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Home , Alfred Brendel, Impromptus (Schubert), Joseph von Spaun, Mitsuko Uchida, New Schubert Edition

Streaming Premiere – Thursday, March 18, 2021, 7pm

Mitsuko Uchida,

Filmed exclusively for Cal Performances at Wigmore Hall in London, England on , 2021.

PROGRAM

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

From Four , D. 935 No. 2 in A-flat major, Allegretto

From Four Impromptus, D. 899 No. 1 in , Allegro molto moderato

Piano in G major, D. 894, Fantasie Molto moderato e cantabile Andante Menuetto: Allegro moderato – Trio Allegretto

The Cal Performances at Home Spring 2021 season is dedicated to Gail and Dan Rubinfeld, leading supporters of Cal Performances and the well-being of our artists for almost 30 years. Major support provided by The Bernard Osher Foundation. This performance is made possible, in part, by Patron Sponsors Nadine Tang and Bruce Smith. Note: following its premiere, the video recording of this concert will be available on demand through June 16, 2021.

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PROGRAM NOTES

The Multifaceted Schubert: For this program, Uchida brings into play ’s Preoccupation of a Lifetime still another of Schubert’s seeming “contra- “I’m afraid there are moments in life when even dictions”: the of the stand-alone Schubert has nothing to say to us,” remarks miniature versus the long form from Classical Madame Merle during her entrance scene in tradition. The first is linked for many with Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady. “We must Schu bert’s matchless gift as a songwriter and, admit, however, that they are our worst.” for a long time, eclipsed his achievements in the Isabel, the novel’s young protagonist—who larger genres associated with his great contem- will become the victim of Madame Merle’s porary, Beethoven: genres like the sonata, sym- machinations—initially finds herself spell- phony, and string quartet. bound when she encounters her new acquain- Less than a century ago, in the 1920s, the tance for the first time, performing “something likes of admitted that was of Schubert’s” (she recognizes the composer but unaware that Schubert had even written piano can’t specify the piece). The soundtrack of Jane . Campion’s 1996 film adaptation, in which Bar - bara Hershey plays the older woman, gives an Charming, Deceiving, Gripping: identity to the music: it’s one of Schubert’s Two Schubert Impromptus Impromptus. Indeed, the film turns Schubert One of the advocates who first began to rescue into an accompanying presence who implicitly Schubert from obscurity, , comments on the unfolding story; later, it cites became fascinated by the tension between the composer’s Death and the Maiden Quartet the improvisatory-seeming freedom of the to accompany Isabel’s agitated state of mind. shorter pieces and Schubert’s approach to ar- Schubert somehow accommodates these chitecture on the grand scale: he coined his fa- contradictions. Until well into the last century— mous remark about “heavenly length” in especially with regard to his piano music— reference to the newly rediscovered “Great” Schubert’s signature for many seemed limited Symphony. to an alluring gift for melody. His lyrical rich- Schumann biographer John Daverio argues ness betokened a spontaneous yet “naive” com- that Schubert suggested a kind of liberation to poser. Such traits were seen as essentially the Romantics by showing that “Beethoven’s harmless and gemütlich and deflected from his path was not the only path to grandeur and music’s emotional complexity and ambitious— sublimity in the larger instrumental genres.” at times even revolutionary—vision. Schubert’s alternate path involved not only discards the sentimentalizing “heavenly length” but an “inimitable melan- image from the past and homes in on the ambi- choly and wistfulness” that we can likewise lo- guity at the heart of Schubert when he likens the cate in his shorter works. composer to a wanderer and sleepwalker. “To An aphorism from 1798 by Friedrich wander is the Romantic condition; one yields to Schlegel crystallized an idea that would be it enraptured or is driven and plagued by the ter- seized on by the early generation of Romantic ror of finding no escape. More often than not, , in particular Schumann and Cho- happiness is but the surface of despair.” pin: “A fragment should be like a little work of Mitsuko Uchida, too, has for many years art, complete in itself and separated from proved herself to be among our most sympa- the rest of the universe like a hedgehog.” thetic interpreters of Schubert. Her sense of Though in an entirely different context and connection with the composer is profound and alluding to an ancient Greek fragment, the goes back to her early childhood, when she re- philosopher Isaiah Berlin later made the hedge- calls being particularly drawn to the melody- hog an emblem of a type of systematic artist become-folksong “Der Lindenbaum” (from who “knows one big thing,” as opposed to the ). fox, who “knows many things.”

Opposite: Mitsuko Uchida. Photo by Justin Pumfrey. 3 PROGRAM NOTES

The and scholar Charles Rosen elab- short-form pieces were likely intended for orates on this image of the hedgehog (in himself to perform at the intimate Schu - German, “Igel”): because it “rolls itself into a bertiads, where like-minded friends would ball when alarmed,” the hedgehog has a form gather to enjoy music and company. that is “well-defined and yet blurred at the When the D. 935 set finally did get published, edges. This spherical shape, organic and ide- Schumann wrote a review in which he objected ally geometrical, suited Romantic thought: to the term “impromptu” insofar as it implies a above all, the image projects beyond itself in a hastily tossed-off improvisation, something in- provocative way.” In similar fashion, continues tended only for the moment. Instead, Schu - Rosen, the “Romantic fragment” is “separate mann suggests that Schubert really intended to from the rest of the universe [yet] suggests dis- compose a sonata, singling out No. 1 (in F tant perspectives.” minor) as the “perfectly executed and self- Near the end of his tragically brief career, contained” first movement of a sonata and Schubert composed some of the most inspired No. 2 (in A-flat major)as the corresponding exemplars of the miniature form in his series of second movement, while No. 4 (in ) Impromptus and Moments musicaux for solo would perhaps constitute the finale. “Schubert’s piano. These essays on an intimate (as opposed friends must know whether or not he com- to epic) scale had the force of a revelation for pleted the sonata,” he notes. Schumann, who observed: “[W]e discover The A-flat major Impromptu is in the ABA Schubert anew as we recognize him in his in- form familiar from song or the minuet (with a exhaustible moods, and as he charms, deceives, contrasting central section or trio in the case and then grips us.” of a dance movement). A sense of contrast en- In the fall and winter of 1827, with less than ters into the main section as well, which for its a year to live, Schubert completed two sets of part is differentiated from the flowing triplet four Impromptus each (D. 899 and 935). Only texture of the trio. The piece’s overall mood, two of these (from the first set) appeared in as Schu mann aptly characterizes it, is tranquil print right away; the rest were all published at and introspective. various points after the composer’s death. The Impromptu in C minor, No. 1 of the Schubert did not invent the idea of the im- D. 899 set, begins with a dramatically sustained promptu. The Bohemian composer Jan Václav unison, from which a march theme emerges, Vořišek published a set for piano in 1821—in somewhat subdued at first. It unfolds as a kind turn linked to short pieces by his teacher, Václav of miniature double variation or even : Tomášek—which are often cited as a possible the first theme, a somewhat grimly determined musical influence. But the term “impromptu” march, acquires a more violent accompaniment is something of a misnomer anyway. It was by the end. But it yields to a beguiling lyricism initially imposed by the publisher of Vořišek’s in its counterpart version as the second theme. pieces as well as by Schubert’s publisher. Oscillating with Schubertian ambivalence Schubert acquiesced to this name and then between major and minor in the coda, the used it for the D. 935 set. But the latter was Impromptu reaches its conclusion in C major. deemed “too difficult for trifles” and rejected; it appeared in print only in 1839. From the “A Dichotomy of Harsh Reality publisher’s perspective, “impromptu” was and Beautiful Dreams”: meant to signal something suited to the newly The in G major, D. 894 emerging market of amateur, middle-class Schubert had a considerably different rela- : modestly demanding character tionship to the keyboard than did two of his pieces, in other words, and certainly not the greatest idols, Mozart and Beethoven. While remarkably original examples Schubert was they used the instrument to establish their producing. From Schubert’s perspective, these respective reputations as virtuosos, Schubert

4 PROGRAM NOTES most likely did not even own one; in any what was the precursor to the Boys’ case, he was not in their league as a concer- Choir. Spaun became an important friend until tizing pianist. Those who heard him at in- the end of his life and offered financial and formal music gatherings praised the singing moral support; it was at his home that the final quality and sensitive touch of Schubert’s Schubertiad was held on January 28, 1828, at- playing, but they noted weaknesses in his tracting “an enormous attendance” (according technique. Still, the keyboard was essential to one diary). to his creative identity—all the more so, The D. 894 Sonata was Schubert’s last work in since Schubert’s attempts to establish a ca- the piano sonata genre preceding the final tril- reer path that would allow him to sustain his ogy and dates from October 1826. (He was still artistic ambitions proved so frustrating. As at the end of his 20s!) The opening movement his teen years waned, he found himself is marked Molto moderato e cantabile but was locked into a hated, dead-end job teaching titled “Fantasie” by the publisher, who must in his father’s primary school. But Schubert have been struck by its unconventional charac- experienced an unprecedented outburst of ter, conjuring at times an improvisatory leisure; creative activity in 1815 and 1816, during a this has since become a nickname for the entire period that included his first attempts at sonata. The genial, calm flow of this music (no- writing solo piano sonatas. tated in 12/8 meter) anticipates the spirit of the The tally of Schubert’s complete piano corresponding movement of the B-flat major sonatas in the ongoing is Sonata, D. 960. The opening gesture and its later given as 19, but other sources list 21 (covered surprising harmonic shift have been compared on 8 CDs in Mitsuko Uchida’s complete record- with the beginning of Beethoven’s Piano Con- ing on the Philips label). The figure is compli- certo No. 4 (also in G major). This was the cated by the existence of both incomplete favorite Schubert sonata of . sonatas (works missing one or more move- Schumann, writing before the belated dis- ments) and fragments of projected sonatas. covery of the final sonata trilogy (which, in the As with his final symphony and such cham- end, disappointed him), raved about D. 894 as ber works as his String Quartet No. 15 in G “the most perfect in form and substance” of all major, in his later years Schubert explored ar- the Schubert sonatas he knew at the time. chitecture on the grand scale, culminating in “Everything here is of a piece, breathes the the superlative trilogy comprised by the last same air.” Charles Rosen notes that its sound three piano sonatas of 1828. Exceptionally, the world must still have been conceived within Sonata in G major, D. 894, was published while the older style of pianism, which eventually Schubert was still alive, appearing in print in changed to “continuous pedaling” in the 1820s. spring of the following year (as his Op. 78); it Thus pedal markings tend to be “excessively was the third and last of his piano sonatas to be rare in Schubert”—with only one such mark- published in his lifetime. Otherwise, the com- ing in the G major Sonata, in the tenth meas- poser’s manuscripts of instrumental works, ure, which calls for extremely soft playing when he got around to trying to interest pub- (ppp). “This suggests that Schubert adheres to lishers, were typically rejected. In 1826, for ex- the Classical system,” Rosen concludes, “in ample, one publisher wrote back to explain: which the dry sound is the norm and the ped- “The public does not yet sufficiently and gener- aled sound is a special effect.” ally understand the peculiar, often ingenious, Agitated interruptions to the serenity of the but perhaps now and then somewhat curious Andante’s main theme are a hallmark of procedures of your mind’s creations…” Schubertian ambiguity. The scholar William Schubert dedicated D. 894 to a member of Kinderman gets to the heart of the matter his close circle of friends, , when he describes the composer’s use of con- whom he had met as a youth when singing in trasts in the first movement—as opposed to,

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say, Beethoven’s goal-oriented approach to contrasting trio, the shift between major to and harmonic tension—as a way minor has a delicate but powerful impact. Schu- to evoke “the dichotomy of harsh reality and bert concludes this ambitious sonata with an beautiful dreams familiar from the world of Allegretto that reveals moments of emotional Schubert’s Lieder.” disturbance barely suspected from the cheerful The Minuet startles with its opening in the opening measures—a microcosm for the his- minor, a deceptive detour before Schubert tory of Schubert’s own reception. swerves back to the expected major key. In the — © 2021 Thomas May

ABOUT THE ARTIST

One of the most revered artists of our time, recital in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Mitsuko Uchida is known as a peerless London, New York, and Tokyo, and is a fre- interpreter of the works of Mozart, Schubert, quent guest at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Schumann, and Beethoven, as well for being a Salzburg Festival. devotee of the piano music of Alban Berg, Mitsuko Uchida records exclusively for , Anton Webern, and Decca, and her multi-award-winning discogra- György Kurtág. phy includes the complete piano sonatas of She has enjoyed close relationships over Mozart and Schubert. She is the recipient of two many years with the world’s most renowned Grammy Awards—for Mozart Concertos with orchestras, including the , the and for an album of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian lieder with Dorothea Röschmann—and her Radio Symphony, London Symphony Orches - recording of the Schoenberg tra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and—in with and the Cleveland Orchestra the United States—the Chicago Symphony and received the Gramophone Award for Best Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she recently Concerto. celebrated her 100th performance at Severance A founding member of the Borletti-Buitoni Hall. Conductors with whom she has worked Trust and Director of the Marlboro Music Festi - closely have included , Sir val, Mitsuko Uchida is a recipient of the Golden , , Esa-Pekka Mozart Medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum, Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, and the from the , and . Art Association. She has also been awarded the Since 2016, Mitsuko Uchida has been an Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society, Artistic Partner of the Mahler Chamber Or- and holds honorary degrees from the Uni - ches tra, with whom she is currently engaged versities of Oxford and Cambridge. In 2009, she on a five-year touring project in Europe and was made a Dame Commander of the Order of North America. She also appears regularly in the British Empire.

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Mitsuko Uchida is managed by Kathryn Enti - Jamie McClave, Individual Giving cott at Enticott Music Management in partner- and Special Events Officer ship with Alex Monsey at IMG Artists. Jocelyn Aptowitz, Major Gifts Associate www.mitsukouchida.com EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Rica Anderson, Interim Director, Artistic Literacy

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STUDENT MUSICAL ACTIVITIES Opening fanfare used by permission from Jordi Mark Sumner, Director, UC Choral Ensembles Savall from his 2015 recording of Monteverdi's Bill Ganz, Associate Director, L'Orfeo on Alia Vox. UC Choral Ensembles Matthew Sadowski, Director of Bands/ Major support for the Cal Performances Interim Department Manager Digital Classroom is provided by Wells Fargo. Ted Moore, Director, UC Jazz Ensembles Brittney Nguyen, SMA Coordinator Major support for Beyond the Stage is provided by Bank of America. TICKET OFFICE calperformances.org Liz Baqir, Ticket Services Manager Gordon Young, Assistant Ticket Office Manager © 2021 Regents of the University of California Sherice Jones, Assistant Ticket Office Manager Jeffrey Mason, Patron Services Associate

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