Elias Quartet radiates charisma in Philadelphhia debut

Only minutes into the Elias Quartet's Philadelphia debut concert Tuesday at the Kimmel Center, the 14-year-old British-based group was radiating its own distinctive charisma - without the slightest hint of musical force.

Few quartets at any stage of their evolution have this much personality - as manifested by an unusually warm blend, emotional individuality in the incidental solos (especially violist Martin Saving), and a manner of expression that comes so much from the inside out that there's no need for external signposts such as sharp attacks and surface histrionics.

Yet something extra was at work in the opening section of Josef Suk's Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale St. Wenceslas: The power of the group's concentration in this deeply felt, covertly patriotic piece written in 1914 seemed to put the Perelman Theater into a different time zone, one that more readily allowed listeners to check their day at the door. And as much as the piece conveys World War I apprehension, the performance's hotter moments had ecstatic inner force, underscoring just how much was at stake on the brink of possible disaster.

Every positive attribute in the Suk performance was confirmed and multiplied in Leos Janacek's feverishly compact String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer Sonata"), with a huge range of tone quality that circumvented any need for high-magnitude sound.

Guest pianist Jonathan Biss, a regular at these Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concerts and an ultra-classicist in the past, revealed unexpected sides no doubt demanded by repertoire such as Janacek's eruptive solo-piano suite In the Mist. There was more mist than Janacekian mud in his performance - he seems to hear this music through the filter of Debussy - but he gave the eruptions a grandeur born from his analytic clarity.

Biss was even more unbuttoned when joining the quartet for Dvorak's Piano Quintet Op. 81, with welcome micro-rubatos that matched the expressive elasticity of his colleagues. Any repeating sequence wasn't played just for the usual accumulation of tension: Each reiteration had a subtly different message. The synergy between Biss and the quartet was significant, giving the ensemble the freedom to leave caution far behind in climaxes, reminding you of how handily chamber music can equal the impact of orchestral works. Especially in movement endings, the instinctually clean ensemble conveyed both extreme care and spontaneous recklessness. What more could one want?

Contact music critic David Patrick Stearns at dstearns@philly.com.