By Natasha Chang, News Correspondent
Classical. Jazz. Tango. Movie music. Blues. Whatever genre – you name it – they play it.
What started off as a little get-together between four cellists of the prestigious Boston Symphony Orchestra is now a group they call the Boston Cello Quartet. With a debut album released Tuesday, these four musicians from Romania, France and the United States have brought their most beloved instrument from the lines of the symphony orchestra onto center stage.
“When I first heard the cello, I thought it was the most beautiful instrument in the world,” Boston Cello Quartet member Mihail Jojatu said.
Yo-Yo Ma once said, “There are limits to how much sound a cello can make. Finding what those limits might be and then trying to suggest perhaps even the illusion of going beyond is part of the kind of effort.” That is what the Boston Cello Quartet set out to do. After the success of their debut concert at Tanglewood in July 2010, which was described by The Berkshire Eagle as “The best prelude concert at Ozawa Hall since the hall was built,” and listening to the live recording of the concert, the quartet was taken aback at the sound of the four cellos together.
“We heard the sound of the cellos and how beautiful it was,” Jojatu said. “The sound was so rich, full and colorful that we went forward and prepared another concert.”
Not only do they want to share how great the cello is, but as emphasized in their debut album, “Pictures,” they also want to deliver a message. The quartet aims to express the versatility of the classical music genre.
“Classical music is well alive and is still a great place to live and share emotions,” Quartet member Blaise Dejardin said. “This album is a great gateway for anyone who doesn’t know much about classical music because they can also enjoy other different styles of music.”
Breaking the barriers of what classical musicians can do, their debut album showcases many different genres such as jazz, tango and blues just to name a few. Picking songs for the album was a no-stress process, according to the quartet. “It was super easy to work with everyone in this room here,” Jojatu said. “That wasn’t anything challenging.”
With so many opportunities to play together, such as opening for the pop group Train and partnering with composer Olivier Deriviere to record the soundtrack of the video game “Of Orcs and Men,” the incorporation of the different genres was a unanimous decision between members as a reflection of their three years together as a group.
“The album is very much like our concerts,” Dejardin said. “It starts off with classical music pieces and then toward the end we start adding jazz, tango, medleys and movie tunes.”
If the individual listening to the album is able to give in to the illusion that they are sitting in on a live concert, then the members of the quartet have done what they sought out to do.“
We really wanted to present ourselves just like if we were in a live concert, so that is what you get,” Dejardin said.
With a fiery passion for their instrument and a playful mood between members of the quartet – Alexandre Lecarme joking that Jean Claude Van Damme was one cellist he was inspired by – they show that they are having fun while working hard to put on a memorable show. Unlike performing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra where musicians need to be serious, the quartet has taken a lighter approach.
“Concerts are always our favorite moments,” Dejardin said. “We will smile and look at each other, with our own inside jokes going on.”
Their next concert will take place in Pickman Hall at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge on March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
“We really are doing it because we love it,” said Dejardin. “It’s too much of a good time to stop.”
