Escher String Quartet
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carte blanche concert i: Escher String Quartet ALEXANDER VON ZEMLINSKY (1871–1942) July 23 String Quartet no. 1, op. 4 (1896) Allegro con fuoco Wednesday, July 23, 8:00 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School Allegretto Breit und kräftig Vivace e con fuoco String Quartet no. 2, op. 15 (1913–1915) PROGRAM OVERVIEW Sehr mäßig – Heftig und liedenschaftlich – Andante mosso – Etwas rascher Adagio The four string quartets of Alexander von Zemlinsky represent Schnell (die Achtel) one of the most powerful cycles of the modern quartet Andante – Allegro molto – Langsam – Andante literature. Composed over a period spanning four decades, IntermissiON the cycle chronicles critical points of the composer’s life and String Quartet no. 3, op. 19 (1924) career. Following the Romantically Brahmsian First Quartet, the Allegretto: Gemachlich, innig bewegt Second, written in response to a spurned marriage proposal, Thema mit Variationen: Geheimnisvoll bewegt, nich zu schnell – Variationen I–VII Romanze: Sehr mäßige Achtel, Andante sostenuto NCHE CONCERTS turns turbulent. In his Third Quartet, Zemlinsky departs from Burleske: Sehr lebhaft, Allegro moderato A his earlier tonal language towards an Expressionist idiom String Quartet no. 4, op. 25 (1936) L influenced by his famous brother-in-law, Arnold Schoenberg. Präludium: Poco adagio B The final quartet is written as an homage to Zemlinsky’s dear Burleske: Vivace friend and colleague, Alban Berg. Adagietto: Adagio Intermezzo: Allegretto Barcarole (Thema mit Variationen): Poco adagio RTE RTE Finale: Doppelfuge: Allegro molto energico SPECIAL THANKS A Escher String Quartet: Adam Barnett-Hart, Aaron Boyd, violins; Pierre Lapointe, viola; Music@Menlo dedicates this performance to Darren H. Bechtel Dane Johansen, cello C and also to William F. Meehan III with gratitude for their generous support. 46 Music@Menlo 2014 Program Notes: Escher String Quartet ALEXANDER VON ZEMLINSKY Quartet, marked Allegro con fuoco, momentarily establish the key of A major (Born October 14, 1871, Vienna; died March 15, 1942, Larchmont, New York) before a series of rapid modulations. The rhythmic quality of the music is equally dense; in the first subject alone, nine distinct rhythmic figures are The string quartets of Alexander von Zemlinsky, composed over a span of expanded, reversed, and contracted. The writing, however, still adheres to a nearly four decades, depict the tonal advancement and social change at the traditional sonata form culminating in a robust recapitulation. The first six measures of the second movement Allegretto provide crossroads between the late Romantic era and the early twentieth century. Though he was overshadowed both during his lifetime and posthumously by thematic context for much of Zemlinsky’s literature at large. The first two such prominent figures as Schoenberg and Stravinsky, the Austrian composer measures present a phrase (C-sharp, D-sharp, F-sharp) Zemlinsky calls his and conductor’s life and career reflect the transition from the nineteenth- “self” motif. Recalling Bach’s frequent use of his musical signature (B-flat, A, C, B-natural—in German notation, B-A-C-H), as well as the fascination century Romantic tradition of Brahms to the aesthetic of the Second Viennese with gematria evident in much of his music, Zemlinsky’s “self” motif is School. In particular, his four string quartets, presented here as a complete cycle, capture this immense cultural shift during the early twentieth century. numerologically self-referential. Zemlinsky displayed a strong aptitude for the piano by age four. In fact, Zemlinsky was born on October 14, 1871; he later inexplicably changed he encountered the instrument by a stroke of pure luck. A family friend invited his legal birth date to October 4, 1872. The integers of the supposed birth young Alexander to accompany him to piano lessons; he soon surpassed his date summate to twenty-three: (1+0)+(4)+(1+8+7+2) = 23; adding those friend, warranting private study on his own. He joined the local temple choir, integers (2+3) summates to five. Zemlinsky’s “self” motif is made up of the and when his voice broke in 1884, he became its organist. Upon completing his second, third, and fifth degrees of the major scale. Zemlinsky, born to a father primary education in 1886, Zemlinsky was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory of Slavonic-Catholic descent and a mother of Sephardi-Muslim heritage, was to study harmony and composition with brothers Robert and Johann Nepomuk moreover familiar with Kabalistic text, in which each Hebrew word, number, Fuchs. and accent contains an esoteric meaning. The Kabalistic analysis of the In 1893, near the end of his time as a student at the conservatory, the numbers two, three, and five creates the sentence “Logic is the mother of twenty-two-year-old Zemlinsky conducted the premiere of his Symphony in d imagination and awareness,” as if Zemlinsky himself is rewarding a thorough minor. Johannes Brahms, a regular visitor to the conservatory (and one known analysis of his tediously hidden identity. to express his opinions candidly about each student’s performance), was in attendance. Brahms would encounter Zemlinsky’s music again three years later, when Robert Fuchs invited him to the premiere of Zemlinsky’s String Quintet in d minor in March 1896. Following the performance, Zemlinsky recalled: Brahms asked for the score and with a brief and somewhat ironic interjection—“Of course, only if you are interested in discussing it”— invited me to call on him. It was a decision not to be taken lightly…a conversation with Brahms was no easy matter. Question and answer NCHE CONCERTS were curt, gruff, seemingly cold, and often highly sarcastic. He read A my quintet through at the piano, at first making light corrections, L examining one passage or the other in greater detail, but with no B actual word of praise or encouragement, eventually growing more vehement. Having reduced me to a state of utter despair, he soon restored my good humor, asked about my material needs, and offered me a monthly grant, which would enable me to reduce my RTE teaching schedule and spend more time composing. In measures five and six, the motif is reduced and inverted (C-sharp, A E, B-sharp), and measures eight through eleven provide further variations C Brahms’s financial support enabled Zemlinsky to focus on a new string of the motif. quartet. The summer of 1896 was devoted exclusively to its completion. In the fall, Zemlinsky’s String Quartet no. 1 in A Major, op. 4, received its first performance at the conservatory. A critic wrote, “The work is more clearly articulated and less encumbered by juvenile utterances than the string quintet introduced last year.” String Quartet no. 1 in A Major, op. 4 Composed: 1896 Other works from this period: Detailed in the notes below Approximate duration: 21 minutes While the late-Romantic language of his early work is indeed reminiscent of Brahms, Zemlinsky adds his own signature rhythmic and harmonic complexities. The opening measures of the first movement of the First String *Bolded terms are defined in the glossary, which begins on page 100. www.musicatmenlo.org 47 As a musical counterpart to the “self” motif, Zemlinsky incorporates Quartet) and abandons Classical form in favor of a single movement what he describes as the “motif of the world,” created by inverting divided into four continuous sections. As a nod to Schoenberg, an amateur the “self” (scale degrees four, three, and one). Throughout his lifetime, cellist, Zemlinsky incorporates sections of complete chaos, above which Zemlinsky compares and contrasts these two motifs, evident here in the the cello rises to return to thematic material. The cello seems to maintain a slow movement of the First Quartet (A, G, E). sense of reason amongst the fracas of the other strings, perhaps indicative of Zemlinsky’s apology to his closest friend. In letters and journals, Zemlinsky informally subtitled the Second Quartet his “personal Inferno”—likely a reference to August Strindberg’s autobiographical novel of the same title, published in 1898, which reads: The final movement, a resplendent Vivace e con fuoco in sonata form, displays the pinnacle of the Romantic style of Zemlinsky’s early music. The intolerable pressure…! The heavy burden…! What dreadful Unlike the preceding movements, the exposition is more deeply rooted in the key of A major. The movement is largely a dialog between the pains…! Burning desire…! Murder, robbery, blood, wounds…! cello and first violin, which alternate reciting the theme throughout. The Possession, beauty, sweet contentment…! Buoyant creativity development modulates frequently and is relieved by the return of the and fortunate issue…! A work is completed, a child is born, a exposition’s subject. The movement closes with a dramatic recapitulation, woman kisses, a man rejoices…and grows numb once more… reiterating the theme in full and closing with an exuberant unison chord. and sinks back… Given his heartbreak over Alma, the crippling of his closest friendship String Quartet no. 2, op. 15 with Schoenberg, and the recent passing of his mother, Clara, it is no Composed: 1913–1915 wonder Zemlinsky identified so strongly with this writing. First performance: April 9, 1918, Rosé Quartet Musically, the quartet maintains the same calculated precision found Other works from this period: Detailed in the notes below in Zemlinsky’s first quartet. Of utmost significance are two numbers that Approximate duration: 39 minutes are hidden in the rhythmic and harmonic fabric of the work, thirteen and fourteen. Both Schoenberg and Zemlinsky made use of these numbers In 1895, Zemlinsky accepted a teaching position at the Vienna throughout their lives, thirteen belonging to Schoenberg (coinciding with his Conservatory, where he founded the Polyhymnia, an amateur orchestra birth date, September 13, 1874) and fourteen to Zemlinsky (actually born on whose immediate success ended abruptly in bankruptcy in October 1896.