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Home , Alfred Cortot, Anton Reicha, Ignaz Moscheles, Louise Farrenc, Neal Peres Da Costa

Louise Camille FARRENC & SAINT-SAËNS Romantic Dreams for and Strings

IRONWOOD This album presents two captivating piano quintets from the French Romantic era in historically inspired interpretations by Ironwood. The first is the relatively unknown Piano in A minor, Op. 30, composed in 1839 by , the second is the well-known and popular in A minor, Op. 14, composed in 1855 by Camille Saint-Saëns.

LOUISE FARRENC 1804–1875 Farrenc, a native of Paris, is remarkable for having forged an unusually prominent career for a female in those days. Farrenc was celebrated as a concert , composer and Quintet for piano and strings No. 1 in A minor, Op. 30 [31’10] 1 I. Allegro 12’50 teacher. She studied the piano in her youth with (1794–1870) and Johann 2 II. Adagio non troppo 6’18 Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837), both of whom were admired – Moscheles had a 3 III. Scherzo (Presto) 3’54 strong connection with Beethoven, and Hummel with W.A. Mozart – and wrote influential 4 IV. Finale (Allegro) 8’08 pedagogical treatises on piano playing. Farrenc studied composition with (1770–1836). In 1842 she became the first female professor to be appointed at the Paris Rachael Beesley violin Conservatoire, where she taught piano for thirty years and was successful in fighting for Simon Oswell viola pay equal to her male colleagues. Her early compositional output consisted mainly of Daniel Yeadon cello pieces for solo piano, but by the 1840s she had made significant forays into chamber and Robert Nairn double bass orchestral writing. Farrenc’s two piano quintets constitute some of her finest chamber Neal Peres Da Costa piano music, displaying a mature compositional craft.

Saint-Saëns enjoyed a very long career as a virtuoso organist and pianist, prodigious CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS 1835–1921 composer, teacher, and music editor. He was compared in early years with the likes of Mozart and Mendelssohn – making his debut as a pianist at the age of 10. In the height Quintet for piano and strings in A minor, Op. 14 [32’25] of his career he was even said to rival Liszt. Saint-Saëns studied piano at the Paris 5 I. Allegro moderato e maestoso 11’22 Conservatoire and was instructed in the famous method developed by the German-born 6 II. Andante sostenuto 6’25 Paris Conservatoire-trained pianist/composer (1785–1849). This 7 III. Presto 5’40 method had been adopted by Saint-Saëns’ teacher Camille-Marie Stamaty (1811–1870), 8 IV. Allegro assai, ma tranquillo 8’59 himself a star pupil of Kalkbrenner and staunch advocate of the method. For many, the Robin Wilson violin 1 Kalkbrenner Method unlocked new levels of technical brilliance achieved with minimal Rachael Beesley violin 2 movements of the body. Simon Oswell viola After a lengthy stint as church organist, Saint-Saëns embarked upon a freelance career Daniel Yeadon cello which brought him much fame on both sides of the Atlantic. He is remembered today Neal Peres Da Costa piano for many memorable compositions, not least his Third (‘Organ’) and Carnival of the Animals. Though traditional in many respects in his compositions, he was a progressive and foreshadowed elements of composers in the French group known as Les Six and even Stravinsky. The Op. 14 Piano Quintet was dedicated to his grand-aunt Charlotte Gayard Masson, who resided with him and his mother and gave him his first piano lessons.

In early to mid 19th-century Paris, chamber concerts tended to be dominated by works of Austro-German composers, notably Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Farrenc and Saint-Saëns were both active in introducing the public to new and distinctive French

— 2 — compositional styles. Often their own chamber works were aired in their own homes is justifiable as, during the first half of the , there was close interaction and before being presented in the grand Parisian public venues such as the Salle Érard and connection between French, German and Austrian musicians. Nevertheless, we have also the Salle Pleyel. The piano quintets on this recording provide contrasting glimpses of the explored practices that were more typically French and therefore directly applicable to rapidly changing Parisian tastes and of the development of new and experimental string French repertoire of the period. textures and virtuoso piano writing. During the first half of the 19th century, instrumental and vocal performance in France and Farrenc’s Quintet exploits the same sound world as Schubert’s Trout Quintet, with double Belgium steadily became standardised, largely as a result of the benchmarks developed bass instead of a second violin. Classical in style and form but dressed up with Romantic at the Paris Conservatoire (established 1795) and Brussels Conservatoire (established trimmings, the work sounds like Mozart on steroids, particularly in its passionately in 1813). In string playing, Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755–1824) is seen as the father of energetic outer movements, which are tinged with the eloquence of Mendelssohn and the Franco-Belgian school, with founding members including Pierre Rode (1774–1839), the brooding darkness of Chopin. The second movement contrasts hazy ambience in its Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831), and Pierre Baillot (1771–1842). A tradition was handed opening with Schubertian-like drama in its middle section, while the third movement is down through the 19th century incorporating a new bowing style and an expansion of reminiscent of Beethoven in its exuberant energy and wit. the range of special bowings. There was a movement away from the naturally articulated stroke of the Baroque bow towards a more legato style achieved with the newer Tourte With Saint-Saëns’ Quintet, we are taken into a vastly different world. The first movement bow (Walls, 2003). This style was recalled by violinist Carl Flesch (1873–1944), a later juxtaposes several effects: organ-like chords, ghostly string lines, symphonic refrains proponent of the Franco-Belgian School, in his memoirs (Flesch, 1979). By the mid 19th and impressionistic arabesques disguising the underlying sonata-form structure. The century, the aesthetic values and expressive practices of the Franco-Belgian school movement cleverly explores permutations of the initial thematic material. The second were documented in detail in treatises such as Charles-Auguste de Bériot’s (1802–1870) movement harks back to the elegance of a Baroque minuet but with moments of great Méthode de violon (Paris, 1858), including lengthy instructions about bowing style, vibrato, Romantic lyricism. The suave arabesques towards the movement’s end are cleverly portamento (of varying types and intensities), rhythmic and tempo modification, and transformed into the central theme of the third movement, itself a danse macabre filled particularly vocality in performance: syllabification, prosody, and accentuation. And with witches, goblins and other scary creatures reminiscent of Berlioz’ Symphonie there were parallel texts in piano playing and singing, including ’s fantastique. The fourth movement begins with an austere organ-like in the strings, (1812–1871) L’Art du chant appliqué au piano, Op. 79 (Paris, 1853) and Manuel García’s but soon gives way to a rousing heart-on-sleeve anthem (some might be reminded of (1805–1906) École de García: Traité complet de l’art du chant (Paris, 1840 and 1847), the American rock band Blondie), leading to a parody-like sequence of French cabaret as well as Laure Cinti-Damoreau’s (1801–1863) Méthode de chant, composée pour ses music (popular from the 1840s) and the glittering effects that were later associated with classes du Conservatoire (Paris, 1849). Hollywood. Before the brilliant finale, Saint-Saëns reminds us of where the work started, reintroducing the themes of the first movement. The information in such treatises is greatly amplified by evidence in early sound recordings. From 1900 onwards, the art of several of the most important Franco- Exploring HIP in 19th-century French music Belgian instrumentalists and vocalists was captured on acoustic, electrical and piano For this project, Daniel Yeadon and Neal Peres Da Costa have led Ironwood in developing roll recordings. These recordings preserve uniquely Franco-Belgian performance styles, novel interpretations of these two delightful piano quintets, drawing on 19th-century showing how expressive practices actually sounded, their quality and frequency, and performing practices described in contemporary French written sources and preserved on providing models for emulation. Together, these forms of evidence demonstrate clearly early recordings of Franco-Belgian musicians. The project builds on Ironwood’s previous that mid-19th-century Franco-Belgian style was substantially different to today’s modern practice-led creative research, examining the expressive practices of 19th-century Austrian mainstream classical style, which developed during the first half of the 20th century and German string players and pianists, culminating in its acclaimed ABC Classics (Phillip, 1992); this has given us the impetus to reconsider and reevaluate how we recording of Brahms’ G minor Piano Quartet and F minor Piano Quintet – Brahms: approach the performance of music of mid-19th-century French composers such as Tones of Romantic Extravagance (2016). Ironwood’s interpretations on the present Farrenc and Saint-Saëns. In essence our interpretative approach in the two piano quintets recording have been influenced to some extent by knowledge and practical experience of has involved a close study of the key pedagogical treatises as well as close listening and 19th-century Austro-German practices, particularly in the application of vibrato, portamento, emulation of select early recordings to develop a framework for the practical application of piano arpeggiation, articulation, bowing, asynchrony of rhythm, and tempo flexibility. This typically mid-19th-century expressive practices.

— 3 — Of all the string treatises written in the 19th century, De Bériot’s violin treatise contains Interestingly, De Bériot also cautions against an excessive use of portamento: ‘Violinists the most extensive advice on bowing and other expressive practices. It is clear from his who make excessive use of portamento are generally guilty of the same fault when it explanations of bow divisions (De Bériot, 1858, part 2, pp. 76–85) that players utilised the comes to vibrato. One inevitably leads to the other. Excessive portamento and vibrato middle and tip of the bow much more than in modern classical string playing, and that it make for a mannered, exaggerated performance style, imparting more expression to the was relatively unusual for the bow to leave the string, even in lively passages containing music than it should’ (De Bériot, 1858, part 3, p. 214). However, De Bériot’s extensive short notes or those marked staccato. The treatise contains extensive instructions on survey of the use of portamento leaves one in no doubt that he considered it to be an how to play detached bow strokes, which are divided into three categories: continuous, intrinsic form of musical expression. And, as with all written advice, it is impossible to ‘muted’ (from the French word ‘mat’), and elastic. The descriptions imply varying degrees gauge the quality (exact effect) and quantity (frequency) of such practices; for that, sound of pressure release at the end of each stroke, appropriate to specific contexts such recordings are imperative (Peres Da Costa, 2000). as playing or the navigation of different tempi. De Bériot describes portamento as a continuous slide between two notes, and he also Continuous strokes are used for broad legato playing. Muted strokes include relatively justifies the occasional use of a short anticipatory note before the main arrival note long détaché (separated) strokes in the middle of the bow, to be executed on the string (De Bériot, 1858, part 3, p. 214). This practice can often be heard in the earliest recordings with some separation, and relatively short martelé (hammered) strokes towards the tip of of singers of all nationalities, and is reflected in the mid 19th-century singing treatises. the bow, also on the string with small lively wrist movements. Both détaché and martelé Examples of portamento provided by De Bériot illustrate its use in a lively and light context strokes are relatively fast and energetic. ‘Muted’ seems to refer to the control required at one end of the spectrum, and then tender, plaintive, sorrowful and heartbreaking at the end of each stroke in order to shorten notes while remaining on the string. Elastic contexts at the other (De Bériot, 1858, part 3 pp. 215–219). De Bériot makes no specific strokes are executed a third of the way down the bow for moderate tempi, further reference to the Austro-German style of portamento, associated with an initial slide on towards the tip for faster tempi, and these encompass something akin to a sautillé (from the finger of the departing note, before transferring to the new finger midway through the French word to jump or leap). De Bériot refers to the bow ‘imperceptibly leaving’ the the slide. string, rather than jumping or leaping off the string. There is a sense here that the string, Another essential aspect of performance explored in detail by De Bériot is the ‘prosody’ in conjunction with a flexing of the bow, causes the lift of the bow above a certain critical of the bow. Describing prosody in literature as ‘the art of pronouncing each word with its speed, rather than the player actively bringing it off the string. Carl Flesch advises that the proper stress and quantity’ (De Bériot, 1858, part 3, p. 213), he highlights the importance sautillé stroke is most effectively created when the player is passive and the bow is active. of maintaining a sense of speech when interpreting a phrase: ‘In choosing the best Other expressive devices explored by De Bériot include vibrato and portamento. De Bériot bowings to make the speak – in one’s own music, or reading music where gives the reader the impression that vibrato was used considerably more sparingly in the markings have been neglected, or playing vocal music from memory – we must follow the mid 19th century: ‘Vibrato refers to a certain undulation or quivering on long notes, which variety of speech inflections suggested by the actual or imaginary words, as expressed in singing depicts the emotions of the soul. Vibrato is an asset for the artist who knows in the melody’ (De Bériot, 1858, part 3, p. 212). Awareness of text, whether real or how to use it sparingly and to good effect, and a fault when used excessively. When the imaginary, was of the utmost importance to composers of the Baroque and Classical eras, habit is developed involuntarily, it can result in an unmanageable wobble, of distressing and to performers in their keen sense of rhetoric, but it perhaps comes as a surprise that monotony… Vibrato should only be used when the drama in the action demands it. The this principle was carried through into the Romantic era. Nowadays, we tend to assume artist should be wary of this dangerous art, which once acquired, must be used with the that Romantic musicians had a preoccupation with long musical lines at the expense of utmost sobriety’ (De Bériot, 1858, part 3, p. 220). De Bériot gives examples of the ideal local expressive nuancing. use of vibrato in contrasting excerpts of music, suggesting that serene characters are Other unnotated performing practices that were absolutely essential to artistic played with steady and calm sound production and minimal vibrato, whereas passionate performance during the 19th century fall under the categories of rhythm and tempo episodes are played with vibrato to reflect the agitation of the soul (De Bériot, 1858, part flexibility. Many of the French treatises outlined above provide discussion of ways in 3, p. 221). This advice may reflect De Bériot’s reserved personality just as much as a trend which trained vocalists and instrumentalists were expected to give a rhetorical delivery in 19th-century musical aesthetic, but it is nonetheless fascinating to read these words by both flexible placement of notes (changing their notated values) and modification of caution from a time that we now tend to associate predominantly with heart-on-sleeve of tempo. These means were used to enhance word stress, or in the case of purely vibrato-laden musical interpretations.

— 4 — instrumental music, to deliver the notes as if there were words, as well as to provide From De Bériot to Ysaÿe energy appropriate to individual musical thoughts. This could be done in myriad ways: De Bériot taught Henry Vieuxtemps (1820–1881) who was born and trained in Belgium lengthening important notes and shortening others; playing a succession of equal-valued and was one of the most prominent exponents of the Franco-Belgian school in the mid notes – for example quavers and semiquavers – unequally (continuing the 18th-century 19th century. He taught Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), who knew Saint-Saëns well and was practice of notes inégales), creating a multitude of rhythmic effects ranging from gently the dedicatee of one of Saint-Saëns’ string quartets. Ysaÿe made a considerable number lilting inequality (long-short) to triplet-like or back-dotted figures; over- and under-dotting of recordings in the early 20th century. Three of the most striking are of Schubert’s Ave dotted figures; playing slurred pairs of equal-valued notes with the first note lengthened Maria [Ellens Gesang III], Vieuxtemps’ Rondino and Fauré’s Berceuse, all recorded in and the second note shortened (a practice strongly advised in 18th-century treatises such 1913/14. In all of these we hear extensive use of portamento in both Austro-German and as by Leopold Mozart and Johann Joachim Quantz); lengthening single notes to give them Franco-Belgian styles, ascending and descending through intervals between a 2nd and an particular emphasis (agogic accentuation); getting noticeably faster or slower, for example octave, and with the occasional use of an anticipatory grace note before the main arrival faster with an increase in volume (crescendo) and slower with a decrease (diminuendo); note. We also hear a varied use of vibrato, from none at all to one with a high frequency changing tempo noticeably in particular sections to reflect a change of mood or when a and a narrow amplitude, employed predominantly on long notes. Rhythmic nuancing is section called for special nuance (for example, marked sostenuto, espressivo, con anima); integral to the interpretation, in line with De Bériot’s explanation of prosody. A broader- and a host of other effects. scale tempo flexibility is also apparent, resembling the audible tempo modifications on many other early 20th-century recordings. It is interesting to note that Hummel (who taught Farrenc) gave advice in 1827 about the frequency with which tempo modification should occur (though he did not originally From Baillot to Sarasate and Thibaud mark these) in the first movement, Allegro moderato, of his A minor , Baillot taught François Habeneck (1781–1849) who taught Jean-Delphin Alard (1815–1888). Op. 47. Every few bars or so he annotates words indicating differing tempo changes All three of these influential violinists wrote treatises. Alard taught Pablo de Sarasate (albeit warning that these should be subtle) that suit the ever-changing moods of the (1844-1908) at the Paris Conservatoire while Saint-Saëns was also studying there. music (Hummel, 1827, vol. 3, pp. 429–433). Of course, it is not possible to know how Significantly, Sarasate played in the first performance of the Saint-Saëns Op. 41 Piano these practices would actually have sounded. Similar types of tempo modifications can Quintet in 1875. Sarasate made a few recordings, including of his own compositions. clearly be heard in performances preserved on early recordings of musicians trained in the Miramar is notable for its relatively sparing use of vibrato, a few carefully placed 19th century. These often sound quite radical (exaggerated) compared with what we are portamenti, and noticeable local rhythmic freedom and agogic emphasis, also according used to hearing today. Such practices became outlawed during the first half of the with De Bériot’s prosody. One can discern that Sarasate plays predominantly on the string 20th century and are conspicuously absent in mainstream classical performance today, and between the middle and upper tip of the bow. which tends to uphold the 20th-century modernist approach of adherence to the markings Another branch of the Baillot family tree leads to (1880–1953), who in the score (Peres Da Costa, 2012). was amongst many famous violinists taught by Martin Marsick (1847–1924) at the Paris In selecting string recordings to listen to closely and to emulate, we examined the Conservatoire, including Flesch, (1881–1955) and Cécile Chaminade pedagogical pedigree of string players, dating back to Viotti. We traced the lineage of the (1857–1944). Thibaud’s recordings include Debussy’s Girl with the flaxen hair (1927, with pupils of Viotti who wrote significant treatises – particularly Baillot and De Bériot – down pianist Harold Craxton [1885–1971]), Franck’s (1929, with Alfred Cortot through the generations to violinists who made recordings in the early 20th century. [1877–1962]), Fauré’s Violin Sonata (1927, with Cortot) and Debussy’s Violin Sonata (1929, We also identified the string players who were strongly associated with Farrenc and with Cortot). In Thibaud’s playing we hear frequent use of both Austro-German and Franco- Saint-Saëns during their lifetimes; the majority of these trained at the Paris Conservatoire Belgian portamento in French repertoire. Equally distinctive is his vibrato which is narrow and fast by modern standards. Also apparent is constant rhythmic flexibility and a relatively and many of them taught there. Two violinists emerged as particularly significant within free approach to tempo in relation to the score. Even though Thibaud’s recordings were Saint-Saëns’ life: Pablo de Sarasate and Eugène Ysaÿe. made a couple of generations after the première of Saint-Saëns’ Piano Quintet in A minor, they evidence many of the expressive features revered by De Bériot.

© Daniel Yeadon and Neal Peres Da Costa

— 5 — Piano Practices Saint-Saëns playing both his own works and those of Chopin and Beethoven. These In common with string and wind players and vocalists, 19th-century pianists employed reveal that he frequently used unnotated arpeggiation and asynchrony as well as rhythmic both rhythm and tempo flexibility and other unnotated expressive devices to heighten and tempo modification to great expressive effect but in ways that sound remarkable, expression, to enhance the mood of the music, to delineate musical structures, and uncontrolled, and even excessive by today’s standards. generally, to breath life into the music score in ways not marked by the composer. Of The practices that I have embedded into my piano playing and which are demonstrated on course, pianists did not have the possibility of using portamento or vibrato, however, this recording are the results of practice-led research undertaken as part of a three-year they did have at their disposal chordal arpeggiation and asynchrony between melody and Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant DP170101976. accompaniment, expressive devices that were absolutely normal in 19th-century piano playing and that had been in existence since the early 17th century or earlier (Peres Da The Piano Costa, 2012). Unnotated arpeggiation was used to enhance texture, to delay and therefore For this recording, we have been very lucky to be able to use a beautiful 1869 Paris-factory bring out melody notes, and to give special energy to accents, while asynchrony (achieved Érard concert grand piano which was purchased for me to use in my creative research by playing one hand after the other) was used to make expressive important melody work by a very generous benefactor. The provenance of this instrument is very interesting. notes, most often by delaying them or, infrequently, by playing them earlier than the It appears to have been purchased originally for the Mechanics’ Institute in Ballarat, corresponding accompaniment. Victoria, but was sold shortly afterwards. It may well have been an instrument used to There are many references to these practices in 19th-century texts, but most significant accompany Dame Nellie Melba on her concert tours in Victoria. The piano ended up in to this project is Kalkbrenner’s written advice (with annotated example) in 1831 that ‘in Ballarat Town Hall, where it was used for concerts and as a rehearsal piano. It remained passages of double notes, octaves, or chords, the long notes must be arpeggiated; those there for a long period and became very run down. It was eventually rescued, and restored that precede must not be’ (Kalkbrenner, 1831, p. 12). No less significant is the advice to its former glory by piano restorer Lucien Parent in Adelaide. about asynchrony given by Thalberg in 1853: ‘It will be indispensable to avoid, in playing, The so-called French action developed by Sébastien Érard (1752–1831) was based on the ridiculous habit and in bad taste, of withholding with exaggeration the production of the English action, and incorporated the double-escapement ‘repetition’ patented in the notes of the melody a long time after those of the bass [have been sounded]; and 1808 and improved in 1821, producing the beautiful rounded and powerful tone of the thus producing, from the beginning to the end of a composition the effect of continuous English makers. Érard’s were a tour de force and became very popular in mid- syncopations. In a slow melody written in notes of long duration, it produces a good 19th-century Europe because: i) they were capable of many tonal colours depending on effect, above all on the first delivery of each measure, or at the commencement of each registers and dynamic shadings; ii) the parallel stringing ensured clarity of tone even in period or phrase, to sound the melody note after the bass, but only with an interval nearly rapid passage work; iii) the note repetition was extremely efficient; and, iv) the sound imperceptible’ (Thalberg, 1853, series 1, unpaginated 2). The fact that both Kalkbrenner was uniquely strong and resonant because of the hammer coverings with layers of felt and Thalberg went to the trouble of writing about these practices in such prescriptive ways and leather, which brought out the fundamental of the string and less of the overtones. points not only to their importance, but equally to the fact that many pianists will have been This 1869 Érard grand piano retains these tonal features and it was a revelation to use it employing these in ways that exceed their advice. in this project. Other information significant to this project comes from the Paris Conservatoire pianist © Neal Peres Da Costa Louis Adam (1758–1848) who, in 1804, advised that when slurred staccato (portato) articulation was marked over melody notes, this could be interpreted by playing each melody note slightly after the corresponding bass note, which greatly enhances the expression of the melody line (Adam, 1804, p. 156). This is in line with similar advice by Moscheles (who taught Farrenc), that ‘when dots are used with slurs [portato] over double notes and chords, these should be struck very slightly in the Arpeggio manner, giving them the same length of time as a dot under a slur requires’ (Moscheles, 1827, Bk 1, p. 6). It is fortuitous that we have several recordings (both piano rolls and acoustic recordings) of

— 6 — References Rachael Beesley Louis Adam, Méthode de piano du Conservatoire (Paris: Conservatoire impérial de Rachael Beesley is an internationally renowned Australian violinist, director, concertmaster musique, 1804/05) and educator specialising in the field of historically informed performance (HIP). As Charles de Bériot, Méthode de violon, Op. 102, 3 parts (Paris, 1858) guest concertmaster with Europe’s most distinguished HIP ensembles and Carl Flesch, The Memoirs of Carl Flesch (New York: Da Capo Press, 1979 [© 1954]) (Anima Eterna Brugge, La Petite Bande and New Dutch Academy), guest director with Les Muffatti Brussels Baroque and performer with Les Arts Florissants and , Anweisung zum Piano-Forte-Spiel, 3 vols (: Tobias Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rachael performs in ongoing yearly concert Haslinger, 1827). seasons and regular musical events in festivals and concert halls worldwide. Friederich Kalkbrenner, Méthode pour apprendre le piano-forte à l’aide du Guide-mains, Op. 108, 2nd edn. (Paris: Pleyel, 1831). Rachael plays a pivotal role in Australia’s cultural landscape, as Co-Artistic Director, Ignaz Moscheles, Studies for Piano Forte, Op. 70, Bk 1 (: Cramer and Beale, 1827) director and concertmaster of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, which she co-founded in 2013; co-founder and member of Ironwood; guest concertmaster with the Neal Peres Da Costa, Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera; (New York: , 2012) and guest director with Adelaide Baroque and NZBarok. Rachael is invited to guest direct Robert Philip, Early Recordings and Musical Style: Changing Tastes in Instrumental modern orchestras from the violin, including the Canberra and Tasmanian Symphony Performance, 1900–1950 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992) Orchestras and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and features on over 50 album recordings Sigismond Thalberg, L’Art du chant appliqué au piano, Op. 70, 2 series (Paris: Heugel, 1853) and broadcasts for radio and television. Peter Walls, History, Imagination and the Performance of Music (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2003) Rachael is much in demand as a chamber musician and soloist, regularly collaborating with contemporary Australian composers and with nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. As a highly regarded educator and mentor, she has a strong desire to foster and support Australia’s national and international recognition as a cultural nation and is therefore invited to teach and lecture at the Melbourne and Sydney Conservatoriums of Music, the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University and for over 20 years at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague, The . Rachael has been awarded an Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant and is listed in the Who’s Who of Australian Women.

Violin by Count Rodolfo Fredi Rome, 1915; bow by Brian Tunnicliffe, , England.

Robin Wilson Dr Robin Wilson is an internationally regarded violinist and pedagogue and Head of Violin at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. A faculty member of the Keshet Eilon International String Mastercourse in Israel and the Valdres Festival in Norway, he has also held appointments at the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland. He has performed at major venues and festivals throughout Australia, the USA and the UK and has recorded for Decca, ABC Classic, Vexations840 and VDE-Gallo. His solo discography includes two discs of violin encores and the complete Schubert sonatas for violin and piano, nominated in the New Zealand Awards. Ironwood (L-R Daniel Yeadon, Neal Peres Da Costa, Rachael Beesley, Robin Wilson, Simon Oswell, Robert Nairn) with producer Thomas Grubb (seated, left)

— 7 — A member of Ironwood and the Australian Octet, Robin is a former leader of the ARCO Daniel Yeadon Chamber Orchestra and has appeared as guest violinist with many leading Australian Dr Daniel Yeadon is exceptionally versatile as a cellist and viola da gamba player, ensembles. Holding a PhD from the University of Sydney, Robin’s research into the performing repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to Contemporary. Daniel is a historically informed performance of Brahms’ music was awarded the prestigious 2014 passionate chamber musician – in addition to Ironwood he plays regularly with the Geiringer Prize from the American Brahms Society and he has presented lectures and Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, Australian recitals at major international conferences and institutions including Stanford and Yale Haydn Ensemble and Bach Akademie Australia. In the UK Daniel is a guest principal cellist Universities, City University of New York, University of Colorado, Leeds University, Royal of the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. College of Music London and the Royal Northern College of Music Manchester. Originally from the UK, Daniel read physics at Oxford University and then completed his Robin regularly gives masterclasses in Australasia, Asia, Israel, the UK and the USA, postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London. For many years Daniel was and his students hold principal positions and regularly perform as soloists with major a member of the renowned Fitzwilliam and the exuberant period instrument orchestras in Australia and overseas. In 2018 he received a National Award from the ensemble Florilegium. Australian String Teachers Association for outstanding services to the string community in Australia. Robin studied in Sydney with Alice Waten and Janet Davies and at the New Daniel has made many award-winning recordings, including Haydn’s Cello Concerto in England Conservatory of Music in Boston. C major with the Australian Haydn Ensemble; an ARIA Award-winning disc of sonatas by J.S. Bach with and Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach Sonatas for Viola da Violin by Gagliano family, Naples, 1784; bow by James Tubbs, late 19th century. Gamba and Harpsichord with Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach Cantatas and Brandenburg with John Eliot Gardiner and English Baroque Soloists; in addition to many Simon Oswell critically acclaimed recordings with Ironwood, Florilegium and the Fitzwilliam Quartet. Simon Oswell trained in Australia with Jan Sedivka, and the United States with János Négyesy and Donald McInnes. He gained awards in the National Concerto competition In 2016 Daniel completed a PhD focussing on the group learning experiences of students and co-founded the Petra String Quartet, known for its innovative programming and in tertiary music institutions. Daniel is currently a Lecturer in the Historical Performance commissioning of over 50 new works for string quartet. Simon has performed and Division at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, where he recorded as a soloist and chamber musician in Australia, Europe and South East Asia and teaches cello and viola da gamba, coaches and engages in research into subsequently in the United States in the LA-based chamber music groups, the Capitol learning and teaching, and historical performance practices. Ensemble and Pacific Serenades. In California Simon occupied several Principal Viola Cello by William Forster II, London, 1781; bow by Michael Maurushat, Sydney. positions including the Carmel Bach Festival and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and recorded for the motion picture industry in over 800 films. He also performed with the Los Angeles Rob Nairn Baroque Orchestra and the American lutenist James Tyler. Rob Nairn worked as Head of the Early Music Department at Melbourne University from 2017 to 2020. He previously taught on the faculty of the Juilliard School for 11 years Since returning to Australia, Simon has appeared as Principal Viola with the Australian and Penn State University for 18 years where he was a Distinguished Professor. Rob’s Chamber Orchestra, the Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmanian and Queensland Symphony teachers have included Klaus Stoll, Tom Martin and Max McBride. In 2008 he was Orchestras, the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, as well as the Australian World awarded a Howard Foundation Fellowship from Brown University. Orchestra, Ensemble Liaison, Ironwood, Firebird Trio, Wilma and Friends, Quartz, Trio Dali, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Highlights have included performances in Performance credits include the London and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestras, Pittsburgh, the UK at the Oxford May Chamber Music Festival and the North York Moors Festival, Baltimore and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestras, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and with the Australian World Orchestra and Zubin Mehta in Sydney, Melbourne, Mumbai, English, Scottish and Australian Chamber Orchestras, Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland Chennai and New Delhi. He currently directs an annual chamber , in Clunes, and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, London Sinfonietta, Hallé Orchestra, London Mozart Victoria, www.clunesmusic.com Players, Australia Ensemble, Australian World Orchestra and Australian String Quartet.

Viola by Gaspare Lorenzini, Piacenza, 1740; bow by John Dodd, circa 1810. A specialist in historical performance, Rob is currently Principal Bass with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, having worked with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston

— 8 — Early Music Festival, Juilliard Baroque, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, most recently Pastoral Fables (2018) with Alexandre Oguey. He is also featured on The English Baroque Soloists, Smithsonian Chamber Players, Concerto Caledonia, Ironwood, Baroque Trombone (BIS, 2009) with Christian Lindberg and the ACO; The Galant Bassoon Washington Bach Consort, Ensemble Rebel, Aulos Ensemble, Florilegium and the (Melba, 2009) with Matthew Wilke and Kees Boersma; and Baroque Duets (Vexations840, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. 2011) with Fiona Campbell, David Walker and Ironwood, which he directed. Neal has also recorded extensively on the Channel Classics label with Florilegium, the British ensemble In 2009 Rob received a Recognition Award for Historical Performance from the which he co-founded in 1991 and of which he was a member for 10 years. International Society of Bassists. His recording of Mozart’s concert aria Per questa bella mano with the Handel and Haydn Society and bass Eric Owens has garnered substantial Grand piano by Érard, Paris, 1869. critical acclaim: Gramophone magazine called it ‘all one could wish for’ and Classic FM magazine selected it as its Record of the Month. Rob has recorded for Deutsche Ironwood Grammophon, Sony Classical, EMI, Naxos, Tall Poppies, RCA and ABC Classic. Ironwood is a renowned Australian period-instrument ensemble lauded for its historically informed exploration of repertoire from the late Renaissance to the late Romantic eras, Active in commissioning new works, Rob has premiered more than forty compositions as well as its support of newly commissioned works. Established in 2006, the ensemble featuring the bass, both alone and with groups such as the London Sinfonietta, Gruppe draws on a wealth of experience and expertise, bringing together specialist leaders in Neue Musik Berlin, Australysis, the Music Theatre of Wales and Sydney Alpha Ensemble. the field. Ironwood has presented at the major festivals and concert series around He has performed recitals in Europe, Scandinavia, China, the USA and Australia. Australia, and has toured Europe and America. With several innovative recordings on Bass by Gabriel Xavier Jacquet, Mirecourt, circa 1860; bow by L. Pages, after Peccatte. the ABC Classic and Vexations840 labels, Ironwood is regularly broadcast nationally on ABC Classic and around the world. Ironwood has partnered with Australia Neal Peres Da Costa and has collaborated with The Song Company, Ensemble Offspring and a broad spectrum Dr Neal Peres Da Costa is Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Historical of Australian composers, exploring both old and new music in wide-ranging contexts. Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney. He is known worldwide for his ground-breaking monograph Off the Record: Performing Practices Ironwood’s core members are highly experienced educators at tertiary music institutions, in Romantic Piano Playing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), and the complete including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, the Australian Brahms Sonatas for one solo instrument and piano (Bärenreiter Verlag, 2015/16) which National Academy of Music, and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University he co-edited with Clive Brown and Kate Bennett Wadsworth. He is a historical keyboard of Melbourne, and as key personnel within arts organisations such as the Australian specialist and is currently recipient of a prestigious Australian Research Council Discovery Chamber Orchestra and Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. Ironwood has been Project grant for research into 19th-century piano playing. closely involved in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Chamber Players program. Ironwood has participated regularly in Bundanon Trust Artists in Residence programs and, in Neal performs regularly with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Song Company, collaboration with festivals and educational institutions, runs Developing Artist programs Bach Akademie Australia and Pinchgut Opera. With the Australian Haydn Ensemble and in Victoria and NSW. The members of Ironwood have helped to create national networks Ironwood he has undertaken performance research leading to experimental performances for young HIP artists and to establish new groups such as the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and recordings of Classical- and Romantic-era repertoire in historically informed style, The Muffat Collective, Pearl & Dagger Opera, Gut Instincts, and events such as the including Beethoven’s Piano Concertos 1 and 3 – Chamber Versions (2017; licensed Sydney Baroque Music Festival and Eastside Sydney Music Festival. by ABC Classic) with the Australian Haydn Ensemble, and Brahms: Tones of Romantic Extravagance (ABC Classic, 2017) with Ironwood, featuring Brahms’s Op. 25 Piano Quartet and Op. 34 Piano Quintet, awarded ‘Recommended CD’ in The Strad magazine (UK).

Neal’s discography includes critically acclaimed recordings for ABC Classic: Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Obbligato Keyboard (2007) with Richard Tognetti and Daniel Yeadon, which won the ARIA Award for Best Classical Album; Bach’s Complete Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord (2009) with Daniel Yeadon, Music for a While (2012) with Miriam Allan and Ironwood; 3 (2012) with and Daniel Yeadon; and

— 9 — Executive Producer Hugh Robertson Recording Producer and Engineer Thomas Grubb (Mano Musica) Editing and Mastering Thomas Grubb (Mano Musica) Piano Technician Terry Harper Publications Editor Natalie Shea Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd Cover Image Paris Street, Rainy Day, 1877 (oil on canvas) by Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894) / Bridgeman Images Recorded December 2019 and February 2020 in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Eugene Goossens Hall, Ultimo Centre, Sydney. Heartfelt thanks to Thomas Grubb at Mano Musica, for his extraordinary patience and his expert skills as a producer and editor. Thank you to: • The ABC Classic team • All of our private donors and Australian Cultural Fund supporters • Terry Harper for piano tuning, maintenance and preparation • Patrick Mullins, Anton Bredow, and Nathan Cox • Professor Clive Brown (Emeritus Professor Leeds University and Guest Professor University for Music and Performing Arts Vienna) and Dr David Milsom (University of Huddersfield) for musical insights and inspiration • Pierre Sciama for his translations of French 19th-century violin treatises • Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney for a 2019 Internal Research Grant awarded to Daniel Yeadon ABC Classic thanks Toby Chadd, Fiona McAuliffe, Darcy O’Brien, Natalie Waller and Virginia Read. www.abcclassics.com

P 2020 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. C 2020 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Digital distribution by Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved. Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance or broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyright owner is prohibited.

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