ORONO – Recent scientific studies have pointed to a relationship, often suspected, between the study of music and the ability to excel in mathematics. The converse, that mathematical ability will lead to musicianship, is not as simple a proposition since the ability to excel in musical performance relies not only on a kind of mathematical precision involving pitch and tempo, but also upon a more difficult to define quality of expression, emotion and passion.

The Miro String Quartet is an ensemble that does well at managing this balancing act between technical brilliance and emotional intensity. And live in concert, it accomplishes this with charisma, verve and finesse. Its concert Sunday at Minsky Recital Hall was surprisingly well-attended, considering yet another snowstorm, but the music was worth the effort.

In a program comprising works by Mozart, Bartok, Mendelssohn and Jerome Kern, the quartet managed to give each piece a slightly different tonal color while at the same time retaining a distinctive sound of its own.

Mozart’s “Quartet No. 21 in D major,” although written toward the sad end of the composer’s short life, is nonetheless a rational and joyous piece, which Miro played with delicate precision, coaxing a wonderful, sweet, woody sound from the instruments.

Next on the program was Bela Bartok’s “Quartet No. 3, Sz 84.” Gone was the sweetness of tone. Instead, the quartet teased sounds reminiscent of jazz or power rock from its instruments, playing them hard, playing them stridently, tapping them, getting almost acid-groove effects by bowing over the fingerboard or the bridge. At one point, a series of heavy rhythmic, slightly dissonant chords was played in unison, while the quartet’s members thrashed their heads in what seemed like an unconscious parody of the “Hungarian Rhapsody” scene in the movie “Wayne’s World.” A humorous association, perhaps, but this piece of music, with all of its dissonance and stringency did indeed – rock.

Then followed the “Quartet in F minor, Op. 80, No. 6” by Mendelssohn. This piece, his last great work, was written as a kind of requiem for his beloved sister Fanny, who died suddenly while Mendelssohn was returning from a concert tour of England.

Shocked, and devastated by the news, it seems as if he poured the last remaining passion and vitality into this emotional work. A few months after his sister’s death, his friends became concerned at his fragile physical appearance, and soon after that he died. His body was buried next to that of his sister.

This sad story is the human framework within which the piece can be appreciated as a map of the grieving process.

Miro interpreted the work through stages of confusion, grief, anger, and then to a kind of acceptance at the end of the adagio, as the music slows and quiets until it seems like a never-ending sigh.

Another composer might have ended the piece here, but Mendelssohn rebels against acceptance and ends the piece as it began in turmoil and anguish.

After much applause and many bows, violist John Largess told the audience that after the fiery Mendelssohn piece, the group thought some smoke would be in order, upon which the quartet performed its encore, Jerome Kern’s “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” in an unusual salon arrangement with almost tango rhythms.

The Miro quartet is very good. Its members are young, intense, fun to watch, and those Maine residents who appreciate exciting live performance should watch for their return to the state with anticipation. Don’t miss this quartet.

The quartet includes violinists Daniel Ching and Sandy Yamamoto, cellist Joshua Gindele and violist John Largess. Recordings of the group are available on Bridge Records.