2009-2010 Program Notes

Concert 4. January 26
A Treasury of Trios

Franz Joseph Haydn -- “London” Trio No. 3 in G-major for two flutes and cello, Hob. IV
From the early 1760s until 1791, Haydn served as Music Director at the Esterhazy Palace, on the Austrian-Hungarian border, for his most illustrious patron, Prince Nicolaus Esterhazy. When Nicolaus died, his son Anton disbanded the court orchestra, freeing Haydn to visit and perform in several cities throughout Europe. He was most frequently in London, with its lively musical life, fine orchestras and excellent musicians, and while there he conducted a great deal and performed chamber music. He wrote his last twelve symphonies and his final eleven string quartets in London. In 1794 he composed three trios for two flutes and cello – each a short piece with three movements, and each trio giving equal exposure to the three instruments.

Sir Malcolm Arnold -- Divertimento for flute, oboe and clarinet, Op. 37
Malcolm Arnold was principal trumpet with the London Philharmonic Orchestra from the early 1940s to 1948, when he left that post to devote himself full-time to composition. In the course of his prolific career he produced symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and music for brass and wind band, as well as dozens of film scores. His style owes a little to Sibelius, Bartók and Shostakovitch, and an early interest in jazz. His Divertimento for flute, oboe and clarinet consists of four short, light pieces. The Divertimento was introduced to the public by wind players as prestigious as Sir James Galway, and is performed frequently by distinguished musicians today.

Johann Sebastian Bach -- Trio Sonata in G-major for violin, oboe, and piano, BWV1038
J. S. Bach served as organist and musical director for Lutheran churches throughout Germany, and many of his compositions – masses, cantatas, chorales, organ works, and the like – were created for the constant liturgical demands of his various church positions. In addition, he created a substantial number of secular compositions – harpsichord concertos, orchestral suites and other instrumental works, as well as secular cantatas. We don't know much about the creation of his Trio Sonata in G-Major for violin, oboe and piano because the original manuscript was lost. However, it is assumed that it is an adaptation of a viola da gamba sonata.

Albert Roussel -- Trio for flute, viola and cello, Op. 40
The music of French Impressionist composers is often misty and dreamlike, evocative of half-recalled memories or myths. Roussel's Impressionism is more rugged – we might say that its head may be in the stars, but its feet are firmly on the ground. Some of his later works were in sympathy with the ideas of “les Six,” a group of younger composers who broke with the Impressionists in favor of more realistic sources of inspiration. The Trio for flute, viola and cello was written in 1920 in less than ten days. The opening Allegro grazioso features a lighthearted instrumental interplay. The Andante is songful, with the flute and viola displaying poetic inspiration. The final Allegro ma non troppo resembles a Scherzo, with the flute playing the leading role.

Ludwig van Beethoven -- Serenade in D-major for flute, violin and viola, Op. 25
Beethoven moved from his native Bonn to Vienna in 1792, at age twenty-two. His first published works were written for trios, and he explored other instrumental combinations as well, following the style of Haydn and Mozart. Serenades generally are characterized by light and melodic music. The Serenade in D-major for flute, violin and viola has an original touch – the addition of the viola to the flute and violin contributes an interesting tonal quality. In the opening Allegro, a playful tune is played by the three instruments. The following Menuetto features the flute – there are two trios in this movement. A fast Allegro molto follows. The Andante con variazioni provides each instrument a solo role. The short Allegro scherzando serves as the introduction to the Adagio. The final Allegro vivace is a rondo – fast and lively – bringing the work to its conclusion in a happy mood.

Johannes Brahms -- Trio in E-flat major for french horn, violin and piano, Op. 40
The German composer Brahms was very fond of chamber music, and wrote twenty-six chamber works. In addition to his more traditional piano trios and string quartets he composed chamber music for other instruments, such as clarinet and horn. The Trio in E-flat major for french horn, violin and piano was written in 1865. Brahms was fascinated with the sound of the horn, and created a unique combination for these three instruments. The first movement, Andante, has two themes which alternate, ending with a brief and touching Coda. The following Scherzo is vigorous music, giving the violin a prominent role. The Adagio mesto contains expressive chromaticism, and is followed by the energetic Allegro con brio, which brings the Trio to a joyful end.

Henry Palocz

Concert 5. February 27
Miró Quartet

Franz Schubert -- String Quartet No. 15 in G major, Op. 161, D 887
Schubert composed a total of fifteen string quartets, most of which he wrote as a teenager and performed at home with his father and two brothers, with the composer playing the viola. His later contributions to chamber music include compositions for violin and piano, string trios and piano trios, a string quintet, a piano quintet, and an octet for wind and strings. Towards the end of his short life he wrote three of the most beautiful string quartets of the literature – the last of which was the String Quartet in G Major, composed in 1826, two years before his death.

The first movement of the Quartet, Allegro molto moderato, features intense agitated music resulting from the frequent changes of the major and minor keys. It is orchestral in style and uses tremolo to achieve it. The following Andante starts with lyrical music followed by a violent passage, which subsides as the opening melody returns. The Scherzo presents sprightly, swift music, contrasting with a ländler-type trio. The final Allegro assai is a tarantella. The tonality changes between the major and minor keys, and ends the Quartet in high spirits.

Ludwig van Beethoven -- String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 with Grosse Fuge in B-flat major, Op. 133
After he finished the middle quartets and the last trio, Beethoven completed only a few works. His almost complete deafness caused him to withdraw from society, and he spent a lot of time in contemplation and self-examination. In 1819 he resumed his activities and created several monumental works, including the Ninth Symphony, his last three piano sonatas, and the Missa Solemnis. In 1824 the Russian Prince Nikolai Galitzin asked Beethoven to compose three quartets “for which I will be glad to pay you what you think is proper.” Beethoven fulfilled the commission, and although his contemporaries did not completely understand them, they are regarded today as among the most eloquent and profound chamber music ever written.

The Quartet in B-flat major was written between January and October of 1825. It is a long work, made even longer with the monumental Finale - a great fugue - which takes about fifteen minutes to play. Beethoven's publisher Matthias Artaria and several of the composer's friends objected to the length of the work and persuaded the composer to write a shorter final movement, with which it is usually performed. However, several ensembles have recently played the Quartet with the Grosse Fuge, and tonight we will hear that original version.

The opening Adagio has a serene mood, which reappears several times, interrupting the Allegro. The two contrasting themes - the serene and the lighthearted - convey a variety of moods. The succeeding short Presto has humor and charm. The Andante con moto ma non troppo alternates gaiety, humor and tenderness. The fourth movement, Alla danza tedesca (Allegro), is an imitation of a German peasant dance. The Cavatina is one of the most emotionally effective movements of the string quartet literature. Beethoven's friend, the violinist Karl Holz, wrote that Beethoven “composed the Cavatina amid sorrow and tears; never did his music breathe so heartfelt an inspiration and even the memory of this movement brought tears to his eyes.”

The Grosse Fuge is a greatly extended form of the classical fugue. It consists of an overture and two subjects, with a counter-subject becoming the subject of the second. The long first fugue is followed by several episodes. The second has its own development section. In the recapitulation, the main fugue is stretched and compressed, inverted, divided, combined with itself. The final Coda, with memories of the earlier subject, concludes this monumental work.

Henry Palocz

Concert 6. March 20
Cypress String Quartet and cellist Amit Peled

Johann Sebastian Bach -- Suite No. 2 in D minor for Solo Cello, BWV 1008
Although most of Bach's two hundred and fifty musical compositions were written for the Lutheran churches for which he served as music director throughout his life, between 1717 and 1723 he held the position of music director at the Court of Cöthen. Its ruling monarch, Prince Leopold, belonged to a Calvinist church, where music was not played during the service. But the Prince was an enthusiastic music lover, and under Leopold's patronage Bach wrote a great number of important compositions for harpsichord, violin, and other instruments - including six suites for solo cello. These suites were not performed for several centuries; but in 1899 Pablo Casals found a score in an antiquary shop, and after studying the works for thirteen years, he introduced them to 20th century audiences. Today the six suites are recognized as among the most important compositions for cello.

In the Suite No. 2 in D minor, the opening Preludium is an introductory toccata. It is followed by stylized dance movements. The Allemande is a slow dance in 4/4 meter; the following Courante offers lively and rapid music; the slow Sarabande is an harmonically rich elegiac country dance. The first Menuet is in a minor key, and features thick chords; in contrast, the second Menuet is light and in a major key. The Gigue has a swinging pulse and sustains the suite's prevailing dark color.

Franz Joseph Haydn -- String Quartet in C major, Op. 33, No. 3, “The Bird”
When Haydn was Music Director for the Esterházy family between 1761 and 1790, his duties included conducting the twenty-five member orchestra and the choir, instructing the family, writing operas and music for the twice-a-week court concerts and composing for church services. It's amazing that with such a heavy work-load Haydn was able to be so productive - among his output are sixty-six quartets and dozens of symphonies. The quality as well as the quantity of his output is impressive, in addition to the fact that as he aged his music became increasingly more perfect.

When there were interruptions in court musical activities, Haydn composed string quartets. The Quartet in C major was written in 1781. The same year the composer wrote that his quartets “were written in a new and special way.” In the opening Allegro, the first violin presents the main subject; decorations between repeated notes create a bird-like effect - from which the quartet derives the appellation “The Bird” - and a similar effect is present in the second melody. The following Scherzo brings homophonic melody, while the Trio uses two violins, once again presenting the jolly aviary of the first movement. The Adagio has a lyrical melody in sonata form, and in the final Rondo we hear cuckoo calls by the first violin. So the playful mood prevails, and the quartet ends jovially.

Franz Schubert -- String Quintet for two Violins, Viola and Two Cellos in C major, Op. 163, D 956
By 1828 Schubert was seriously ill; nevertheless, in that year he wrote some of the greatest compositions of his short life. Among them are the C major Symphony, the three last piano sonatas, the song cycle Schwanengesang, and - only weeks before his death - the Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Cellos. The Quintet, which is one of the most beautiful works of chamber music literature, was first performed in 1850 in Vienna, more than twenty years after Schubert's death.

There are not many string quintets in existence, and they usually use the addition of a second viola to the quartet. Instead, Schubert added a second cello, and thereby achieved a wider range of sonority. The Allegro ma non troppo begins with the violins introducing the main theme; the melody is then transferred to the two cellos, with the energetic accompaniment of the other instruments. The following Adagio is introduced by the three middle instruments, after which the violin and first cello take the lead, accompanied by the pizzicati of the second cello. The third movement, Scherzo, is a lively dance with stamping rhythms and strident harmonies; the Trio has a contrasting mood, presenting the most emotional part of the Quintet, and a return to the main theme of the Scherzo brings back the exuberance of the movement. The Allegretto finale begins with a dance tune of unexpected sonorities, followed by a second more-peaceful subject; in a coda the first theme returns, and brings the Quintet to an exuberant end.

Henry Palocz

Concert 7. April 24
Weilerstein Trio

Robert Schumann -- Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80
The onset of the nineteenth century marked an emergence of the personal, expressive qualities in the arts known as Romanticism. Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi and Wagner were among the important composers of the Romantic movement, with Schumann one of the most influential - he was also a pianist, conductor and teacher, and his newspaper Neue Zeitschrift für Musik was an important champion of Romanticism. His most significant compositions were for piano and for solo voice. For chamber music, Schumann wrote three string quartets, three piano trios, a piano quartet and a piano quintet.

Schumann's trios were composed in 1847, when his health was already deteriorating. They give prominence to the piano. The Trio in F major begins with a march, featuring the piano. All three instruments are central to the second movement, marked with intimate expression. The music is lyrical, and a romantic testimony to Schumann's love for his wife Clara. The third movement is a Scherzo influenced by the song “Dein Bildnis wunderselig” - another expression of Schumann's devotion to Clara. The final movement is in sonata form, and is once again a manifestation of the composer's romantic elation.
Henry Palocz

Leoš Janáček (arranged by Stephen Coxe) -- Piano Trio: “The Kreutzer Sonata”
In 1802-3, Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his Violin Sonata in A major to the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, and the work was also known as “Kreutzer Sonata.” Decades later, in 1889, the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy wrote a novella called "The Kreutzer Sonata," in which the protagonist tells strangers on a train about his wife, an amateur pianist, and a handsome violinist with whom she performed Beethoven's “Kreutzer Sonata” - and that he, the husband, had murdered his wife because of the passion the music had evoked between the two musicians.

More than a century after Beethoven's Violin Sonata in A major, “Kreutzer Sonata” appeared once again as the subtitle for a chamber work. The composer, Leoš Janáček, was born in Moravia, in the Czech Republic (then a part of the Hapsburg Empire), where he lived his entire life. He was significantly influenced by Moravian folk music, but he was apparently also affected by literature. By his own account his First String Quartet, composed in 1923, was inspired by Tolstoy's novella, and like Beethoven's work it was subtitled "Kreutzer Sonata.” Janáček wrote that when he composed his Quartet he “...had in mind a miserable woman, suffering, beaten, wretched, like the great Russian author Tolstoy wrote about in 'The Kruetzer Sonata'.”

There is some evidence that Janáček's First String Quartet began as an unpublished piano trio, composed some fifteen years earlier and also inspired by Tolstoy's novella. Several trio manuscript fragments have been discovered, but since no complete draft has been found its relationship to the later Quartet is not known. However, the Quartet itself has been arranged as a trio by Czech composer Jamiol Burghausen (1921-1997), and more recently in tonight's version by the American composer Stephen Coxe, as a joint commission of the Weilerstein Trio, the Peabody Trio, and the New Orleans Friends of Music.

The first movement of the Trio portrays Tolstoy's married couple in a happy mood. The violinist is introduced in the second movement, with the third movement recalling the second theme of Beethoven's “Kreutzer Sonata.” The final movement starts quietly, growing in intensity, and culminating in a final dramatic evocation of the murder. The whole Trio could be described as an eloquent musical tribute to Janáček's perception of the emotions of love.
Henry Palocz/Patricia Brookes

Antonín Dvořák -- Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90, “Dumky”
Dvořák was also born in what is now known as the Czech Republic - in Bohemia, then under Austrian rule - and is the most famous of all Czech composers. He was of peasant stock; his father was a butcher and inkeeper, and as a young boy he worked in his father's shop. But at the same time he studied the violin, and was so successful that he became a member of the Prague Opera orchestra. The orchestra at that time was under the direction of the composer Bedřich Smetana, who was a strong supporter of a movement to obtain independence from Austria. Smetana built his compositions on the Czech traditions of his compatriots, and Dvořák, his follower, was also inspired to compose in this spirit.

Dvořák was very prolific: he composed ten operas, nine symphonies, and a great number of chamber music compositions, including twelve string quartets and four piano trios. Tonight's Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, No. 90 is subtitled “Dumky,” the plural of “dumka” - a Slavic foksong, rhapsodic in mood and melancholy in character, with intermittent severe and exuberant interludes. The Trio consists of a cycle of folk songs. The first is a duo played by piano and cello, joined later by the violin, and followed by music played in double-speed. The second movement begins with a slow dance, followed in the subsequent vivace non troppo with rapid playing and sharp accents. In the third movement the piano introduces the main theme, accompanied by muted strings. The next movement suggests a march - the piano is accompanied by the spiccati of the viola; later the melody is presented by the cello. In the fifth movement the sequence of slow and fast is reversed. The last movement is marked Lento maestoso, and recalls the first movement. Modulations and frequent changes of pace contribute to the vitality of the final part. The Trio ends with a rousing farewell.

Henry Palocz