"Philharmonia Quartett Berlin (Jan. 14, Lincoln Hall): The third Portland appearance of four members of the great Berlin Philharmonic -- three section leaders and a member of the illustrious cello section -- was a glorious and illuminating hat trick, presented by Friends of Chamber Music. A model of exquisite balance and understated brilliance, they made thoughtful, poignant conversations of quartets by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, and brought the same warmth and human scale to Anton Webern's 'Five Movements' and György Kurtag's fascinating, tiny '12 Microludes.'"

"The thing you notice very quickly in the beautiful first movement of the Mendelssohn is how seemingly effortless that perfect collaboration is between these four men. Sure the fact that they have been performing together for so long accounts for some of that, but you definitely have the sense that it is their shared musical sensibility that drew them to each other in the first place. The playing, particularly in the fugue of the last movement, was appropriately virile, referencing Beethoven's audacity that Mendelssohn sought to honour in this piece." Read More...

"The Philharmonia Quartett Berlin brings together four of the world's top orchestral players, and their formidable experience is clear in every note they play. From the lush textures of Mendelssohn's Op.13 and Schumann's Op.41 no. 3, through the angular landscapes of Webern's Op. 5 and Kurtág's Hommage à Andrés Mihály, last night's concert was model ensemble playing." Read More...

The Montgomery Advertiser features an online slideshow of Philharmonia Quartett Berlin in rehearsal. Read More...

"Their approach Monday night, as in their previous two Portland appearances, combined warmth, clarity and a sense of drama on a human scale. The playing was brilliant but subtle and gracious; there were no flashy displays, and the dynamic rarely exceeded mezzo-forte. The magic was in their uncanny blend, balance and sense of proportion, which made the more challenging works on the program readily approachable." Read More...

"...the Berliners delved deeply into the subtext of these tiny sketches, and produced moments of great tenderness and poignancy. In their hands, the snatches of melody seemed more like memories, the very phenomenon for which Kurtag was striving." Read More...

"It's not a surprise that four leading players of what is frequently held up as the world's best orchestra should perform with such conviction. Still, this was really something: The quartet's playing was at once burnished and raging." Read More...

"They might all be the same player, considering the uniformity of their techniques. Their tones are mellow, never forced, their bowing showing a preference for the soft attack, of starting the note not with a pop or a bite, but out of nothingness, perfectly formed." Read More...

"In place of the aching, urgent Romanticism the audience may well have expected, the four approached with warm, quiet elegance. Their placid, nearly straight tone incorporated a minimum of vibrato, like a barely perceptible seasoning, and their dynamics focused on a delicate mezzo piano, lending an arresting sense of calm.... Throughout, the ensemble was impeccable and the intonation flawless. It's tempting to use the word 'perfect' to describe this kind of playing, except that perfection implies an impersonal ideal that's worlds away from the abundant humanity of the quartet's approach."

"The four members ... who make up the ensemble displayed the highest standards of technical accomplishment and artistic single-mindedness."

"... a rich string sound in a well-blended performance that nevertheless kept clear articulation and definition."