The Brahms Project Joanna Kurkowicz, violin and Doris Stevenson, piano Friday, December 5, 2008

PROGRAM NOTES

JOHANNES BRAHMS: VIOLIN SONATAS

“I am staying in Karnten again, at Portschach am See (railway-station Maria-Worth). It would be really lovely if you could direct your steps this time in my direction; our nest here is only a friendly stop on the way, but from here you can take the most delightful trips , to the Ampezzo valley, Grosglockner , Fusch etc”. These words written by Johannes Brahms in June 1879 to his friend Adolf Schubring, a writer on musical subjects, were typical of the composer in a double sense. On the one hand he loved the presence or the company of familiar friends even during his the summer vacation, and on the other hand he always chose places of particular natural beauty for his holidays. Brahms loved the countryside and being surrounded by nature which acted as a stimulus for him and where he could "go for walks" with his musical ideas, as he called it.

Therefore it is not surprising that in the summer months the majority of his loveliest Lieder and instrumental compositions were written. As early as 1877, when he was in Portschach for the first time, he had written to his friend the Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick: "Lake Worth is virgin country, the air is so full of melodies that one must be careful1 not to step on one..." The same applies to the summers following, in which not only Brahms's Violin Concerto in D major was written, but also the First Violin Sonata in G major Op. 78, which was finished in the summer of 1879, also in Portschach. Whether this G major sonata was really Brahms's first violin sonata can, however no longer be exactly established. Much evidence seems to indicate that it had at least three predecessors, but these, like other early compositions of Brahms, fell victim to the relentless self-criticism of his genius. With the Violin Sonata in G major, however, Brahms realized a novel concept of sonata form. It is not so much the integration of variations into the principles of dialectic form which is meant by this - Arnold Schoenberg was to be the first to recognize the forward-looking tendency of this integration - but rather the conceptual unity of the three movements based on a dotted- rhythm motif. This dotted rhythm appears at the beginnings of the opening Vivace ma non troppo and the Allegro molto moderate Finale which quotes the theme of the "Regenlied" Op. 59 No. 3 (based on a poem by Klaus Groth); the dotted rhythm also characterizes the Adagio middle section thereby establishing a connection between movements.

Thus the Finale unfolds almost by itself, for the quotation from "Regenlied" which was set to music in 1873 ("Surge, rain, surge down, awake once more the dreams in me which I dreamed as a child...") is in both contexts the expression of contemplative, almost nostalgic reminiscence. But as if that were not enough, Brahms brings back the cantabile Adagio idea slightly changed, as the second couplet in the Rondo Finale and thus enriches the final movement with a restrained warmth and wistful tenderness which make the music” seem to smile through its tears", to quote Karl Geiringer.

Intimacy, though of quite a different kind can also be heard in the Second Violin Sonata in A major Op. 100, which Brahms composed in 1886 in Hofstetten near Thun on Lake Thun. It was apparently written "while expecting then arrival of a dear friend", namely the young alto Hermine Spies, whom Brahms had heard for the first time in 1883 as the soloist in his Alto Rhapsody. How deep his feelings were for the singer, in artistic and human terms , is shown not only by the abundance of his Lied production in the subsequent years but also in the A major Sonata for Piano and Violin. In composing this sonata Brahms must have spent a lot of time deep in thought about her, whom he admired to the point of adoration, which explains the serene basic mood of the music almost without further comment being necessary.

Further comment is also hardly necessary to explain the use of several melodic phrases from the setting of Klaus Groth’s “Komm bald”(Come soon) Op. 97 No. 5 in the opening Allegro amabile, into which the musician also wove the opening motif of his Lied "Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn”(Like melodies running gently through my mind), Op. 105 No. 1, as second subject. For the middle movement Brahms here combines the slow movement and scherzo into an Andante tranquillo in five sections, in which a tender opening idea alternates several times with a buoyantly contrasting Vivace. The final word in the sonata belongs to an Allegretto grazioso (quasi Andante) in allabreve time, a broadly pulsating Rondo finale, in which the piano adds chromatically contemplative notes to the flowing cantabile character of the movement, without, however, seriously affecting the basically relaxed mood.

The Third Violin Sonata in D minor Op. 108 was also written in the summer of 1886 on Lake Thun, but it was not definitively completed until 1888. This sonata was also published a year later under the title "Sonata for pianoforte and violin", not the other way round by which means Brahms wished to indicate the fact that both instruments are treated on equal terms. This was particularly important in the case of the D minor sonata, since it replaces the intimacy of its predecessors with a concertante approach, which would otherwise have been misunderstood. For here the piano part also lays claims to virtuosity and leads to the assumption that during the composition of the work Brahms was already thinking of his friend, the pianist and conductor Hans von Bulow, to whom he did in fact dedicate this Opus 108.

The virtuosity of its character also explains the four-movement form of the sonata, which is filled with passionate, almost dramatic impetus. This evolves in the introductory Allegro in traditional sonata form, but with an unorthodox development section, which combines the bariolage technique of the violin with an insistent pedal point from the piano, the left hand of which plays an uninterrupted A for 46 bars. An expressively sensitive Adagio in D major and a strangely pallid, almost gloomy Scherzo in F sharp minor create a strongly contrasting pair of inner movements, which, however, in the cyclic construction of the work function merely as an intermezzo.

For the Finale turns out to be not only the point towards which the work is directed, but in fact the true centre of the work, the significance of which Brahms emphasized by the unusual length - 337 bars - and the choice of sonata form. The tempestuousness and the passionato character of this Presto agitato are hardly affected by occasional episodes, and indicate an inner tension which does not diminish into the very last bar.

Ekkehart Kroher (Translation: © 1993 Diana Loos)

BIOS

Joanna Kurkowicz, Artist-in-Residence in violin Praised in GRAMOPHONE Magazine for “disciplined virtuosity” violinist Joanna Kurkowicz enjoys an active and versatile career as an award-winning soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and concertmistress. She has performed on many of the great concert stages of the world, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Boston and the Grosse Saal, Salzburg, and has appeared as a soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, the Jefferson Symphony, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, the New England String Ensemble, the Berkshire Symphony, the Poznan Philharmonic, the Polish National Radio Orchestra in Katowice and others. She has received awards from the Samuel Chester, Presser, Saint Botolph, Kosciuszko, and Olevsky Foundations, the Harvard Musical Association, the Irving McKlein International Competition, the Carmel and Coleman Chamber Music Competitions, and in Poland, the Henryk Wieniawski and Tadeusz Wronski International Competitions. She is a recipient of the New England Conservatory Outstanding Alumni Award.

Ms. Kurkowicz currently serves as concertmistress of the Boston Philharmonic and the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra.. Her previous positions as concertmistress include the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (1999–2004) and the Vermont Symphony (1999– 2001). She was a member of the acclaimed Metamorphosen and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras (1997–2003). Since fall 2002, she holds the position of “Artist in Residence” at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and recently joined the faculty at Tufts University. Between 2006 and 2008 she served as faculty of the Northeastern University Fusion Arts Exchange Program. An avid and sought-after chamber musician, she has collaborated with such eminent artists as Jaime Laredo, Charles Treger, Laurence Lesser and James Buswell. She is a founding member and Artistic Advisor of the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston and the Plymouth Chamber Music Festival. As a guest artist, she has participated in the Mozarteum Festival in Salzburg, the Ravinia Festival, Barge Concert Series (NY), the Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington, New Zealand, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, the EuroSilesia International Music Festival and the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society.

Ms. Kurkowicz is a strong advocate of contemporary music; she has premiered among others works by G. Schuller, R. Shapey, P. Ruders, D. Kechley and G. Bacewicz. Her recent Boston premiere of S. Korde Violin Concerto with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra met with enthusiastic response, as well as her previous performances of this concerto in Europe and New Zealand.

Her recent solo CD featuring music of Grazyna Bacewicz released on CHANDOS RECORDS has been praised in FANFARE Magazine as “spectacular release” and in INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW for “...passion, authority and sheer élan...” and received fantastic reviews in numerous magazines including STRAD, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE and MUZYKA21. Her BRIDGE RECORDS release featuring music of Alfred Schnittke has been noted in the STRAD Magazine for “strong impact… her playing holds one enthralled, demonstrating strong personality and assured technique.” The CD was chosen by Boston Herald as “Best of Year 2001. ” Ms. Kurkowicz can also be heard on the Centaur, CRI, Capstone, Albany, New World Records, Neuma and Archetype labels. Her Boston premiere of sonatas by Rebecca Clarke was listed in the Boston Globe “Best Concerts of 2000.”

A native of Lublin, Poland, Joanna Kurkowicz earned a Master of Music Degree with distinction from the Paderewski Conservatory of Music in Poznan, Poland, in the studio of Jadwiga Kaliszewska. She came to the United States in 1992 to complete a second Master of Music degree as a student and teaching assistant of Charles Treger at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Ms. Kurkowicz completed the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Masuko Ushioda. Joanna Kurkowicz plays on a Petrus Guarnerius violin dated from 1699. www.joannakurkowicz.com

Doris Stevenson, Artist-in-Residence in piano Pianist Doris Stevenson, Artist in Residence at Williams College, leads a busy life as recitalist and chamber musician in addition to teaching at Williams. She has played on many of the great stages of the world including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Salle Pleyel in Paris and Symphony Hall as soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra. She has played with Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky, Ruggiero Ricci and Paul Tortelier, great artists of the past. The list of distinguished artists she has performed with includes cellists Andre Navarra, Leslie Parnes and Gary Hoffman, violinists Mark Peskanov and Elmar Olivera, violist Walter Trampler and singers Kaaren Erickson, Robert Hale and Catherine Malfitano. She is a founding member of the Sitka Summer Music Festival in Alaska and has appeared in many other chamber music festivals including the Grand Canyon festival, Steamboat Springs Strings in the Mountains, Marin Music Fest, Chamber Music/LA and the Park City International Music Festival. She served for ten years on the piano faculty of the University of Southern California where she was also pianist for the master classes of famed cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky. Her many recordings include David Kechley's Winter Branches with Douglas Moore, a work for two pianos and percussion of Ileana Perez Velazquez on her new CD released last week by Albany Records, the Brahms Sonatas for cello and piano with Nathaniel Rosen, the Saint Saens violin sonatas with Andres Cardenes and Mendelssohn complete works for cello and piano with Jeffrey Solow. A Stravinsky CD with Mark Peskanov received a Grammy nomination.