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Wednesday String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 4 Allegro spirituoso Andante moderato assai Menuetto: Poco allegretto Finale: Fuga: Allegro moderato In 1784, with the first of Mozart's "Haydn" quartets fresh in his mind, the elder composer began work on a series of six pieces dedicated to Frederick William II. The quartets that Mozart dedicated to him actually set Haydn to rethinking his own work in the field and his Opus 50 reflects the influence of his young admirer's homage. The set was completed in 1786 and so pleased was the cello-playing Prussian king when presented with the manuscripts that he gave the composer a gold ring that he treasured for the rest of his life. The string quartet was one of Haydn's favorite modes of composition and his work in this field never ceased to evolve throughout his long career. One of his biographers has written, "It is not often that a composer hits so exactly upon the form suited to his conceptions. The quartet was Haydn's natural way to express his feelings". All the contrasting elements of Haydn's nature are to be found in his quartets. The poetic genius, the hearty peasant, the devout Christian, the lover of earthly joys, the lonely individual, and the much-loved man of mirth and wit are all revealed in these works. For reasons that have always eluded me, only the last of the “Prussian” quartets is included in the standard editions of Haydn's Great Quartets. I'm sure that after tonight many in the audience will find cause to protest this omission. The first movement is a marvel of invention. The composer takes a four note rhythmic motif and builds an entire movement around it. Sometimes it is in the forefront and at other times it lurks in the background, but Haydn never abandons it and both charms and teases the listener with it throughout. Some of his most joyous, singing melodies serve to set off this germinal idea. In the andante Haydn offers us a theme and variation, but one of a very special type. It is actually a set of double variations using two themes in alternation. The highly ornamental writing in this movement harken to the time of the composer's Rococo period. Also of note is his willingness to make greater use of the lower instruments. The menuetto is very formal and classical in nature and eschews the rusticity of the peasant gathering for the elegance of the ballroom. There is a lovely contrasting trio before the movement ends with a return to the stately minuet. The very short finale is in the form of a fugue. It is introduced by the cello and followed in turn by the viola, second violin and first violin. It charms incessantly until its abrupt conclusion. We might note in passing that Mozart and Beethoven also dedicated chamber works to the music-loving Prussian monarch, surely making him the most musically honored royal figure in history. Sergei Prokofiev 1891-1953 String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Opus 92 Allegro sostenuto Adagio Allegro Like his contemporary Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev found that his music and his reputation were often subjected to the close scrutiny and criticism of the political officials of his native Russia. It must be noted however that he was not unsympathetic to the Soviet regime and his decision to return after a lengthy self-imposed exile was purely voluntary. He was a musical prodigy whose mother, a talented pianist, recognized his gifts at an early age. He progressed rapidly under her tutelage and by the time he was 12, Prokofiev had composed a number of works, among which were two complete operas and a symphony for four hands. At 13 he enrolled in the famed St. Petersburg Conservatory where he studied for 10 years under such noted Russian musicians as Rimsky-Korsakov and Liadov. Never an imitative composer, he immediately sought to establish his own musical voice and shocked his instructors with the unorthodox chords, tonalities and melodies of his compositions. By the time of the 1917 Revolution he was firmly established as a composer in Russia and seemed to be a favorite son of the new regime - even being the recipient of a "Prokofiev Week" in Petrograd in 1918. Fearing future artistic oppression, however, he left for an American concert tour that same year and eventually settled in Paris where he lived until 1933. He visited his homeland occasionally and when the oppressive Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians disbanded in 1933 he decided to return, declaring that events there "demanded the collaboration of all citizens - not only men of politics, but of art as well". Welcomed home as a prodigal son he was soon a national icon and his work was seen as the fruition of the highest ideal of Soviet art. But suddenly in 1948 the Communist Party announced a new music policy and Prokofiev, whose style "was formed to a considerable extent during his years in the West" was denounced as "unable to reflect the greatness of our people". In order to continue his career the composer was forced to issue an apology which included an admission that an "infection was caught from contact with some Western ideas". Taking his music in an officially approved direction, he soon regained his lofty status and at the time of his death in 1953 he was among Russia's most honored musicians. Prokofiev listed five principal lines which he followed in his work: 1. Classical - a reflection of his early training 2. Innovation - in which he sought his own musical voice 3. Motor element - which he viewed as the least important element in his work 4. Lyricism - which he felt was often unappreciated in his music 5. The Grotesque - which he preferred should be called "scherzo-ness" He ran the gamut of styles without ever losing his own. A personal romanticism permeates his work and keeps it accessible to all. One critic has labeled him "an innovator with a soft core". Prokofiev preferred to work on a large musical canvas and his chamber output is sparse. He wrote an Overture on Jewish Themes, two string quartets and a quintet. As tonight's piece will show, chamber music is the poorer for his neglect. The F major quartet was written at the end of 1941 in the little town of Nalchik in the Caucasian autonomous republic of Kabardino-Balkeria. Prokofiev was among a number of leading Russian cultural figures who were evacuated from Moscow following Hitler's blitzkrieg attacks in June. While in Nalchik the composer became enamored of the region's folk music and was inspired to use several of the melodies for a new piece in which he hoped to achieve "a combination of virtually untouched folk material and the most classical of classical forms, the string quartet". The aggressive principal theme of the first movement originates in a Kalbardian folk song. Its unrelenting intensity prevails until the three lower voices start a repeated two-note back and forth figure over which the first violin intones an expressive dance tune. The concluding, more lyrical theme of the exposition lightens the mood somewhat before the harshly brilliant development section takes over. A shortened recapitulation ends the movement. After a few introductory measures, the cello is entrusted with the adagio's serene and beautiful opening melody which is taken from another Kalbardian song. The Oriental character of the area's folk music is evoked in the middle section as Prokofiev successfully imitates a Caucasian stringed instrument, the kjamantchi. Unique tonal effects in this movement include the viola playing a tremolo pontichello. The movement is brought to a close with a brief return to the opening theme. "Getigezhev Ogurbi", a vigorous mountain dance, is the basis for the opening of the allegro. The viola and cello start a fast, agitated passage that becomes the accompaniment to a restlessly lyrical violin melody. A reminder of the opening is followed by a slightly slower, more relaxed episode before the tempo picks up again in a variation of the initial theme. A cadenza for the cello leads to an agitated development siction, after which there is a return, but in reverse order, of the previous tunes. Franz Schubert 1797-1828 String Quartet No. 14 in D minor "Death and the Maiden", D.810 Allegro vivace Andante con moto Scherzo. Allegro molto Presto Today Franz Schubert is considered one of the titans of music. The first of the true Romantic composers, he was certainly able to function within the inherited forms of Classicism, but his real genius lay in his ability to have his ideas shape and mold the form of his music. He is the virtual creator and acknowledged master of the lied or German art song; and although his life was tragically short he left behind an astonishing body of work. But despite the high quality of the work and his amazing prolificity - he completed more than 500 compositions before he turned 25 - no major composer was ever so ignored during his lifetime. The vast majority of his work was unpublished while he lived and much of it, including some of his finest work, wasn't discovered in manuscript until decades after his death. Save for two poorly received and short-lived stage works, he only heard one concert of his music - and this was in the last year of his life. Tonight's piece was written in 1824 following a prolonged period of ill health and emotional devastation brought on by the realization that he had contracted syphilis. He wrote a friend "Every night I go to bed I hope I shan't wake up". The composition takes its name from the second movement - the spiritual nucleus of the work - which is based on a song of the same name that Schubert wrote in 1817; but the presence of death can be detected in all four movements. The thought of death was uppermost in Schubert's mind at the time and it permeated every facet of the music. Few of his chamber works have so unified an atmosphere - funereal and dramatic moods prevailing throughout. The first movement begins with a defiant phrase which in often interpreted a struggle with death. This element is prominent in the opening theme which eventually gives way to a second theme that evokes a feeling of resignation. Schubert uses only the second half of his song "Death and the Maiden" in his second movement: the exhortation of death, rather than the earlier appeal of the maiden. In the quartet, the melodic idea of the song becomes a starting point for a new song, which is subjected to five variations. The scherzo opens vigorously, but the trio is once again permeated with sadness. There is a feverish feel to the finale which begins with a breathless tarantella theme. The subsidiary theme is a solemn declamation for the four instruments in which there is an echo of the composer's song "Erlkönig" - yet another reference to a struggle with death.
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Wed. October 1, 2008 7:30 American String Quartet with Menahem Pressler, piano The Indiana History Center 450 West Ohio Street Wed. Wed. Wed. Wed. Sat. |
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