MUSIC REVIEW : Treats From Guarneri Quartet

The Guarneri String Quartet, its membership unchanged in the quarter-century of its existence, brought a largely familiar program to Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium on Sunday afternoon.

That the pleasures were of an expected sort made them no less welcome. Whatever fleeting problems may afflict a Guarneri performance, violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree, and cellist David Soyer always seem able to pull things together for the big moments. They remain exemplars of supremely accomplished, dedicated professionalism and, not incidentally, among the top draws in chamber music, as witness the nearly-packed house (hardly a common sight at Beckman) for this Coleman Concerts presentation.

The afternoon’s major lapses were dispensed with at the outset, in the opening movement of the C-minor Quartet of Beethoven’s Opus 18, which found Steinhardt insecure of intonation, occasionally faint-toned and in one instance very noticeably out of sync with his colleagues.

Dohnanyi’s entertaining 1902 Serenade for String Trio--which, after decades of neglect, we’ve been hearing with some, perhaps excessive, frequency of late--was neatly, sonorously dispatched, with Dalley’s big, gritty violin tone an appealingly apt presence.

When, however, sweetness and sensuality are required one wants Steinhardt on first--and he was most emphatically and masterfully in place, joining with his colleagues for a subtle, gorgeously shaded interpretation of the Ravel Quartet, a potent reminder that the Guarneri’s skills, while occasionally requiring readjustment, remain intact--and unique.