome switch from the usual, "and here's something you recognize for the end of this difficult program." Hearing the past made for a richer experience listening to the present. Sarah Cahill introduced Tania León's 2013 Ethos for String Quartet and Piano.

The AND is accurate because instead of being a piano quintet, there is a string quartet playing one set of lyrical and/or slashing music while the piano is doing its own thing altogether in crazy clusters of notes. And then the pauses begin, starting with Doug Machiz on cello (above) and involving everyone in longer bouts of silence. It was absorbing and the right length.

Violinist Otis Harriel gave the best spoken introduction to a piece, Timo Andres's 2012 Piano Quintet. He described how a lot of music is about a journey that is circular, coming home to the original theme, while this music was a true journey, where you were never quite sure where it was going to end up.

He was right, and the performance was expert. What both Sarah Cahill and the Friction Quartet have in common is infusing contemporary compositions with musicality in live performances. It's a rare gift and mission.

Hey, Mitso, here's some unsolicited advice. Keep playing with the Friction Dudes for as long as you can. And for my readers, you can hear the Friction Quartet later this month in Berkeley and Albany and San Francisco. Check out this link for details.