Fantastic musicians during the opening concert of the Zeister Muziekdagen

Upon entering, the musty smell of the Oosterkerk in Zeist is the first thing you notice. The opening concert of the 33rd edition of the Zeister Muziekdagen will take place here on Saturday evening. Atmospheric is different, but that doesn’t matter anymore when the Spanish Cuarteto Quiroga starts. With a string quartet by Manuel Canales (1747-1786), in which the influences of Joseph Haydn and Luigi Boccherini are concentrated, you get a fresh preview of the rest of the concert.

Right at the beginning of Canales’ first part, a Allegro maestoso, the second violin and viola are the diaphragm (a result of Haydn’s division of roles) that brings together the melodic first violin and the cello as a foundation while rocking. Dissonances lean against each other in subtle delays with the Spaniards. They give the dynamic accents extra color with sandy pianissimos, stamping feet and lots of bow hair on strings when leather is pulled.

The draw bag tones in Canales’ final String Quartet mirror the chunky bourdon chords in Haydns’ finale First String Quartet from opus 74. His first movement is a lightning-fast and feather-light transfer of lyrical melodies, in which the quartet members alternately bounce merrily from their chairs. It Minuet – frumpiness is always lurking – has juicy and firm flesh on the bones.

After the break, Israeli cellist Gavriel Lipkind echoes Spanish folklore in the Suite by Gaspar Cassado (1897-1966). Where the folk dance second part is a bit too heavy on the stomach, Lipkind sings the third part with the deep brown voice of a melancholy flamenco singer.

Boccherinis La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid for string quintet (Lipkind with the Cuarteto Quiroga) is the conclusion of this Spanish-classical programme. The fantastic musicians will get you drunk with imitated guitars, tambourines and chimes.