Sunday, May 28, 2017 • 4:00 p.m ​

Mercedes Quintana

Graduate Recital

DePaul Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue • Chicago

Sunday, May 28, 2017 • 4:00 p.m. ​ DePaul Recital Hall Mercedes Quintana, Graduate Recital Yefim Romanov, Luis Angel Salazar Avila, violin Phillip Lee,

PROGRAM

Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) Capriccio for Solo Viola, Hommage a Paganini, Op. 55 (1881-1887)

Johannes Bach (1604-1673) Unaccompanied Cello Suite in D Major No. 4, BWV 1012 (1720) Prelude Allemande Courante Sarabande Bourees I & II Gigue

Intermission

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) No. 14 in Ab Major (1895) Adagio ma non troppo—Allegro appassionato Molto vivace Lento e molto cantabile Allegro non tanto Yefim Romanov, violin Luis Angel Salazar Avila, violin Phillip Lee, cello

Mercedes Quintana is from the studio of Rami Solomonow. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Music.

As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you.

Mercedes Quintana • May 28, 2017

PROGRAM NOTES

Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) Capriccio for Solo Viola, Hommage a Paganini, Op. 55 (1881-1887) Duration: 3 minutes Henri Vieuxtemps is hailed as one of the great virtuosic violinists of his time. Tragically, when Vieuxtemps was 53, he suffered from a paralytic stroke in his right arm. With a disabled right arm, Vieuxtemps turned his attention to composition and he was reduced to playing chamber music only in private. Perhaps because of his stroke, Vieuxtemps diverged from composing only violin repertoire and even expanded to composing a couple works for viola and two cello . Capriccio in C minor Homage a Paganini is one of his few works for viola. Vieuxtemps cleverly uses the first passage as material for the entire work, which crescendos dramatically and can only end on two softly plucked chords. Vieuxtemps dedicated the piece to his friend and contemporary Paganini, who convinced him of the merits of the viola as a solo instrument.

Johannes Bach (1604-1673) Unaccompanied Cello Suite in D Major No. 4, BWV 1012 (1720) Duration: 25 minutes When Johann Sebastian Bach composed his unaccompanied cello suites, more than one hundred years before the Capriccio was written, he probably never imagined how well-known his six suites would become. These suites have been shared with similar instruments, such as the viola, to completely different instrument families such as the trombone and marimba. Although the incredible variety of instrument groups that have adopted these suites may seem surprising today, Bach seemed to have more instruments in mind than just the cello. In fact, the cello was a relatively new instrument in the 1720s when these suites were composed. The instrument itself would not even have a standardized size until the end of the century. The uncertainty of the instrument’s possible future is underlined particularly in the sixth

Mercedes Quintana • May 28, 2017 Program Notes suite in the set which Bach wrote for an instrument with five strings. These th suites are rooted in 18 -​ century court culture and all are constructed with a ​ prelude, to establish key, and then followed by five dances. While each movement is relatively simple in form, Bach pushes the composing ideas of his time to the limit with complex, beautiful textures and wonderful expression. The fourth suite, which will be performed today, is known for its almost organ-like prelude.

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) String Quartet No. 14 in Ab Major (1895) Duration: 35 minutes A little more than 100 years in the future, Antonin Dvorak was composing his final string quartet. During this time in his life, Dvorak began to compose this quartet, opus 105, just before returning to Prague after completing a three year stint as director of the Conservatory of Music in New York. After completely only a portion of the first movement, Dvorak returned to Prague and started composing another quartet, opus 106. It was only after finishing this quartet that he returned to opus 105. The opening to the first movement starts with an intensely slow motive in the cello that is passed through all the instruments. Here, one could imagine Dvorak missing his homeland in New York. This intense beginning opens into a brilliantly cheerful Allegro that closes the first movement. The second movement, a scherzo and trio, has elements of a Furiant, a popular Czech folkdance. These elements can be seen in shifting accents and clever alternating metrical groupings. The trio follows as light and singing. Dvorak then offers a tenderly beautiful third movement culminating in a moment of silence. The last movement is joyful with hints of the first movement’s dramatic introduction. With relatively simple compositional elements, Dvorak brings this quartet to a brilliant and virtuosic close.

Notes by Mercedes Quintana.