A Review of Double Quartet: Strings and Spaces, Formosa Quartet

The Formosa Quartet’s performance on Thursday night was an excellent opening to EMPAC’s 10-year celebration. The Quartet has been praised worldwide for performing classical music, playing experimental and alternative pieces, and, most notably, resurrecting and reinventing traditional Taiwanese music. In this installation, the Formosa Quartet sought to showcase the artistic significance of EMPAC by performing different musical pieces in four separate venues within EMPAC. What the Quartet did exceptionally well—in addition to playing their instruments with astounding precision and elegance—was create a completely unique experience with every new venue, ultimately displaying the impressive diversity of EMPAC.

The performance began in the concert hall.  We were ushered into the auditorium and were instructed to sit on the stage, facing outwards towards the seats in the auditorium. The lights dimmed and the musicians were illuminated behind their music stands; they were standing at the very back of the top balcony. The Quartet began playing the second movement Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in E-flat Major, a melodic, classical piece. Being forced to look upwards to see the musicians created an aura of regality, which at times was almost heavenly.

The Quartet ended their piece and silently exited the theater and soon we exited too. We entered Studio 1, one of EMPAC’s black boxes. Inside we found the Quartet, seated facing each other in the center of the room; the audience members filled in seats in concentric circles around the musicians. They looked at one another for a moment, and then simultaneously the struck sharp, atonal, rhythmic notes of Bela Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4 on their instruments. It was jarring at first, but soon the pulsing beat drew us in and we felt ourselves swirling around the music.

Next, we found ourselves in Studio 2, and this time each musician was seated at different corners of the room. It was our turn to sit in the middle, and we faced outward. The music that followed was a contemporary piece. The music combined with the cratered white tiles on the walls made me think of a moonscape. Depending on which seat you chose upon entering, you could only see one or two of the musicians. This made it so that the audience members could listen to the distinct sounds the instruments and the melodies they each played. It was a stark contrast to the concentric, swirling, pulsing feeling we had in the last room. Instead this room felt independent and otherworldly.

The next venue provided a direct contrast to the first one we visited. In EMPAC’s theater, the curtain on the stage was drawn and the Quartet was nowhere to be seen. Once the house lights were dimmed, bright red light emanated from the orchestra bit and it became clear that our musicians would be performing from below this time. The first venue was angelic, and the melody drew us upwards towards the music. In this theater, however, the music pulled us down. Cascading notes and foreboding hums seemed to warn us of what we would find if we ventured down below. The piece ended with plucked strings that sounded like pebbles that had been dropped into the cavern.

For the last portion of the performance, we returned to the Concert Hall. The musicians were seated on stage this time, and we sat in the front few rows. The Quartet played Lei Liang’s Song Recollections, which was distinctly inspired by Taiwanese culture and music. It was easy to imagine the landscape and community of Taiwan as intended by Liang and the Quartet when listening to the sections of cheerful refrains, choral plucking, and strong, steady notes.

The Formosa Quartet created what can be described as five different “acoustical auras.” Each was starkly different than the other, some directly contrasted each other, and some took to experiencing the music simply from a different angle. All of these experiences were tied together by the Quartet’s undeniable talent, winning them a standing ovation at the end of the performance and sparking excitement for the rest of EMPAC’s celebration.