The Doric String Quartet at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet

Every other Shabbat morning, there is a concert of classical chamber music at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet. Our friend Ruth had been telling us about these, but we had never quite put together plans to get there until today. We arranged to meet Ruth at the Akhihud Junction so we could follow her from there, since we didn't know where it was.

The performers today were the Doric String Quartet, from London, England. The concert consisted entirely of string quartets by Robert Schumann. Unfortunately, he only wrote three of them, but we got to hear all of them this morning, performed by one of the best string quartets in the world! It was glorious!

The auditorium at Ein HaShofet is a nice, not-too-large amphitheater with acoustics that are just right for chamber music. As Ruth had warned us, the place was packed. Virtually every seat was already filled when we got there about 15 minutes before it started. However, they had also placed chairs on the stage on either side of the performers, and they were still available. What fabulous seats! I was sitting right behind the violist and a little to the left, David was on my left, and Ruth on my right.

Their playing was absolutely wonderful! Not only did they make no mistakes, they made it look easy (which I'm SURE it wasn't!). Much more importantly, however, was the way they played so musically together. It was as though they were one person, and an exceedingly musical one, at that. Every phrase, every nuance, was spot on. If you EVER get a chance to hear these guys play, do NOT miss it!

Here's a link to their website.