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THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF NATIONS Sunday 1 July 2018, 7.30pm Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP Director: John Gilhooly The Wigmore Hall Trust Registered Charity No 1024838 www.wigmore-hall.org.uk THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF NATIONS Sunday 1 July 2018, 7.30pm Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP This concert will be live streamed to www.rcm.ac.uk/live. Niccolò Paganini Variations on God Save the King op 9 (1829) 6’ (1782–1840) i Tema - Andante sostenuto ii Variation 1 - Un poxo piu spiritoso iii Variation 2 - A terzine con qualita di dolcezza iv Variation 3 - Lento v Variation 4 - Vivace vi Variation 5 - A Eco - Larghetto, dolce vii Variation 6 - Finale - Presto, energicamente Anna Lee violin Isaac Albéniz Cataluña (Corranda) from Suite Española op 47 (1886) (1860–1909) Capricho Catalán from España op 165 (1890) 8’ Jack Hancher guitar York Bowen Fantasia for four violas (1907) 12’ (1884–1961) Nazli Erdogan viola Ana Teresa de Braga e Alves viola Joanna Patrick viola Marsailidh Groat Hardy viola Joseph Haydn Quartet op 76 no 3 Emperor (1797) 24’ (1732–1809) i Allegro ii Poco Adagio: Cantabile iii Menuetto iv Finale: Presto Artha String Quartet Charlotte Saluste-Bridoux violin Line Faber violin Ana Dunne-Sequi viola Silvestrs Kalnins cello INTERVAL 20 minutes Please check that your mobile phone is switched off, especially if you used it during the interval. Bohuslav Martinů Variations on a Slovak Folksong H 378 (1959) 11’ (1890–1959) i Theme. Poco andante, rubato ii Variation 1 - Moderato iii Variation 2 - Poco allegro iv Variation 3 - Moderato v Variation 4 - Scherzo. Allegretto vi Variation 5 - Allegro Kristiana Ignatjeva cello Jennifer Hughes piano Antonín Dvořák Piano Quintet in A op 81 (1887) 40’ (1841–1904) i Allegro ma non tanto ii Dumka: Andante con moto iii Scherzo: Molto vivace iv Finale: Allegro Caspia Quartet Yume Fujise violin Katherine Yoon violin Duncan Commin viola Anna Litvinenko cello with Martin James Bartlett piano Would patrons please ensure that mobile phones are switched off. Please stifle coughing as much as possible and ensure that watch alarms and any other electronic devices which may become audible are switched off. Wigmore Hall is a no-smoking venue. No recording or photographic equipment may be taken into the auditorium, nor used in any other part of the Hall without the prior written permission of the Hall Management. Wigmore Hall is equipped with a ‘Loop’ to help hearing aid users receive clear sound without background noise. Patrons can use the facility by switching their hearing aids over to ‘T’. In accordance with the requirements of City of Westminster, persons shall not be permitted to stand or sit in any of the gangways intersecting the seating, or to sit in any of the other gangways. If standing is permitted in the gangways at the sides and rear of the seating, it shall be limited to the numbers indicated in the notices exhibited in those positions. Disabled Access and Facilities Please contact House Management for full details Paganini Variations on God Save the King op 9 Known for his excellent technical abilities, famed Romantic virtuoso Niccolò Paganini was not only a supremely talented performer but also an innovator of technique. His Variations on God Save the King op 9 is a prime example of this, with the theme and six variations flaunting the advanced technical skill of the performer. The initial theme itself is heavily ornamented, featuring pizzicato acciaccaturas with lavish septuplet flourishes and trills. Each subsequent variation showcases varied facets of technicality. With double notes in successive thirds and tenths, the first variation demands a large hand and ‘great certainty of intonation’, with the required lightness and fast tempo further increasing the difficulty. The second variation, bearing a character indication that demands ‘sweetness’, employs triplet figures, interspersed with double notes and bounding staccatos. The register of the instrument is exploited in the fourth variation which features rapid pizzicato passages in the upper register, accompanied by staccato bow in the lower register. The fifth variation features an echo effect, achieved through contrasting dynamic indications. Finally, the sixth variation presents bounding arpeggios further complicated by the positioning of the left hand. Providing the soloist with seemingly endless possibilities to dazzle with virtuosic technique, it is understandable that this piece remains a favourite with artists and audiences. Albéniz Cataluña (Corranda) from Suite Española op 47 Following his study at the conservatories in Leipzig (1876) and Brussels (1879), Isaac Albéniz returned to Madrid to pursue a career as a performer. In 1883 the composer moved to Barcelona to study with Felipe Pedrell (1841–1922), a leading figure in the development of nationalist Spanish music. Composed for solo piano, Albéniz’s Suite Española (1886) is a prime example of Pedrell’s influence. Originally consisting of only four pieces; Granada , Cataluña , Sevilla and Cuba , additional pieces, such as Cádiz and the well-known Asturias , were added to the suite by the editor Hofmeister for the work’s republication in 1911. Regarding the original four pieces, each reflects the musical style and character of the different regions in Spain, with the first title referring to the geographical location and the second to the musical form or dance native to the region. Cataluña , the second of the suite, is one of the few works inspired by Albéniz’s Catalonian heritage (the composer was born in Camprodon), also bearing a dedication to his mother. For this Spanish corranda, written in a lively 6/8 metre, Albéniz combines a Spanish melody with the rhythmic pattern of the triple metre courante dance of the late Renaissance/Baroque era. In his writing for piano, Albéniz most notably succeeds in reflecting the strumming-motion and sounds of the Spanish guitar. Interestingly it is not the original piano version but the guitar transcriptions of these works that are the most well-known today, becoming staples of 20th-century guitar repertoire. Albéniz Capricho Catalán from España op 165 Having established a sterling reputation for himself as pianist-composer in Spain by the mid-1880s, Albéniz undertook tours to Paris and London. In London he enjoyed an active career as a pianist of note, often using the concert platform to promote contemporary Spanish repertoire. His España Suite for piano op 165 (1890) was premiered at Steinway Hall in June 1890. The simplicity of texture and technical demand of these ‘six album leaves’ has led to some scholars arguing that Albéniz had pedagogical intentions for the piece. However, elegant in its simplicity, Albéniz’s use of rhythm and subtle harmonies in these ‘musical postcards’ most accurately reflect the character of Spain. Like his Suite Española, Albéniz’s España seamlessly transitioned from its original piano form, becoming a favoured guitar transcription. Capricho Catalán , the fifth movement, is composed in a tripartite structure, with the main theme almost exclusively constructed of parallel thirds. Long melodic lines are spun over a constant off-beat accompaniment. The middle section presents new melodic material, breaking away from the major key heard in the opening, presenting reminiscences of the main theme before the first section is repeated. York Bowen Fantasia for four violas Like Mozart and Brahms, composer and pianist York Bowen particularly admired the timbre of the viola, which he considered to be far superior to that of the violin. His artistic partnership with Lionel Tertis, famed violist, with whom he frequently performed, resulted in numerous significant compositions for viola. As the first Professor of Viola at the Royal Academy of Music, Tertis influenced numerous composers such as Arnold Bax, Arthur Bliss and Frank Bridge, to write for the viola. However, Tertis’s unique collaboration with York Bowen, as both composer and performer, proved to be particularly fruitful. From 1905 to 1907, York Bowen wrote four major works featuring the viola, including a Viola Concerto in C minor, significantly contributing to the expansion of the viola repertoire catalogue. Composed at Tertis’s request in 1907, York Bowen’s Fantasia for four violas (Fantasie Quartet for Four Violas) is one of the works that displays the instrument’s brilliance. This single movement work draws its title from the ‘phantasy-mania’ sweeping England at the time. With an arch-form structure (ABACBA) York Bowen’s Fantasia perfectly encapsulates structure of the Cobbett Competition Phantasy: a work ‘free from the conventions of sonata-form’ with multiple sections featuring changing tempi and rhythm, with a ‘continuous flow throughout’, lasting under 12 minutes. Written in a Romantic style, infused with British individuality, York Bowen’s Fantasia features chromaticism, relying heavily on melodic and rhythmic imitation. Despite the limitations of writing for four violas, the composer achieves a remarkable range of colours and textures through his use of register and voicing, as well as contrasting tempi. Haydn String Quartet in C major op 76 no 3 Emperor Haydn’s Emperor Quartet is one of several vaguely propagandistic works composed during this period, and the third of his last set of quartets. Composed at the request of Viennese aristocrat Joseph Erdödy, the work draws its nickname from the Emperor’s hymn Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (God Preserve Emperor Franz) composed by Haydn in 1797. Though several accounts exist as to how Haydn came to write this patriotic tune, it is certain that his work provided a suitable anthem for a nation in dire need of one. The anthem, regarded as a parallel to England’s own God Save the King , was unveiled at the birthday celebration of the Habsburg Emperor Francis II (1768–1835), held at the Burgtheater, Vienna. The anthem immediately proved popular. Though numerous composers have written variations to Haydn’s melody, the best set was written by the composer himself in the second movement, Poco Adagio: Cantabile , of his String Quartet in C major.