Programme Notes by Chris Darwin: Use Freely for Non-Commercial Purposes W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Five Fugues for String Quartet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Programme notes by Chris Darwin: use freely for non-commercial purposes W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Five Fugues for String Quartet (from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Bk 2) K. 405 (1782) I. C minor (after BWV 871) II. E-flat Major (after BWV 876) III. E Major (after BWV 878) IV. D-sharp minor (after BWV 877) V. D Major (after BWV 874) We have the diplomat Baron Gottfried van Swieten and Mozart's soon-to-be wife Constanze to thank for the various fugues that Mozart arranged and composed in 1782. Van Swieten had returned to Vienna from the Austrian embassy in Berlin where he had accumulated a large collection of the works of Bach and Handel. He invited Mozart round on Sundays to play them to him. On April 20, 1782 (239 years ago on Tuesday) Mozart wrote to his sister Nannerl about a prelude and fugue (K.394) that he had just written: “My dear Constanze is really the cause of this fugue’s coming into the world. The Baron van Swieten, to whom I go every Sunday, gave me all the works of Handel and Sebastian Bach to take home with me (after I had played them to him). When Constanze heard the fugues, she absolutely fell in love with them. Now she will listen to nothing but fugues, and particularly (in this kind of composition) the works of Handel and Bach. Well, as she had often heard me play fugues out of my head, she asked if I had ever written any down, and when I said I had not she scolded me roundly for not recording some of my compositions in this most artistic and beautiful of all musical forms and never ceased to entreat me until I wrote down a fugue for her. So that is its origin". Today's five 4-part fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier were arranged (along with some 3-parters) to be played with other Sunday guests at the Baron's. Mozart's own fugues from this period are rather un-Mozartianly dry, but this grounding in baroque technique served his music and his marriage well..

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Haydn's the Creation
Program Notes In the fall of 1790, a man appeared at Haydn’s rooms in Vienna with the abrupt introduction, “I am Salomon of London and have come to fetch you. Tomorrow we will arrange an accord.” Johann Peter Salomon’s meeting with the 58-year old Haydn was a turning point in Haydn’s long career. Under the impresario’s canny direction, Haydn’s two extended visits to London were not only extremely lucrative, but also musically invigorating, and he wrote some of his greatest works including his last twelve symphonies and his last six concert masses after 1791. And his sojourn in London directly led to what is perhaps his most popular work, the extraordinary and daringly original oratorio The Creation. Salomon’s proposal came at a particularly appropri- ate time for Haydn. Haydn was arguably the most renowned composer in Europe, despite having spent the last 30 years in the service of the House of Es- terházy. Prince Nikolaus entertained lavishly and took every opportunity to showcase his increasingly famous Kapellmeister, arranging elaborate musical evenings and even building an amphitheater where Haydn could present operas. The prince gave Haydn the opportunity to accept outside commissions and to publish, and there arose such an insatiable de- mand for Haydn’s music that pirated editions flourished and unscrupulous publishers actually affixed Haydn’s name to music written by his brother Michael, his pupils, and even random composers. But Prince Nikolaus sud- denly died in 1790, and his successor Prince Anton disbanded most of the Esterházy musical establishment. Haydn retained his nominal position as Kapellmeister, but had no official duties and was no longer required to be in residence.
[Show full text]
What Handel Taught the Viennese About the Trombone
291 What Handel Taught the Viennese about the Trombone David M. Guion Vienna became the musical capital of the world in the late eighteenth century, largely because its composers so successfully adapted and blended the best of the various national styles: German, Italian, French, and, yes, English. Handel’s oratorios were well known to the Viennese and very influential.1 His influence extended even to the way most of the greatest of them wrote trombone parts. It is well known that Viennese composers used the trombone extensively at a time when it was little used elsewhere in the world. While Fux, Caldara, and their contemporaries were using the trombone not only routinely to double the chorus in their liturgical music and sacred dramas, but also frequently as a solo instrument, composers elsewhere used it sparingly if at all. The trombone was virtually unknown in France. It had disappeared from German courts and was no longer automatically used by composers working in German towns. J.S. Bach used the trombone in only fifteen of his more than 200 extant cantatas. Trombonists were on the payroll of San Petronio in Bologna as late as 1729, apparently longer than in most major Italian churches, and in the town band (Concerto Palatino) until 1779. But they were available in England only between about 1738 and 1741. Handel called for them in Saul and Israel in Egypt. It is my contention that the influence of these two oratorios on Gluck and Haydn changed the way Viennese composers wrote trombone parts. Fux, Caldara, and the generations that followed used trombones only in church music and oratorios.
[Show full text]
Mozart's Piano
MOZART’S PIANO Program Notes by Charlotte Nediger J.C. BACH SYMPHONY IN G MINOR, OP. 6, NO. 6 Of Johann Sebastian Bach’s many children, four enjoyed substantial careers as musicians: Carl Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann, born in Weimar to Maria Barbara; and Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian, born some twenty years later in Leipzig to Anna Magdalena. The youngest son, Johann Christian, is often called “the London Bach.” He was by far the most travelled member of the Bach family. After his father’s death in 1750, the fifteen-year-old went to Berlin to live and study with his brother Emanuel. A fascination with Italian opera led him to Italy four years later. He held posts in various centres in Italy (even converting to Catholicism) before settling in London in 1762. There he enjoyed considerable success as an opera composer, but left a greater mark by organizing an enormously successful concert series with his compatriot Carl Friedrich Abel. Much of the music at these concerts, which included cantatas, symphonies, sonatas, and concertos, was written by Bach and Abel themselves. Johann Christian is regarded today as one of the chief masters of the galant style, writing music that is elegant and vivacious, but the rather dark and dramatic Symphony in G Minor, op. 6, no. 6 reveals a more passionate aspect of his work. J.C. Bach is often cited as the single most important external influence on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart synthesized the wide range of music he encountered as a child, but the one influence that stands out is that of J.C.
[Show full text]
The Creation Harry Christophers & Handel and Haydn Society
CORO CORO Mozart: Requiem Harry Christophers & Handel and Haydn Society cor16093 Elizabeth Watts, Phyllis Pancella, Andrew Kennedy, Eric Owens “A Requiem full of life … Mozart’s final masterpiece has never sounded so exciting.” classic fm magazine HAYDN Haydn Symphonies – Volume 1 The Creation Harry Christophers & Handel and Haydn Society cor16113 Aisslinn Nosky violin “This performance has all the attributes that display this music at its best.” gramophone Joy to the World: An American Christmas cor16117 Harry Christophers & Handel and Haydn Society “The performances [are] fresh and arresting.” bbc music magazine Christmas Choice Harry CHrisTopHers SARAH Tynan To find out more about CORO and to buy CDs visit JereMy oVenden Handel and Haydn soCieTy MaTTHeW BrooK www.thesixteen.com cor16135 hen the Handel and Haydn Society when performing in English-speaking countries. We have honoured Haydn’s wish and W(H+H) was formed in 1815, Handel for that reason I have assembled a cast whose knowledge of the language is exemplary was the old and Haydn was the new; and whose vocal colours bring this glorious writing to life. Haydn’s music is always a joy Haydn had only died six years earlier, but to perform but with The Creation he excels himself allowing soloists, chorus and period it comes as no surprise to know that it orchestra to revel in vivid word painting both vocal and instrumental. Can there be a was the inspiration of Handel’s oratorios more consistently happy work than The Creation? Feel free to smile at his genius. (and in particular Messiah and Israel in Borggreve Marco Photograph: Egypt) that gave Haydn the impetus to compose The Creation.
[Show full text]
Diplomats As Musical Agents in the Age of Haydn
HAYDN: The Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America Volume 5 Number 2 Fall 2015 Article 2 November 2015 Diplomats as Musical Agents in the Age of Haydn Mark Ferraguto Follow this and additional works at: https://remix.berklee.edu/haydn-journal Recommended Citation Ferraguto, Mark (2015) "Diplomats as Musical Agents in the Age of Haydn," HAYDN: The Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America: Vol. 5 : No. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://remix.berklee.edu/haydn-journal/vol5/iss2/2 This Work in Progress is brought to you for free and open access by Research Media and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in HAYDN: The Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America by an authorized editor of Research Media and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Ferraguto, Mark "Diplomats as Musical Agents in the Age of Haydn." HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America 5.2 (Fall 2015), http://haydnjournal.org. © RIT Press and Haydn Society of North America, 2015. Duplication without the express permission of the author, RIT Press, and/or the Haydn Society of North America is prohibited. Diplomats as Musical Agents in the Age of Haydn by Mark Ferraguto Abstract Vienna’s embassies were major centers of musical activity throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Resident diplomats, in addition to being patrons and performers, often acted as musical agents, facilitating musical interactions within and between courts, among individuals and firms, and in their private salons. Through these varied activities, they played a vital role in shaping a transnational European musical culture.
[Show full text]
Beethoven's Studies of Bach's Works
Click here for Full Issue of Fidelio Volume 9, Number 2-3, Summer-Fall 2000 On the Subject of COGNITION VS. INFORMATION Strategic Method Strategic Method IN MUSIC Beyond Bach: Beethoven’s Studies of Bach’s Works by Ortrun Cramer ll great Classical composers When Beethoven started his stud- after Bach studied his works ies with Haydn in Vienna—the Aand learned from them, but hoped-for studies with Mozart had no one succeeded, as Mozart and been rendered impossible by the lat- Beethoven did, in grasping and fur- ter’s early death—he was welcomed ther developing Bach’s science of and received by the admirers of composition in such a way, that Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in something entirely new emerged, Vienna. There was the well-known again pointing into the future. Baron Gottfried van Swieten, in Ludwig van Beethoven had been whose house the musical elite of familiar with Bach’s art of composi- Vienna would gather every Sunday, tion since his early youth. In 1783, an and where, according to Mozart, article appeared in Cramers Magazin “nothing was played but Handel and der Musik, which stated that young Bach,” and whose library Mozart Beethoven “could become a second described as “although in quality a Mozart.” The proof of his extraordi- very large store of good music, yet in Reproduced by permission of the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn nary talent was: “He plays most of Ludwig van Beethoven quantity a very small one.” And The Well-Tempered Clavier by Sebast- there were more admirers of Bach ian Bach, which Mr.
[Show full text]
Haydn and Gellert: Parallels in Eighteenth-Century Music and Literature*
Haydn and Gellert: Parallels in Eighteenth-Century Music and Literature* By David P. Schroeder During the 1780s, Haydn's approach to the symphony underwent a signifi- cant change. While one could look at this change simply as another step in the composer's stylistic development, it is possible that there was an impor- tant cause for transforming the symphony at this time. During the early '80s, Haydn's personal contacts and reading made him very much aware of the tenets' of the Enlightenment. This can be seen in his association with persons such as Franz Sales' von Greiner, Gottfried van Swieten, and Johann Caspar Lavater; by his attendance at literary salons which brought him into contact with Johann Baptist von Alxinger, Aloys Blumauer, Michael Denis, Lorenz Haschka, Tobias Philipp Gebler and Ignaz von Born;! and by his eventual membership in the Masonic Lodge "Zur wahren Eintracht." As a result of these social and literary influences, it is entirely possible that Haydn revised his symphonic approach to bring it into line with the prevailing attitude towards'literature. This attitude, very simply, was that literature should serve the goals of the Enlightenment. To be sure, a symphony has obvious limitations in achieving this aim, but there are, nevertheless, various ways in which it can. One could argue that the most notable change to the symphony in the mid-'80s was its new dramatic intelligibility, and that it is this, along with Haydn's new relationship with his audience, which places his late sym- phonies within the tradition of the Enlightenment. Ifliterature had a bearing on Haydn's symphonic writing, then one must be prepared to say which writers or literary trends influenced him.
[Show full text]
TIME and TRAVEL at MAINLY MOZART Frank Cooper Yesterday's
TIME AND TRAVEL AT MAINLY MOZART Frank Cooper Yesterday’s performance by the Amernet String Quartet displayed the timelessness of great music and the timefulness of one of our country’s best youngish-professional ensembles. The scores by Haydn, Ullmann, and Beethoven allowed the rapt audience to listen to late-18th, early 19th, and early 20th century musical thought while the performers let us know that they had had only two hours of sleep after returning from their 17-concert tour in Israel. Who would have known? No evidence of jetlag compromised any of the performances. In point of fact, the Amernet in its newest configuration – violinists Misha Vitenson and Tomas Cotik, violist Michael Klotz, and violoncellist Jason Calloway – played with evocative sense of style, masterful technique, penetrating insight, and, importantly, enhanced maturity. They act as one, the four individuals melding their tone into a single, coherent, richly communicative, lovely sound. While not new to the ensemble, the pervasive sum-total was newly evident. Joseph Haydn’s exquisitely wrought Quartet in C Major, Op. 76 no. 3, known familiarly as “Kaiser,” transported everyone to the age when string quartets were, as never before, the enthusiastic pursuit of patrons, amateurs, and professionals, and when Haydn was at the peak of his form. Three of its movements were replete with what everyone expects of his era’s most renowned composer – flawless form, engaging rhythms, tunes, and motives, unexpected key changes and odd moments of other surprise. Yet, for listeners in the early 21st century, particularly those who know about World War II, the slow movement, Poco adagio: cantabile, jolted their memories by its familiarity.
[Show full text]
Gidon Kremer, Violin Daniil Trifonov, Piano
Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 8pm First Congregational Church Gidon Kremer, violin Daniil Trifonov, piano PROGRAM Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Fantasia for Piano in D minor, K. 397 (1782) Mieczysław Weinberg (1919–1996) Sonata No. 5 for Violin and Piano in G minor, Op. 53 (1953) Andante con moto Allegro molto Allegro moderato Allegro — Andante — Allegretto Mozart Sonata for Piano and Violin in E-flat major, K. 481 (1785) Molto allegro Adagio Thema con variazioni: Allegretto INTERMISSION Weinberg Sonata No. 3 for Solo Violin, Op. 126 (1978) Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Fantasy for Violin and Piano in C major, D. 934 (1827) Andante molto — Allegretto — Andantino — Tempo I — Allegro vivace — Allegretto — Presto Funded, in part, by the Koret Foundation, this performance is part of Cal Performances’ – Koret Recital Series, which brings world-class artists to our community. This performance is made possible, in part, by Patron Sponsors Liz and Greg Lutz and Lance and Dalia Nagel. Cal Performances’ – season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. CAL PERFORMANCES 15 PROGRAM NOTES Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (;A?@–;AC;) Romanticism. Repetitions of this sad song are Fantasia for Piano in D minor, K. =CA twice interrupted by sweeping cadenza-like eruptions be fore the Fantasia pauses on an in - Composed in 1782. conclusive harmony, takes a small breath, and trots off with a cheerful D major melody of In 1782, one year after he had bolted from opera buffa jocularity. Mozart, perhaps unsure Salzburg to take up life as a freelance composer of how to bring these two vastly different kinds and pianist in Vienna, Mozart developed a new, of music into balance, did not finish notating gleaming admiration for the music of Bach, the piece.
[Show full text]
17-04Web.Pdf
London Symphony Orchestra Living Music Sunday 17 April 2016 7pm Barbican Hall THE SEASONS Haydn The Seasons Interval after ‘Summer’ Sir Simon Rattle conductor London’s Symphony Orchestra Monika Eder soprano Andrew Staples tenor Florian Boesch baritone London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director Concert finishes approx 9.55pm Recorded by Sky Arts for broadcast in May 2 Welcome 17 April 2016 Welcome Living Music Kathryn McDowell In Brief A very warm welcome to this evening’s LSO concert BMW LSO OPEN AIR CLASSICS 2016 at the Barbican. We are delighted to be joined by Sir Simon Rattle, LSO Music Director Designate, as The LSO is delighted to announce details of the 2016 he conducts Haydn’s nature oratorio, The Seasons. BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert on Sunday 22 May at 6.30pm. Conducted by Valery Gergiev, the Tonight’s concert features an outstanding cast of LSO will perform an all-Tchaikovsky programme in international soloists, including Monika Eder, who London’s Trafalgar Square, free and open to all, with makes her LSO debut, and returning artists Florian the Orchestra joined on stage by young musicians Boesch and Andrew Staples. The Orchestra is also from LSO On Track and students from the Guildhall joined this evening by the London Symphony Chorus, School for a special arrangement of the composer’s led by the LSO’s Choral Director Simon Halsey. The Swan Lake Suite. performance forms part of their 50th anniversary season, a great milestone in the history of the choir. lso.co.uk/openair I would like to take this opportunity to thank our media partner Sky Arts, who will be filming tonight’s LSO LIVE NEW RELEASE: performance for broadcast in the UK in early May.
[Show full text]
Die Schöpfung the Creation Oratorio in Three Parts
Die Schöpfung The Creation Oratorio in three parts Music by Joseph Haydn German text by Baron Gottfried von Swieten First performance: Vienna, April 30, 1798 Three soloists (S-T-B) Chorus Orchestra: 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings, keyboard continuo ******************* Program notes by Martin Pearlman From its very first performance in Vienna in April of 1798, The Creation caused an unprecedented sensation throughout Europe. It was seen as the crowning achievement of the greatest living composer, and box office receipts for the premiere broke all records. With tickets hard to come by, market stalls had to be cleared in front of the theater, and foot police were hired to control the crowd. Following the Paris premiere, Napoleon -- who was nearly assassinated in the plot of Rue Saint-Nicaise on his way to the theater -- had a medal struck in honor of the composer. In Vienna, Haydn's oratorio has been performed every year since its premiere and has enjoyed the unique stature that Handel's Messiah has in English-speaking countries. Elsewhere, however, the work, and particularly its text, gradually began to come in for criticism. At a time when a great deal of literature was censored in Vienna for its revolutionary tendencies, some saw dangerous Masonic influences in the text, and the church banned performances in its buildings. Nonetheless, government authorities generally considered the libretto of The Creation to be safe and conservative. It reads like a Baroque text, influenced in part by Handel's oratorios: it is based on a biblical model with old-fashioned symbolism and musical depictions of animals and other effects.
[Show full text]
IN SHORT Requiem, K.626 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem, K.626 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (completed by Robert D. Levin) n the summer of 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus dardized by the church as far back as 1570. IMozart, who was short on cash but far from Other works also vied for his time, princi - destitute, was offered a commission to com - pally the Clarinet Concerto (K.622) and the pose a Requiem. The offer was tendered by Masonic Cantata (K.623), which Mozart an emissary from Count Franz von Walsegg- conducted at its premiere on November 17. Stuppach, a wealthy music lover who may However, around November 20 he fell ill, have known Mozart personally through mu - and he died at about one o’clock in the early sical or Masonic connections. The messenger morning of December 5. He had made con - apparently did not disclose who was making siderable headway with the Requiem, but the offer; whether Mozart guessed, we do not plenty remained to be finished. It is likely that know. The Count’s wife, Anna, had died on February 14, at the age of only 20, and he had IN SHORT decided to memorialize her through a ceme - tery statue (by the sculptor Johann Martin Born: January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria Fischer) and a Requiem. He intended to have the musical piece performed every year on Died : December 5, 1791, in Vienna, Austria the anniversary of her death. Mozart accepted the commission and Work composed: Autumn 1791, in Vienna, but named a reasonable fee: 225 florins, which left incomplete at Mozart’s death was about half what he would expect to be World premiere: The Introit and Kyrie were prob - paid for a full opera.
[Show full text]