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Ernst Von Dohnányi Rebecca Clarke Ludwig Van Beethoven Maurice Ravel

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Ernst Von Dohnányi Rebecca Clarke Ludwig Van Beethoven Maurice Ravel VIRTUAL FESTIVAL CONCERT #12 - Released August 7, 2020 ERNST VON DOHNÁNYI Serenade for String Trio in C Major, Op. 10 Marcia: Allegro Romanza: Adagio non troppo Scherzo: Vivace Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto Rondo: Finale Augustin Hadelich violin / Jonathan Vinocour viola / Ani Aznavoorian cello REBECCA CLARKE Morpheus for Viola and Piano Aloysia Friedmann viola / Jon Kimura Parker piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Sonata for Piano in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight” Adagio sostenuto Allegretto Presto agitato Jon Kimura Parker piano MAURICE RAVEL Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano in A minor Modéré Pantoum: Assez vif Passacaille: Très large Final: Animé James Ehnes violin / Robert deMaine, cello / Orion Weiss piano Concert was originally scheduled for July 31, 2020 ERNST VON DOHNÁNYI delightfully impish quality. Not unexpectedly, its mildly (1877–1960) dissonant chromaticism could be characterized as Serenade for String Trio in C Major, “Mendelssohn meets Prokofiev.” The amiable Trio is Op. 10 (1902) lightly punctuated by more pizzicato from the cello. Most recent SCMS performance: Winter 2017 The following movement, Tema con variazioni: Andante As the 19th century drew to a close, Ernst (Erno) von con moto is a set of variations that would have been Dohnányi, an exemplary pianist, began garnering de rigeur in a Classical-period serenade. The modal, attention as a gifted composer. In 1902, he penned essentially homophonic, theme moves through a series his deservedly well-known Serenade Op. 10 for violin, of expressive, even elegiac, harmonies supported by the viola, and cello, a format that had enjoyed currency in cello. As the variations flow by, polyphonic treatment the closing years of the 18th century; Mozart’s E-flat increases. The independence of the three instruments Divertimento, K. 563 (1788) is an early example of a truly is quite striking at times, showing how well the still great work for string trio, its title not at all conveying the young composer had solved the challenge of writing depth of its expression and the consummate skill of its for three strings. Dohnányi uses effective tremolandos structure. Beethoven’s Opp. 3, 8, and 9 trios emerged elsewhere, enhancing the timbral contribution of the in the 1790s. Both of those Viennese masters found cello’s frequent pizzicatos. writing for string trio actually more of a challenge than that encountered in string quartet writing. The four A vigorous Rondo: Finale high on energy brings instruments of the latter ensemble more readily lent a satisfying close. Freshly minted material keeps itself to basic four-part harmony, the lingua franca of appearing, along with changes in tempo, inflection, and Western classical music. frequent changes in color and texture. A reprise of the opening movement’s March is the glue that holds this Dohnányi’s Op. 10 Trio, often called a Serenade, recalls motoric movement together. Beethoven’s Op. 3 string trio in its five-movement format. Given the Hungarian composer’s lifelong admiration for his famed predecessor, it was a REBECCA CLARKE reasonable enough decision to emulate the master, (1886–1979) especially for a composer still searching for guidance Morpheus for Viola and Piano (1917) from past masters. SCMS premiere The harmonies of the energetic opening Marcia: Allegro Born and raised in England, long-lived Rebecca recall Dvořák sharpened by a bit of an edge. A drone- Clarke also had a strong connection with the United like figure adds to the Central European folk-derived States through her American father and reinforced in sound. The supple melodic material keeps the martial her late 50s when she married the American pianist aspects in check. James Friskin. Musically, she drew knowledge and inspiration through her primary teacher at the Royal Against gentle pizzicatos, the slowly unfolding theme College of Music, Charles Villiers Stanford, whose of the Romanza: Adagio non troppo begins benignly on students included both Ralph Vaughan Williams and the viola before upping the passion through strenuous Gustav Holst. Clarke acknowledged the influence of arpeggios in the lower sonic regions. Another quietly Vaughan Williams, especially noticeable in adopting flowing section supported by an unobtrusive pizzicato the late-Renaissance English modal harmony often cello line appears. employed by her well-known and older colleague. Bearing in mind Vaughan-Williams’ (and other A fleet, virtuosic and quirky canonic Scherzo: Vivace early 20th-century Brits) infatuation with French follows. Dohnányi may well have modelled this Impressionism, one is not surprised to hear resonant movement on Mendelssohn, evident in the music’s echoes of Debussy and Ravel in Clarke’s musical SUMMER festival // vocabulary. 1836 wrote that the music evoked in him memories of reflected moonlight on Lake Lucerne. Since then, Clarke composed in spurts throughout her life. Her the nickname “Mondschein” (“Moonlight”) has estate contains some 80 different scores, though endured as an iconic if unofficial title for a piece fewer than two dozen were published during her the composer originally called “Quasi una fantasia” lifetime. Her most frequently performed work is (“almost a fantasy”). the Sonata for Viola and Piano, composed for a competition sponsored by the American arts Marked Adagio sostenuto, the opening movement patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (whose many serves as an extended introduction for the remainder commissions included Aaron Copland’s Appalachian of the sonata. It is barely in sonata form, lacking Spring). The rules of the 1919 competition required a second contrasting theme to its slowly rising anonymous submissions of new works written three-note motive, and virtually no real central specifically for viola and piano. Seventy-three pieces development section. Its quiet mood suggests a were entered. When the six judges deadlocked poet’s evocation of nocturnal romance, anticipating between two finalists, Ms. Coolidge broke the tie, the private emotional world of Chopin’s nocturnes. awarding first place to Ernest Bloch; Clarke was the Rellstab’s impression of the piece—really, just the runner-up. History, however, has been kind to Clarke’s first movement—is dead-on. Sonata, with frequent performances and recordings. Franz Liszt likened the ensuing Allegretto as “a flower Though lesser-known, this work for the same between two chasms.” Given the enormous contrast instrumentaion as the Sonata is worthy of greater in mood between the nocturnal first movement and attention. Sweet, faintly exotic/Asian ambience the furious finale, Liszt’s comment aptly captures pervades throughout Morpheus (which, of course, Beethoven’s decision to bridge the emotional gap suggests dreamy slumber). The Gallic homage by positing a calming minuet and trio (with a bit of can be heard, for instance, in Debussy’s Sonata humor suggesting a scherzo) that both clears the air for Flute, Viola, and Harp (1915). In Clarke’s short of inchoate romance and allows for the eruption of a but atmospheric work, the viola begins in low powerful and highly motoric finale. register before the piano enters after but a few seconds. Modal harmonies are clearly inspired by The concluding Presto agitato is as long as the first Impressionism bathed in fragrant romanticism. The two movements combined. Its mood is stormy and work posits a single theme, differentiated by shifting impassioned, arguably reflecting the intense feelings colors that always sound freshly minted. The music barely contained in Beethoven’s heart. Two themes rarely rises in passion, even with rising/falling constitute the elements of the “story,” a tempestuous scales from the piano, but rather evokes a dreamlike motive built upon arpeggios (as is the first movement, atmosphere that recalls another of Debussy’s pieces, of course, though to an entirely different effect) his pastel-hued Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. and a comparatively lyrical second melodic idea for contrast. Beethoven cannily isolates and combines the two themes to great effect. Of note is that the LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN score indicates piano, rather than forte or fortissimo. (1770–1827) Fierce emotion is conveyed through emphatic Sonata for Piano in C-sharp minor, sforzandos and the sheer energy generated by the Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight” (1801) constituent notes that fly by at breakneck speed. Most recent SCMS performance: Summer 2007 Beethoven’s immensely popular C-sharp minor Sonata (1801) owes at least part of its fame to the German poet and music critic Ludwig Rellstab, who in AUGUST 7, 2020 // proGram notes MAURICE RAVEL rhythm features prominently in Basque dance. The (1875–1937) music is clearly folk-like, though many variants abound in virtuosic passages requiring a very well- Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano in developed technique among all three performers. A minor (1913–14) Most recent SCMS performance: Winter 2020 The following movement’s title Pantoum derives from pantun, a Malayan verse form used by Charles An acerbic critic on many of his contemporaries’ Baudelaire in his famous poem Les fleurs du mal. music, Igor Stravinsky expressed admiration for Essentially a scherzo, this richly textured, colorful Ravel’s music, likening his French colleague to a movement alternates between strongly accented skilled and artistic Swiss watchmaker. Stravinsky’s rhythmic forays and slowly moving, chorale-like favorable assessment resonated with Ravel’s avowed chords. At times the strings play in 3/4 time, the objective to attain technical perfection. “I can strive piano in 4/2, creating a jazzy sense of cross accents. unceasingly to this end,” he wrote, “since I am certain of never being able to attain it.” This artistic creed The Passacaille is a clear reference to the Baroque is typically French and recalls similar manifestos variation form where a repeated melody is subjected uttered by as disparate a pair of composers as to continuous variation. The eight-bar theme recurs Camille Saint-Saëns and the Russian-born Stravinsky, eight times in wonderfully varied combinations of who spent critical years in Paris absorbing French tone colors.
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