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Classically-trained musicians seal the deal when they bring personality to their performances. The Zehetmair Quartet last night won us over for this very reason.

The Gramophone Award-winning players didn’t take the easy road, either. Playing technically daunting string quartets by Mozart, Hindemith, and Schumann, the four showed the City Hall audience what happens when individual skillfulness fuses into collaborative craft.

First violin Zehetmair founded the quartet 15 years ago, and his stature was evident from the Mozart presto forward. Zehetmair’s forceful, even insistent presence was the focal point of the night’s tableau but allowed the others to reveal their own compelling qualities.

Second violin Kuba Jakowicz lent an unassuming and dryer tone to complement Zehetmair’s fireworks. Violist Ruth Killius delivered a somber and husky sound that was particularly enticing during Hindemith’s moody middle movements. And cellist Ursula Smith, her smiling and animated face forever studying her partners-in-tune, gave resonant ballast throughout, shining brightest in Schumann’s brisk scherzo.

The Zehetmair Quartet played as if they had locked into memory one another’s every musical nuance. During the Hindemith, a 20^th century piece overflowing with dissonant passages, we couldn’t help but notice that the four gave off remarkably similar arpeggios. Chemistry accounted for the synchronicity, and it also guaranteed our enjoyment.

Bong Miquiabas