PREVIEW NOTES

Christian Tetzlaff, violin , piano Tuesday, October 22 – 7:30 PM Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center

PROGRAM Tre Pezzi, Op. 14e Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 György Kurtág Born: February 19, 1926, in Lugoj, Romania Born: December 16, 1770, in Bonn, Electorate of Cologne Composed: 1979 Died: March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria Duration: 7 minutes Composed: 1801-1802 Duration: 23 minutes Kurtág’s Tre Pezzi per violino e pianoforte is a short work comprising three mini-movements. Reworked for violin and Beethoven composed the Sonatas for Violin and Piano, Op. piano from one of three vocal cycles composed in 1979, the 30, in 1801 - 1802, completing most of the work between piece offers an altered sense of time, space, and sounds. March and May 1802, after moving to Heiligenstadt in an Throughout Tre Pezzi, the violin remains muted. The hushed attempt to improve his hearing. They developed during a sounds that result are complemented by abundant use of traumatic moment in Beethoven's life when he was forced to open strings and the timbre brought out of the piano admit to himself that he was losing his hearing. Despite, or contributes to the mysterious but miraculous sonority. The possibly because of, this psychological suffering, Beethoven atmosphere of the three movements is distinctive—from the completed his Second Symphony, the Bagatelles, Op. 33, the dream-like first piece to the scherzo second, followed by Op. 31 piano sonatas and the Op. 30 violin sonatas during the chant like third—but together, they make a memorable spring, summer, and fall of 1802. impression of a different quality of ‘reality.’

Violin Sonata in A Major Violin Sonata in G Major, Op. 134 César Franck Born: December 10, 1822, in Liège, Belgium Born: September 25, 1906, in Saint Petersburg, Russia Died: November 8, 1890, in Paris, France Died: August 9, 1975, in Moscow, Russia Composed: 1886 Composed: 1968 Duration: 28 minutes Duration: 32 minutes

Aside from the Symphony in D minor, which has become a The story goes that in 1967 Shostakovich presented David staple of the concert hall, the Violin Sonata (1886) is Franck's Oistrakh with a 60th birthday present, the Violin Concerto best-known work, and rightly so: It is a superb synthesis of No. 2. But the composer was premature by a year, and felt Franck's own uniquely rich harmonic language and thematic obligated to write another composition for the violinist's cyclicism and the Viennese Classical tradition that he came to actual 60th birthday. The work he produced was this 1968 hold so dear in the later stages of his career. The Sonata was Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 134, one of his finer late composed as a wedding present for the famous Belgian efforts. Oistrakh premiered it on January 8, 1969, in a private violinist Eugene Ysaÿe, who performed it at his matrimonial performance before the Union of Soviet Composers with celebrations on September 26, 1886. pianist and composer Moisei Weinberg.