Guarneri Quartet/1807 and Friends

Guarneri Quartet, Tue., Dec. 11, 8 p.m., $22.50, Convention Center, 13th and Race streets, 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org. 1807 and Friends, Mon., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St., $17, 215-438-4027, frnd1807@verizon.net.

by Peter Burwasser

classical

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One of the world's most illustrious ensembles, the Guarneri Quartet, will make one of its regular visits here (as performers — the members all teach at Curtis) on Tuesday. Are they the most frequent guests of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society? Their all-Beethoven program, including the magisterial Opus 130, with the optional Great Fugue, is completely self-recommending. But another string quartet performance this week should be at least as compelling, featuring an all-Russian selection. 1807 and Friends frequently groups the music they play around national themes, and this concert shows the range that Russian chamber music, which should be more popular than it is, can achieve. The early Rachmaninoff quartet, which is virtually unknown, gives us a solid view of the emerging artist, while the Borodin String Quartet No. 2 is an example of the elegant lyricism of this chemist and amateur composer at the height of his maturity. With Shostakovich, we come to a composer whose string quartet output seems to be accorded more attention with every passing season, as is appropriate. These works are astonishingly powerful, and at the pinnacle of the art form, right up there with the quartets of Mozart and Beethoven.

Guarneri Quartet, Tue., Dec. 11, 8 p.m., $22.50, Convention Center, 13th and Race streets, 215-569-8080, pcmsconcerts.org. 1807 and Friends, Mon., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce St., $17, 215-438-4027, frnd1807@verizon.net.