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Home , Double bass, Franz Schubert, String quintet

concert program ii: Viennese

JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) July 20 and 22 Trio in Major, Hob. XV: 27 (1797) Allegro Sunday, July 20, 6:00 p.m., The Center for Performing Arts at Andante ms ms Menlo-Atherton Finale: Presto a a Tuesday, July 22, 8:00 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School Gloria Chien, piano; Kristin Lee, ; David Finckel, (1797–1828) in A-flat Major, D. 899, no. 4 (op. 90) (1827) Gilbert Kalish, piano Program Overview Complementing the irresistible influence of his Czech musical FRANZ SCHUBERT heritage, Dvořák likewise aspired to write of broader, Rondo brillant in for Piano and Violin, D. 895 (1826) more universal appeal. The foundation of Viennese Sean Lee, violin; Gloria Chien, piano that Dvořák drew upon is more deeply explored in this Intermission summer’s second Concert Program. “Viennese Roots” begins with music by the father of the Classical style, , ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841–1904) whose contributions to the literature elevated the no. 2 in G Major, op. 77 (1875, rev. 1888) genre from light salon music to of the highest Allegro con fuoco concert Progr concert sophistication. Franz Schubert inherited the tradition cultivated : Nocturno Progr concert : Allegro vivace by Haydn and ushered it into the Romantic era. The tradition Poco andante is further explored in Dvořák’s Quintet, which realizes the Finale: Allegro assai potential of this new aesthetic. Erin Keefe, Kristin Lee, ; Paul Neubauer, ; Dmitri Atapine, cello; Scott Pingel, bass

SPECIAL THANKS Music@Menlo dedicates these performances to the following individuals and organizations with gratitude for their generous support: July 20: The Martin Family Foundation July 22: The Jeffrey Dean and Heidi Hopper Family and also to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Artist unknown. Mirror gallery, Schönbrunn Palace, , , nineteenth century. Watercolor. Gianni Dagli Orti/The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY

concert Programs Program Notes: Viennese Roots

JOSEPH HAYDN first appeared in the early nineteenth century in the work of Bohemian (Born March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Lower Austria; died May 31, 1809, Vienna) Jan Václav Voříšek in a set of six pieces published in 1817. The title appears to have been suggested by Voříšek’s publisher in , but Piano Trio in , Hob. XV: 27 its implementation unintentionally created a new genre of piano music Composed: ca. 1797 characterized by its refined improvisatory quality. Franz Schubert, who Other works from this period: String no. 59 in g minor, Rider encountered Voříšek at Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Society concerts in (1793–1795); no. 104 in , London (1795); Vienna in the mid-1820s, retreated to his lakeside villa in Chiatri to work no. 62 in C Major, Emperor (1797) on a similar set of piano miniatures, eschewing traditional form. Approximate duration: 17 minutes Schubert likely wrote these with the intention of performing them at social events himself, or even possibly at the Society. He published four of these Following the death of Prince Nicolas Esterházy in 1790, Joseph Haydn, a pieces (D. 899) between summer and fall of 1827. Coincidentally—and longtime employee of the Esterházy estate, was invited by the prominent presumably for entrepreneurial reasons—Schubert’s publisher decided Johann Peter Salomon to take a year’s leave in London. Haydn to label these pieces as , with Schubert’s permission. He accepted the invitation and arrived in London on January 2, 1791. This year wrote a second set in the spring of 1828 (D. 935), which he likewise titled was an exciting one for Haydn, both artistically and personally; however, at impromptus, perhaps evidence of the initial success of the first set. the request of Prince Anton, Nicolas’s successor, Haydn returned to Vienna One can see immediately the intrinsic qualities that lead Schubert’s on July 24, 1792. The following eighteen months were uneventful and publisher, , to adopt the title impromptu, after which such uninspiring to Haydn, and after the death of Anton in 1794, he returned to piano virtuosos as Chopin and Liszt would soon write their own. Tonight’s London, where he was feted as a celebrity. program features the final impromptu of the D. 899 set, no. 4 in A-flat major. As he was preparing to depart London again in 1795, Haydn returned The piece can be split into three sections, each given its improvisational to writing piano trios, adding four sets of three trios each to his already character by a pensive and leisurely transition between them. The subtle substantial catalog, dedicated, respectively, to Maria Therese Esterházy interconnectedness, such as the continuous arpeggiated (the widow of Anton); the wife of Anton’s successor; his mistress, Rebecca or similarly voiced melodies, gives the work an overarching completeness. Schroeter; and his dear friend Therese Jansen-Bartolozzi, an accomplished The fleeting that open the piece enigmatically traverse ms pianist in London. Well regarded for his contributions to the string quartet three keys (a-flat minor, C-flat major, and b minor) before eventually a and symphony repertoire, Haydn also made equal advancements in the arriving at A-flat major, the home key of the piece. A second theme piano trio literature. In contrast to today’s piano trio, Haydn referred to appears in the tenor register as the right-hand arpeggios become these compositions as keyboard with string accompaniment. subordinate. In , the middle section—a momentary Sturm und Traditionally the piano would take a prominent role while the violin Drang full of immense pathos—decelerates as the piece transitions to the occasionally served as soloist and the cello provided either contemplative third section. The lyrical quality of the melody becomes or a conservatively accompaniment. However, in the Trio in C swooning; the right-hand melody projects a weeping sensation as the Major, Hob. XV: 27, Haydn’s “keyboard sonata” title is quite deceptive. left’s rampant momentum brings the piece to a majestic repeat of the The leisurely theme of the opening Allegro is misleadingly simple. opening arpeggiated theme. Though the opening arpeggios give the piano a prominent role, the violin —Andrew Goldstein and cello are nevertheless liberated from their traditional supporting roles. Though the movement is in , the brief development begins with an unprecedented return of the theme, not in G major as the FRANZ SCHUBERT listener would expect but in the unusual key of A-flat major. After a full Rondo brillant in b minor for Piano and Violin, D. 895 concert Progr concert recapitulation, a placid Andante more prominently features the violin October 1826 trading the melody with the piano. Haydn writes a furious Composed: phrase described by musicologist Charles Rosen as “close to brutality.” Published: 1827 The breathless and dainty finale further incorporates the violin and cello Other works from this period: Sonata in , D. 821, Arpeggione as independent voices, bringing the work to a brilliant exclamatory close. (1824); String Quartet in G Major, D. 887 (1826); Sonata in a minor for —Andrew Goldstein Piano, D. 845 (1826) Approximate duration: 13 minutes

FRANZ SCHUBERT Like its better-known sibling, the much beloved C Major Fantasy, (Born January 31, 1797, Vienna; died November 19, 1828, Vienna) Schubert’s Rondo brillant in b minor, composed one year prior in 1826, was intended for the young Bohemian virtuoso Josef Slavik. Also like the Impromptu in A-flat Major, D. 899. no. 4 (op. 90) C Major Fantasy, the Rondo brillant offers all the trappings of a virtuoso Composed: 1827 showpiece—perhaps with a Viennese audience that was enthralled with Published: 1827 Paganini’s Caprices in mind—but beneath its explosive virtuosity, the Other works from this period: Four Impromptus for Piano, D. 935 (1828); rondo contains finely wrought music of piercing expressive depth. Die (1827); Piano Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898 (1827); Piano Trio The work begins with a stately introduction, marked by double- in E-flat Major, D. 929 (1828) dotted chords in the piano and upward flourishes in the violin. More than Approximate duration: 8 minutes merely a striking curtain raiser, this prologue, upon close listen, reveals Schubert’s thoughtful compositional craftsmanship. The first violin flourish An impromptu is a composition for solo instrument, usually piano, the races to the top of the staff and then stresses the last two notes, B and nature of which may occasionally suggest . The name C-sharp.

*Bolded terms are defined in the glossary, which begins on page 100.

Major, op. 23 (1875); Nocturne in b minor for Violin and Piano, op. 40 (1875–1883) Approximate duration: 35 minutes

Though cataloged as the second of Dvořák’s three string , the Quintet in G Major, op. 77, is unique in Dvořák’s oeuvre. The First and Third Quintets are scored for the conventional quintet of string quartet with a second viola; the Opus 77 Quintet calls for string quartet and . After the lyrical introduction runs its course, it ends, suspensefully, on The Bass Quintet marks an important point in Dvořák’s early those same two pitches. career. At thirty-three years old, he had recently come to the attention of , who had served on the panel of judges awarding Dvořák the Austrian State Stipendium. Brahms was particularly taken by the distinct Czech elements of Dvořák’s music and took up the young ’s cause, writing to his publisher Fritz Simrock: “As for the state stipendium…I have enjoyed works sent in by Antonín Dvořák of Prague. This year he has sent works…that seem to me very pretty…Play them through and you will like them as much as I do. Dvořák has written all manner of things: (Czech), , , piano pieces. In any case, he is a very talented man. Moreover, he is poor! I ask you to think The start of the rondo proper reveals that dyad of pitches—B and about it.” With Brahms’s endorsement, Simrock began publishing Dvořák’s C-sharp—to be centrally important to the work’s large-scale architecture: music, essentially launching his international career. they serve as the launching pad for the rondo’s refrain: In addition to marking an important time for Dvořák professionally, the Bass Quintet represents a watershed moment for the composer artistically: it was with this work that Dvořák cast off his youthful fascination with the iconoclastic music of , instead turning wholeheartedly towards the Classical models of Mozart and Schubert. With these Viennese roots firmly planted, while likewise continuing to ms nurture the Czech folk element of his language, Dvořák found his voice as a a composer with the Opus 77 Quintet. The ear realizes post facto that, behind its artifice of virtuosic The quintet’s unconventional scoring lends it a particular sonority. In showmanship, the violin’s introductory flourish signals the structural addition to grounding the ensemble with a deeper harmonic foundation, importance of that simple motive to the overall form of the piece. That the double bass moreover liberates the cello to join the violin and viola in tiny gesture turns out to be the glue that holds together the rondo’s the treble register. Acutely sensitive to such considerations, refrain and series of episodes. Dvořák exploits the lyrical strength of the cello’s tenor voice with aplomb. Of course, appreciating the music’s tight construction isn’t meant to The piece begins with a slow, serene introduction, like the sun coming miss the forest for the trees—certainly, a big part of the pleasure of this up on an idyllic scene. The scene suddenly comes to life, and with the rondo is its melodic brilliance and sheer display of virtuosity. first proper statement of the theme, Dvořák capitalizes on the expanded The Rondo brillant, taken together with the impromptu that precedes sonority of his ensemble, setting the melody in the tenor register of the it on this evening’s program, illustrates an essential quality of Schubert’s cello, supported by the double bass. genius—and, moreover, a quality that has particularly captivated for generations, from Schumann, Brahms, and Dvořák to the concert Progr concert composers of our time. Whether on account of its melodic immediacy, its virtuosic flair, or any other such straightforward quality, Schubert’s music is unfailingly irresistible. But behind that beguiling immediacy is such emotional complexity, as we find in the A-flat Impromptu, and such subtle yet impeccable craftsmanship, as in this Rondo brillant, that what might seem, on first listen, to be more or less than a virtuoso showpiece in fact belongs in the realm of Western music’s greatest accomplishments. —Patrick Castillo As the music nears the end of the exposition, the cello continues to relish its melodic role, trading soaring, singing lines with the first violin. The exposition comes to a close with the full force of the ensemble en Antonín Dvořák masse, the bass likewise joining in and augmenting the dance-like rhythm. (Born September 8, 1941, Nelahozeves, near Kralupy; died May 1, 1904, In the ensuing development section, Dvořák further explores the textural Prague) possibilities afforded by the ensemble; the addition of the double bass no. 2 in G Major, op. 77 is especially appreciable in the music’s stormier moments, as rumbling Composed: January–March 1875 thunderclouds gather above the music’s heretofore-idyllic setting. As with the first movement—a Classical, sonata-form movement Published: 1888, Berlin rife with fetching melodies and rich harmonies evocative of Bohemian March 18, 1876, Prague (with the original slow First performance: —the second movement combines that folk element with the movement, adapted from String Quartet no. 4); November 25, 1889, trappings of Viennese Classicism. The movement is cast in the scherzo Boston (definitive version) mold of and Schubert, which Dvořák uses as a vehicle for a Other works from this period: String Quartet no. 7 in a minor, op. 12 vigorous folk dance. The central trio section, betraying perhaps Dvořák’s (1875); Symphony no. 5 in , op. 76 (1875); in D penchant for the music of Schubert, is emotionally enigmatic: beneath a

flowing melody in the violin, the lower strings vacillate between major and minor. The music has a sense of smiling through tears that is often Join Us for an Epic 2014–15 sEason associated with Schubert, but here it is inflected with Dvořák’s singularly Czech accent. NOrMa Bellini Dvořák probes the subtle poignancy of the second movement’s trio Sep 5–30

section more deeply in the third movement, a heartfelt Poco andante SUSaNNaH Floyd marked by flowing lyricism and harmonic nuance. Sep 6–21 After asserting different facets of his compositional voice in the a MaSKeD BaLL Verdi previous three movements—his lyrical melodic sense, subtle harmonic Oct 4–22 sensitivity, and mastery of instrumental timbre—Dvořák rounds off the parTeNOpe Handel Bass Quintet with an unabashedly joyful finale, bursting with one inspired Oct 15–Nov 2 tune after another. Owing once again in no small part to the double bass, the finale possesses an expansive sonority, pegging Dvořák as a manifest TOSca Puccini Oct 23–Nov 8 Romantic in the tradition of Schubert and Brahms. But this final movement likewise reaffirms the Czech musikant’s brand of as a deeply ciNDereLLa Rossini Nov 9–26 personal one, marked by that Bohemian accent that is unmistakably Dvořák. La BOHÈMe Puccini —Patrick Castillo Nov 14–Dec 7 THe TrOjaNS Berlioz Jun 7–Jul 1

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