Chicago String Quartet: The Chicago String Quartet’s first concert of its 1996-97 season was the inaugural performance for its new cellist, Christopher Costanza. If not yet entirely instinctive with his colleagues, he fits in well, and he plays with style and richness of tone. The Monday night concert at DePaul University Concert Hall opened with Anton Webern’s brief Six Bagatelles, Opus 9–and so did the second half, as the Quartet repeated the dense and difficult work, giving the audience a second chance to absorb it. The Quintet in B Flat for Clarinet and String Quartet, Opus 89, by Anton Reicha gave the guest artist, clarinetist Larry Combs, a chance to show off his warmly polished sound. The concluding work, Brahms’ Quartet in A Minor, Opus 51, had a few scrappy moments, but they hardly marred a very satisfying evening of chamber music.
