Neutral faces...

I've got a ton of stuff to do, but of course, the most useless things come first... =p

Finally, we went to the much anticipated Aviv String Quartet, which graced the audience with some lovely pieces:

Beethoven - String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6 [early Beethoven: opened lightly, then contrasting pathos against a scherzo dance]

Prokofiev - String Quartet No. 2 in F Major [*very* Prokofiev; very contemporary Russian -- and always pleasing]

Sir Ernest MacMillan - Two sketches for string quartet [based on two Canadian folksongs, the style kind of reminded me of a contemporary Stravinsky-type.. despite being Canadian, I really enjoyed this one. =p]

Tchaikovsky - String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat minor, Op. 30 [rich Romantic flavour -- a great finale]

I was extremely tonight this because this was my first Music Toronto concert; I have missed three of them because of (blasted) business trips! Oh well, it was great tonight...

...*except* that I find it slightly upsetting to enjoy live music when the performers look SOO BORED! If I had a comment card, I would have definitely told the cellist to "Smile more!!" [I don't think that would have caused trouble... ;)] Yes, I understand that people may naturally have the "neutral face", but you're still a performer, for goodness sake! The MacMillan and the Tchaikovsky weren't too bad, but as for the Beethoven, I could not feel the pathos!

Haha, all in all though, not a bad performance... definitely great value!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.