Program Notes
October 23 & 24, 2011
Mozart (1756-1791)
Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, K.478 (1785)
The piano quartet as we know it today, i.e. piano, violin, viola and cello, with the instruments treated equally, dates back to this and its companion quartet, Mozart’s Quartet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major, K.493. The demands he made on the instruments, particularly the keyboard, previously allocated to a subordinate role in such ensembles (mostly written for amateurs), led his publisher, Franz Anton Hoffmeister to withdraw his commission for a set of three piano quartets. Hoffmeister had published the G Minor Quartet in 1785, but told the composer it was too difficult and people would not buy it. Mozart completed the second quartet anyway and sold it to another publisher. The third quartet was never written. As it turned out, the piano quartets caught on quite well and were re-issued during Mozart’s lifetime and transcribed for four-hand piano and other combinations.
Mozart wrote comparatively few works in minor keys (only two of his 41 symphonies and two of his 27 piano concertos, for example). G minor has been called his key of fate, and the description fits his First Piano Quartet with its tersely dramatic opening statement announced in unison by all four instruments. The Andante second movement sets a more disconsolate mood. As if to break the spell, the third and final movement unfolds in high spirited G Major, wiping away any clouds of despair. Mozart has a surprise near the end where he inserts a deceptive cadence (an unexpected harmonic resolution) to reroute the movement briefly, after which it continues to a joyful, upbeat conclusion.
Turina (1882-1949)
Quartet for Piano and Strings in A Minor, Op. 67 (1933)
Son of a painter, Joaquín Turina was born in Seville. After showing remarkable facility on the accordion at age 4, he began studying piano. He soon discovered that composition was his true vocation and on the advice of his teacher, moved to Madrid at age 20. His compositions met with some success there but, seeking to further his studies, he moved to Paris in 1905 and became a student of Vincent d’Indy. It was there, following a performance of his Piano Quintet in 1907, that he met the great Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz. Albéniz published Turina’s Quintet at his own expense but, as Turina recalled afterwards, he gave this advice to the young composer:
This Franckian Quintet (in the style of French composer Caesar Franck) will be published. But you must give me your word that you will not write music like this again. You must base your art on Spanish popular song, or Andalusian, because you are from Seville.
Turina took Albéniz’ advice, making the Piano Quintet his Opus 1, and disregarding all of his previous output.
The Piano Quartet, dating from 1933, is a fine example of Turina’s later style, passionate, yet restrained, and filled with just the right amount of Andalusian color. A compact three movements long, it is also concise, and material from the opening Lento returns in both the later movements. He makes effective use of violin bravura (to open the finale), as well as the dark colors of the viola and cello. Most allusive, perhaps, is his combination of Spanish rhythms and sultry sul ponticello strings (playing on the bridge) in the finale.
Dvořak (1841-1904)
Quartet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major, Op.87 (1889)
Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, the second of his two piano quartets, was composed at the request of his publisher Simrock. Unjustly overshadowed by his famous Piano Quintet, Op. 81, it brims with melody, color and optimism.
The opening Allegro con fuoco pits the strings against the piano, with a heroic statement by the former, answered flippantly, then even dismissively by the piano, before they join in a fortissimo consensus in bar 26. Issues resolved, the viola (Dvorak’s own instrument) sounds the soft, lyrical second theme, and the movement proceeds to a good-humored conclusion.
The Lento is a beauty, swathed in melody of all kinds, from gentle to impassioned. There are five themes in all, and all of them are repeated. The Allegro moderato is a Ländler (Austrian folk dance and precursor of the waltz) whose light, airy subject yields to a Middle Eastern-sounding theme in the piano. Dvorak creates a tinkling hammered dulcimer effect on the piano in one of its repetitions of the Ländler theme. The trio (contrasting mid-section of a tripartite form) sets up an infectious dotted rhythm pattern at a slightly faster tempo before easing back into the Ländler proper.
The Finale is a powerful movement, almost orchestral in concept. The brilliant opening theme is announced tutti (by all the instruments) before it is taken over by the viola and then the piano. The instruments toss around a saucy rhythmic figure which leads into the second subject, also introduced by the viola. There is an almost gypsy feel about much of the writing, tempting a comparison to the finale of Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G Minor.
By Mary Ellyn Hutton
December 4 & 5, 2011
Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Pastorale for Violin and Winds (1933)
The original version of Stravinsky’s Pastorale -- for soprano and piano -- was written when he was 25 and a student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. A vocalise (song without words), it was dedicated to Rimsky-Korsakov’s daughter Nadja, who sang the first performance at a party at the family home on Christmas Day, 1907.
It is one Stravinsky’s earliest works and the one with which he claimed to have found his own voice. He was obviously very fond of it, since he transcribed it for soprano, oboe, English horn, clarinet and bassoon in 1923, for violin and piano in 1933 and again for violin, oboe, English horn, clarinet and bassoon in 1933. The last two versions were reworked and lengthened.
It is calm, lilting, “impudently naïve” music (Stravinsky historian Richard Taruskin). Linear in construction, it begins with oboe solo, adding a lovely countermelody in the violin over staccato accompaniment and a drone-like bass (compare the musette). Providing a distinctive touch are the 64th-note turns that decorate the opening melody throughout. It comes to a soft end, with the instruments outlining the final chord. Note: In his “Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions,” Taruskin explains that the voice in the original “Pastorale” is not really wordless, but uses syllables (“a-oo”) that come from a tradition of “nature ecstasy” utilized by Russian composers, including Rimsky-Korsakov, and the Russian symbolist poets.
Beethoven (1770-1827)
Octet for Winds in E-flat Major, Op.103 (1792)
Music for wind ensemble was extremely popular in 18th-century, Central European courts, especially at meal times. Beethoven composed his Octet for two oboes, two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons while still living in his home town of Bonn. It is surmised that he wrote it for Archduke Maximilian Franz, Elector of Cologne, who kept such an octet at his table.
Beethoven may have been displeased with the work, since he never offered it for publication and re-wrote it as a string quintet in 1795-96 (Op. 4). In fact, he seldom wrote for winds alone after that. The Octet’s high opus number, Op. 103, was assigned posthumously and inaccurately, by editors at Breitkopf and Härtel. It is, in fact, an early work, written when Beethoven was 22.
It is cast in classical, four-movement symphonic form, with rapid outer movements, a slow movement and a Menuetto and Trio. Though indebted to Mozart, there are hints of the symphonist to come (Beethoven wrote his Symphony No. 1 in 1801, when he was 31). The third movement, for example, is more Scherzo than Menuetto, and there are characteristic offbeat accents in the finale, whose Presto indication means just what it says.
Stravinsky (1882—1971)
L’Histoire du Soldat (1918)
Composed in 1918, Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” (“The Soldier’s Tale”) defies classification, being part theater, part opera and part dance. It has been called a miniature Faust. It also stands at a crossroads for the composer, then exiled in Switzerland, having left his Russian homeland to take up life in the West.
The libretto was written in French by Swiss writer Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz and is based on a tale from the collection by Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasiev. Since it was wartime and many players were absent in military service, Stravinsky and Ramuz kept the production small. The score calls for violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet (or trumpet), trombone and percussion, plus three actors, a narrator and a dancer. The set comprised a stage on saw horses with a barrel at each side. The premiere, Sept. 28, 1918 in Lausanne, led by Ernest Ansermet, was a big success. The projected tour, however, was cancelled because of the worldwide Spanish flu pandemic.
Complex rhythmically and often virtuosic, the music looks ahead to Stravinsky’s neo-classic style and has more to do with horizontal (linear) than vertical (harmonic) relations. Jazz was an important influence (his very next composition was “Ragtime for 11 Instruments”), and it incorporates many other stylistic elements, including ballroom dance and the Protestant chorale. It remains one of Stravinsky’s most often performed works.
Part I
Scene One
The Soldier’s March
Airs by a Stream
Joseph, a soldier on leave, is traveling to his native village. He pauses to rest, takes a violin out of his knapsack and begins to play. The Devil, disguised as a butterfly-catcher, interrupts him and asks to buy the violin. Joseph refuses, but changes his mind when the Devil offers him a magic book that will make him rich. He agrees to spend three days with the Devil to learn about the book.
Scene Two
Pastorale
Air by a Stream (reprise)
Joseph approaches his village only to discover that he has been gone three years, not three days (people run from him, thinking he is a ghost, and his fiancée is married with children).
Scene Three
Airs by a Stream (reprise)
Joseph realizes that great wealth has brought him nothing, and he wishes to be the way he was. The Devil, disguised as a female peddler, offers her wares, including a violin. She hands Joseph the violin, but he can no longer play it. He throws it away and tears up the Devil’s book.
Part II
Scene Four
The Soldier’s March (reprise)
The Royal March
Joseph, who is no longer wealthy, stops at an inn on the way to his village. He learns that the king’s daughter is ill and the king has offered her hand to whoever can cure her. He goes to the palace where he meets the Devil, disguised as a virtuoso violinist. He plays cards with the Devil, intending to lose all of his money and be free of him. He does and recovers his violin.
Scene Five
The Little Concert
Three Dances
Tango
Valse
Ragtime
The Devil’s Dance
Little Chorale
The Devil’s Song
Great Chorale
Joseph takes the violin to the Princess’ room and plays. She is cured and begins to dance. The Devil arrives and Joseph realizes he can defeat him by continuing to play. The Devil dances himself to exhaustion. Joseph and the Princess drag him away and fall into each other’s arms. The Devil warns Joseph that he may not leave the country or he will be in his power, and the Narrator pronounces the moral of the story (“no one can have it all . . . you must choose”).
Scene Six
Triumphal March of the Devil
Joseph and the Princess, who are now married, decide to go to his village, so he can see his mother again. As he crosses the border, the Devil claims his soul.
By Mary Ellyn Hutton
January 15 & 16, 2012
Rossini (1792-1868)
Duetto for Cello and Double Bass (1824)
Gioacchino Rossini was one of the great masters of Italian opera. He wrote 39 operas, including The Barber of Seville (praised by Beethoven himself). He left a handful of chamber music, too, including a Duetto per violoncello e contrabasso, written on a visit to London in 1824. Seemingly ponderous -- it has been likened to a duo for hippopotamus and elephant -- it is completely disarming. It is also very operatic. One is reminded of Walt Disney’s “Fantasia,” where hippos and elephants dance to Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” from La Giocanda.
Rossini wrote the Duetto in 1824 for amateur cellist Sir David Salomons, to be performed at a soirée at Salomons’ home. Salomons played cello. Virtuoso bassist Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846), the so-called “Paganini of the double bass,” played bass. The Duetto was then lost until 1969, when English double bassist Rodney Slatford ran across it while searching for music by Dragonetti. A friend told him that a Dragonetti work had been sold at Sotheby’s, but that only the parts were in Dragonetti’s hand. The score was by Rossini.
Realizing that it was the lost Duetto, Slatford arranged a visit to the purchaser and obtained permission to make a performing edition. The manuscript had been in the possession of the Salomons family for 145 years. Subsequently, the BBC aired and recorded a performance of the Duetto by Slatford and cellist Christopher van Kampen (both members of Britain’s eminent Nash Ensemble). Interest in the work was immediate, and requests for it poured in from all over the world.
The Duetto brims with wit. In three movements, it opens with a saucy “overture” (Allegro). The lovely slow movement (Andante molto) could be an aria from one of Rossini’s operas (and both cello and double bass get to sing it). The exhilarating finale comes complete with a “Rossini crescendo” (steady buildup of sound over a repeated figure). The instruments are treated equally throughout, sharing solo and accompanimental roles and engaging in constant dialogue. The Duetto has been arranged for alto and baritone saxophone, as well.
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939)
Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass and Piano (2011)
Ellen Zwilich’s Quintet was commissioned for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, violist Michael Tree and double bassist Harold Robinson by a consortium of presenters, including the Linton Chamber Music Series, with support from Ann and Harry Santen. The world premiere, presented by the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, took place at SummerFest in San Diego August 7, 2011, and was an immediate success (“an all-out jazz-inflected romp,” wrote critic James Chute in the San Diego Union Tribune).
Zwilich, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music (for her Symphony No. 1 in 1983), took inspiration for the Quintet from Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, written for the same combination of instruments in 1819. Listen carefully and you will hear Schubert’s famous theme near the beginning of the second movement, “Die launische Forelle” (“The moody trout”).
“I couldn’t resist using a very small quote from the Schubert song on which his Quintet is based,” said Zwilich, in an interview with the online news site, BroadwayWorld.com. “I also took the liberty of allowing that movement to spin out musical images of a ‘moody’ trout. In all three movements, the weight and character of the contrabass is an important element in the overall design. I’m especially interested in the possibilities offered by the contemporary contrabass player’s virtuosity and artistry, which allow the composer to reach for that chamber music ideal of equal partners.”
The Quintet opens with a dramatic, ascending theme announced by the cello and taken up by viola and violin. This alternates with a cantabile (songlike) theme derived from it, first heard in the violin. Both are treated contrapuntally. “Moody” translates into blues in Zwilich’s second movement, where a walking bass introduces an out-and-out lamentation by viola and violin. Everyone gets into the act, including most affectingly, the double bass.
The final movement is perhaps the jazziest of all, with its offbeat, jagged rhythms. There is constant interplay among the instruments and a return midway of the ascending theme from the first movement. The Quintet is the fourth work that Zwilich has written for the Kalichstein-Laredo- Robinson Trio.
Brahms (1833-1897)
Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, Op. 25 (1861)
The Piano Quartet in G Minor is the most popular of Brahms’ three piano quartets. You don’t even have to be a chamber music aficionado to know and love it, since Arnold Schoenberg transcribed it for orchestra in 1937, and it is frequently heard on orchestral programs.
It was written while Brahms was in Detmold, working as a choral conductor and chamber musician, and premiered informally in Hamburg in 1861, with Clara Schumann on piano. The Viennese (official) premiere was in 1862, with Brahms on the piano and members of the Hellmesberger String Quartet. The event helped establish Brahms as an important composer, and was the occasion that led violinist Joseph Hellmesberger to famously announce, “This is Beethoven’s heir.”
It is in four movements, the first (Allegro) in sonata form, with a wealth of thematic material. The second, replacing what would have been a scherzo, is an Intermezzo (Allegro ma non troppo). Brahms told Clara that she had been his inspiration in composing the Intermezzo, and that he had thought of her in every bar. It is gentle, swaying music, with muted violin.
The slow movement (Andante con moto) is richly romantic, with a thrilling, march-like mid-section. The concluding Rondo “alla Zingarese” (“in Gypsy style)” is a favorite of listeners and players alike. Just when you think it cannot get more exciting, or that the music has spent itself, it breaks into one last Presto repetition of the Rondo (gypsy) theme.
February 26 & 27, 2012
Schubert (1797-1828)
“Longing for Spring” – A Selection of Schubert Songs
The lied or German art song (“Kunstlied”) as it developed in the 19thcentury coincided with the blossoming of German romantic poetry. It was largely a product of Franz Schubert, who wrote over 600 lieder during his tragically brief lifetime (31 years), passing the baton to Schumann, Brahms and Hugo Wolf. He had a rich lode of texts to tap, utilizing lyrics by Goethe, Schiller and Wilhelm Müller, among many others.
What Schubert brought to the lied was melodic wealth and the ability to infuse words with greater musical meaning than had been the case -- or even the objective -- before, when the primary emphasis had been on the words.
The songs on today’s program do not make up a cycle or a set, but were selected by guest artist, baritone Thomas Meglioranza. Winterlied (The Winter Song) was composed in 1816 to a text by Ludwig Hölty. Sehnsucht (Longing) by Johann Seidel comes from 1826. Both deal with winter. The first is more contented, i.e. love has come indoors. In the second, love has been lost, though as reflected in the music, hope (“a song”) springs up again at the end.
Der Winterabend (The Winter Evening) was composed in 1828 to verses by Karl Gottfried von Leitner. The poet recalls a long-past love as moonlight steals into his room on a quiet, snowy evening. Im Frühling (In Spring), composed in 1826 to a poem by Ernst Schultze, recounts the same feelings on a budding spring day. Viola (Violet), set to poetry by Schubert’s friend Franz von Schober, dates from 1823. Here, a little violet (a bride on the way to meet her bridegroom, i.e. Spring) peeks prematurely above the soil, and finding herself frightened and alone, dies of sorrow.
The final selection, Frühlingssehnsucht (Longing for Spring) by Ludwig Rellstab, is from Schwanengesang (Swan Song), a collection of Schubert’s songs compiled and published shortly after his death. Here, the poet laments that only his beloved “can free the springtime” in his breast.
C.W. Schumann (1819-1896)
Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22 (1853)
For a time, Clara Wieck was better known than her husband Robert Schumann. One of the 19thcentury’s most famous pianists, she belonged to the elite of the music world. Kings, poets and fellow artists (including Chopin and Liszt) heard her play and praised her, and she performed frequently with the great violinist Joseph Joachim. She was one of the first pianists to perform from memory, and she expanded the recital format beyond popular showpieces and arrangements from opera to music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert. She continued to tour and perform after she and Robert were married (1840), in large part because her earnings supported the family. They had eight children, one of whom died in infancy, and Robert’s mental instability left her with increasing responsibility for managing their affairs.
Clara began to compose in childhood. She wrote a piano concerto at 14 and performed it in Leipzig under Mendelssohn’s baton. Her commitment waned after marriage. “Women are not born to compose,” she said, and even when she did, she retreated to a back room in their house so her playing would not disturb Robert. She composed virtually nothing after his death in 1856 except cadenzas for concertos by Mozart and Beethoven and concentrated her energy on her family (eventually including responsibility for several grandchildren). She became Robert’s advocate and performed and promoted his music and that of their friend Brahms, who consulted her often on musical matters.
Clara composed her Three Romances, Op. 22, in 1853 for Joachim, with whom she performed them several times (once for King George V of Hanover who pronounced himself extravagantly impressed). Joachim kept them in his repertoire afterwards. As did Clara’s music in general, they fell into obscurity after her death, but have found a new audience as works by female composers are being re-discovered.
The Op. 22 Romances vary in mood and the instruments receive equal treatment. The first is a lovely Andante in D Minor. The second is a light-footed Allegretto in G Minor. There is deep feeling in the final Leidenschaft, schnell (passionate, rapidly) in B-flat Major, which became one of Clara’s final compositions.
Beethoven (1770-1827)
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor, Op. 23 (1801)
Though the piano was his primary instrument, Beethoven had a great affinity for the violin (as supremely demonstrated by his Violin Concerto). He wrote ten sonatas for violin and piano. Nine of them date from his early period and were composed during the six years between 1797 and 1802.
In writing for the instrument, Beethoven took his cue from Mozart, who in his later sonatas for keyboard and violin, began treating the instruments as equals, rather than subordinating the violin to the keyboard. In Beethoven’s hands, the form took on greater musical substance, informed by advancements in violin performance and technique realized by virtuosi such as Giovanni Battista Viotti, Pierre Rode and Rodolphe Kreutzer.
The Sonatas No. 5 in F Major, “Spring” and No. 9 in A Major, “Kreutzer” are the best known of Beethoven’s violin sonatas and the most frequently performed. No. 4 in A Minor (1801) was composed as a companion to the “Spring” Sonata. They have different opus numbers due to an engraver’s error, and it is thought they were intended for performance together. Dedicatee of both was Count Moritz von Fries, a banker and one of Beethoven’s most loyal patrons (Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was dedicated to Fries, as well).
The Op. 23 and 24 Sonatas differ remarkably. The “Spring” Sonata is full of melody and optimism. The Op. 23 in A Minor partakes of Sturm und Drang (“Storm and Stress,” the artistic movement from the last quarter of the 18thcentury that foreshadowed the romantic period). Musicologist Lewis Lockwood has described Op. 23 as the “curious mate” of the “Spring” Sonata and the “wayward stepchild” of Beethoven’s violin sonatas. The first movement is a Presto (usually reserved for finales) and a turbulent one, with lots of dynamic contrasts and sforzandi(sudden strong accents). It can be heard in a rock version on YouTube.
The second movement, in A Major, is marked Andante scherzoso (“jokingly”) and is completely light-hearted. The Allegro molto finale, a rondo with highly contrasting episodes, returns to the minor key. Despite a cheerful episode in F Major, it recaps the mood of the first movement, ending with what Lockwood has called “a last angry gasp.”
Spohr (1784-1859)
Songs for Baritone, Violin and Piano, Op. 154 (1856)
Louis Spohr (born Ludwig Spohr in Brunswick, Germany) was one of the most famous violinists of his time. Standing six and a half feet tall, he was also a conductor (one of the first to use a baton) and a prolific composer. He wrote symphonies, operas, oratorios, 15 violin concertos, four clarinet concertos, abundant songs and a wealth of chamber music -- over 150 opus numbers in all. Some of it can still be heard today, including the clarinet concertos and the Violin Concerto No. 8 (recently recorded by violinist Hilary Hahn). As a violinist, Spohr cultivated beauty of sound and romantic expression, eschewing display for its own sake, and he published an influential violin method (Violinschule, 1831). (For musical trivia fanciers: Who invented the violin chin rest and the use of rehearsal letters in music scores? Answer: Louis Spohr.)
Spohr made a vast contribution to the German lied (art song), with over 100 lieder by more than 60 authors, including Goethe, Victor Hugo and other leading writers of the day. His Six Songs for Baritone, Violin and Piano, published toward the end of his life in 1856, were commissioned by Prince Leopold III of Lippe. They are by six different poets and do not constitute a set, the unifying element being the use of obbligato (accompanying) violin. Four are presented here: Abend-Feier, Jaglied, Erlkönig and Abendstille. Subjects include the beauty of the evening, the joy of hunting and the mysterious Erl-King (the latter by Goethe, the same poem set by Schubert).
April 1, 2012
Schumann (1810-1856)
Five Pieces in Folk Style for Cello and Piano, Op. 102 (1849)
Schumann was concerned with exploring the possibilities of different instruments when he wrote his Five Pieces in Folk Style for Cello and Piano. It is his only original work for cello and piano, the others being arrangements (including arrangements of Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello with piano accompaniment).
In five movements lasting about 15 minutes, it is thoroughly disarming and charming. The “folk” designation is non-specific, and refers to no particular folk style. The opening Mit Humor (With Humor) is jolly and carefree. The subtitle “Vanitas Vanitatum” (“Vanity of Vanities”) derives from the Latin Vulgate translation of Ecclesiastes 1:2.
Langsam (slowly) resembles nothing so much as a lullaby. The third movement, translated “Play with full sound, not quickly,” has a nostalgic tone, while Nicht zu rasch (not too quickly) is assertive, with a contrasting lyrical section. The concluding Stark und markiert (strong and clearly defined) ends the set on a note of confidence and jubilation.
Adrian Pop (1951- )
“Tituri” for Violin and Cello (2011)
As did Bartok and Kodaly, Adrian Pop merges Eastern European folk music with contemporary compositional styles. A native of Cluj in the Transylvania region of Romania, Pop teaches composition and theory at the “Gheorghe Dima” Music Academyin Cluj and serves as its Rector. His 10-minute “Tituri” was commissioned by Romanian violinist Andy Simionescu and cellist Matt Haimovitz, who premiered it in April, 2011 on a Bargemusic concert in Brooklyn, New York. It was described by the New York Times as “filled with passages in which either the cello or the violin provides insistent accompanimental figures as the other breaks loose in elegiac, fitful melodic flights. The piece builds to a meter-fracturing dance, then ends quizzically, with subdued, piercing harmonies for the cello and a wistful fiddle tune.” This performance marks its Midwest premiere.
Klein (1919-1940)
Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello (String Trio) (1944)
Born in Přerov, Czechoslovakia to a Moravian Jewish family, Gideon Klein was a victim of the Holocaust. One of the most talented composers of his generation, he was offered a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1940, but was barred from emigration by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia (1939). Music by Jewish composers could no longer be performed following the Nazi takeover, but Klein remained active as a concert pianist under various aliases. In 1941, he was deported to Terezín (Theresienstadt) concentration camp.
At Terezín, Klein and other Jewish artists and composers were allowed to pursue cultural activities in order to simulate beneficent treatment of the Jews and to help project a false, “showcase” image of the camp. He composed and performed chamber music there from 1941 to 1944, when he was transferred to Auschwitz. From there, he was moved to Fürstengrube concentration camp, where he died in January, 1945 under unknown circumstances.
Klein completed his three-movement String Trio for violin, viola and cello on October 9, 1944, just nine days before being sent to Auschwitz. It is remarkable for its musical vitality and unquenchable spirit, opening with a sunny Allegro. A spreading cello chord at the end of the first movement leads to a set of variations on a Moravian tune, the heart of the work and its longest movement. It ends with a rustic dance, a short, sassy, Molto vivace.
Schumann (1810-1856)
Quintet in E-flat Major for Two Violins, Viola, Cello and Piano, Op. 44 (1842)
Schumann composed his Piano Quintet in E-flat Major during his “chamber music year” (1842), when the bulk of his chamber works were written. It was dedicated to his wife Clara, a famous piano virtuoso. Clara premiered it early in 1843 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and loved it. Others were not so sure, including Franz Liszt, who considered it too Leipzigerisch (conservative or “provincial”). Still, it became a model for later composers who followed him in adopting the piano quintet, including Brahms, Dvořák and Franck, and it remains one his most popular works.
Schumann completed the four-movement work in less than three weeks (part of the time suffering from depression, as noted in his diary). The first movement, Allegro brillante, nevertheless reflects its title, opening with exuberant upward leaps by the full ensemble, and conveying an overall mood of comfort and equanimity. The second movement, by contrast, is a slow, quasi-funeral march, with an ethereal contrasting episode.
The Scherzo takes off at a clip, racing up and down scales. There are two trios. One is gentle, with canonic imitation between the violin and viola, the other a romp in breathtaking perpetual motion. To close the work, Allegro non troppo, Schumann employs a heroic-sounding principal theme, which he combines with the main theme of the first movement in an exciting double fugue at the end.
By Mary Ellyn Hutton
May 13 & 14, 2012
Danielpour (1956- )
Inventions on a Marriage, Duo for Violin and Cello (2010)
Commissioned by the Linton Chamber Music Series and Steven Monder as part of an eight-member consortium, Inventions on a Marriage was premiered by Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson May 21, 2011 at the Virginia Arts Festival in Hampton Virginia. The composer has provided the following program note:
Inventions on a Marriageis a seven-movement set of duets for violin and cello written for Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson in celebration of their 35thanniversary as a couple. They have been dear friends and colleagues since the 90s, and much of the work that I have written for them is based not only on my profound respect for them as musicians, but also because of my regard for them as the wonderful friends that they are. I had envisioned these duets years ago as a chronicle of married life, and I wanted to eventually write these pieces for a pair of musicians who were actually married to each other. When I mentioned the idea to Sharon and Jaime a few years ago, they were enthusiastic and encouraging in seeing this idea realized.
These seven movements are, in essence, musical ‘snapshots’ which together comprise a suite of sorts; the movements are not in any way based on biographical information in my marriage, or for that matter on Jaime and Sharon’s relationship, but are really ‘inventions’ or invented scenarios that often do occur in most marriages. They are also not unlike a set of two-part inventions in their style and approach – hence the title.
Inventions on a Marriage was written during the last three months of 2010 and completed just before Christmas of that year.
Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Quintet for Strings in B-flat Major, Op. 87 (1845)
With his two viola quintets (so-called because of the addition of a second viola to the quartet of two violins, viola and cello), Mendelssohn followed in the footsteps of Mozart, who pioneered the form with six. Mendelssohn’s Quintet in A Major, Op. 18, was composed in 1826, when he was 17. He re-issued it in 1832, replacing the original Menuetto with an Intermezzo, composed in honor of his violin teacher Eduard Rietz, who had just passed away.
The Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 87, dates from 1845, two years before his tragically early death at 38. Considering the span of years between them – and in particular, that his first quintet was a “boyhood” work – they are remarkably similar. The Op. 18 Quintet is lighter and sunnier than the later one, even with the added weight of its “in memoriam” movement for Rietz, but both exhibit mature compositional mastery. This should not be surprising, since Mendelssohn, like Mozart, was one of the greatest prodigies in music history and emerged virtually fully formed as a composer. Witness his stunning String Octet, written at the age of 16.
Mendelssohn composed his Op. 87 Quintet in the summer of 1845, during a brief respite while serving (unhappily) as composer-in-residence to the King of Prussia in Berlin. The opening Allegro vivace is the longest and most “brilliant” movement, the first violin taking off like a rocket over tremolo accompaniment by the other instruments. The first viola introduces the gentle second theme. The second movement is a scherzo, but not the mercurial, quick-as-a-wink scherzo so associated with Mendelssohn. Marked Andante scherzando, it is moderately paced, yet delightfully light on its feet.
The third movement, Adagio e lento, bears the emotional weight of the Quintet, a passionate outcry that hints of tragedy, yet clings to hope. The finale, Allegro molto vivace, pulses with energy, with the first violin announcing the vigorous opening theme and the violas sounding the more lyrical subordinate theme. It builds to an exciting, propulsive finish, which nevertheless failed to satisfy Mendelssohn ultimately. Perhaps intending to revise the ending, he withheld the Quintet from publication, and it was published posthumously in 1851.
Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Sextet for Strings in D Minor, Op. 70, Souvenir de Florence (1890)
Tchaikovsky himself affixed the name “Souvenir de Florence” to his Sextet for Strings, Op. 70 (for two violins, two violas and two cellos). Nevertheless, unlike his “Capriccio Italien” for orchestra, there is nothing in it musically to suggest Italy. Tchaikovsky began work on it in 1887 for the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society, but put it aside until 1890, following a visit to Florence early in the year to work on his opera, The Queen of Spades.
Florence was one of Tchaikovsky’s favorite spots. In addition to its beauty and sunny climate, he could work in the quiet and comfort of a villa provided by his patroness Nadezhda von Meck. After completing the opera and returning to Russia, he resumed work on the Sextet, intending, perhaps, to please von Meck, who loved chamber music. He carried with him fond memories of Italy, and he even had a theme sketched in Florence which became the principal theme of the slow movement, but beyond that, the Sextet remains Russian to the core.
Tchaikovsky was less comfortable with chamber music than with opera, ballet and symphonic music (“there must be six independent, yet compatible voices,” he wrote in a letter to his brother Modest, calling it “incredibly hard work”). He completed it in six weeks, and it was given a private performance in December, 1890. He made revisions in 1891-92, and it was premiered in public in December, 1892 by the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society, to whom it was dedicated.
The work is in four movements. The opening Allegro con spirito begins with a dramatic downward leap by the first violin, creating an impassioned mood that is countered by a graceful, sustained second theme, marked dolce, espressivo e cantabile (“sweet, expressive and song-like”). The second movement (Adagio) has been described as a love duet between the first violin and first cello, and the theme they share, both at the beginning and the end (where they reverse roles), has a decidedly operatic flavor. There is a remarkable Moderato mid-section, where the instrumentalists are directed to play at the point of their bows to produce what English music critic Colin Mason (1924-1971) called “an essay in sheer sound effect . . . probably unique in the whole realm of chamber music” prior to the 20thcentury.
The final two movements wear their Russian colors proudly. The first viola introduces the folk-like theme of the Allegretto, which gathers a lot of steam rhythmically, and ends with an exuberant pizzicato chord. The thematic material of the finale has a gypsy flavor, which Tchaikovsky subjects to arresting contrapuntal treatment, including a fugue near the end, of which he was justifiably proud.
By Mary Ellyn Hutton
