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Home , Arnold Steinhardt, David Soyer, John Dalley, Michael Tree

TWENTY-FIFTH SEASON NINTH CONCERT

~uston Friends of llusic, Inc. and IJ.epherd lchool of IJiusic

PRESENT THE

Arnold Steinhardt - - violin - viola - cello

Tuesday, April 30, 1985 Hamman Hall 8:00P.M. Rice University r ------~------

PROGRAM

QUARTET in B-flat Major, K. 458, "The Hunt" •••.•....•....•.... Mozart Allegro vivace assai Menuetto: Moderato Adagio Allegro assai

Meditation on an Old Bohemian ChQrale ••..••••.••••...•...... ••. Suk

Five Movements for String Quartet, Opus 5 (1909) ...•.•.•.•...... Webern Heftig bewegt Sehr Iangsam Sehr bewegt Sehr Iangsam In zarter Bewegung

ta Oracion del Torero .•••..•...... •.••.•.•.•..•.•...•.•.•...•.. Turina

INTERMISSION

QUARTET in F Major, Op~s 18, No.1 ••••...•.••.•.••.•.•.•.• Beethoven Allegro con brio Adagio affetuoso ed appassionato Scherzo: Allegro motto Allegro

The Guarneri String· Quartet is represented by Harry Beall Management, Inc. , 119 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019 RCA RED SEAL RECORDS

Photographing and sound recording are prohibited. We further request that audible paging devices not be used during performances. Paging. arrangements may be made with ushers. If it is anticipated that tickets will not be used, subscribers are encouraged to turn them in for resale. This is a tax-deductible donation. Gall 527-4933 HOUSTON FRIENDS OF MUSIC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation of chamber ensembles with national and international reputa­ tions and to the development of new audiences for through concerts available to everyone. HOUSTON FRIENDS OF MUSIC TWENTY -FIFTH SEASON HOUSTON FRIENDS OF MUSIC/SHEPHERD SCHOOL OF MUSIC EIGHTH SEASON Tuesday, October 16 •...... ••...... ••••.•..• , ...... •...••••..•.. Tokyo String Quartet Thursday, October 18 ...••..•.....••...... Tokyo String Quartet "Clarinet Quintet Evening" Genase de Payer, Clarinet Thursday, November 15 ...... •...... Kuijken Quartet "Baroque Quartet Evening" 1st Presbyterian Church Thursday, December 6 ••••.....•••...... •••..•.... Borodin Trio "Piano Trio Evening" Thursday, January 10 ...... •...... •..•••...... •...... Emerson String Quartet Thursday, February 21 .•...... •...... Ridge String Quartet Thursday, March 7 ...... ••.....••••...•.•..•••..•....••...... New York Chamber Soloists "Baroque Evening- Brandenburg Concertos" Tuesday, April 2 ...... •...... •.•...... , ...••••..••• Eastman Brass Quintet Tuesday, April30 •••....•••.•...... ••...... •...... •.••••. Guarneri String Quartet 1985-1986 SEASON Tuesday, October 15, 1985 .•.••.•.••..•..•..•.• Tokyo String Quartet with , Piano Thursday, October 17, 1985 •.••.•.•...•..•.•...... Tokyo String Quartet Wednesday, December 4, 1985 ..•..•...•...... •.•.•. Empire Brass Quintet Tuesday, January 7, 1986 •...•.....•.•....••...•. Emerson String Quartet Wednesday, January 29, 1986 ...... •.•.•••••....•••.•.. Musical Offering Wednesday, February 19, 1986 ...... •..•... Kalishstein, Laredo, Robinson Piano Trio Tuesday, March 18, 1986 .•.•...... •...... •.• Muir String Quartet Thursday, April 3, 1986 ..•...... •....•...... F-itzwilliam String Quartet Wednesday, May 7, 1986 ••..•...... •..•.. New World Stdng Quartet with David Shifrin, Clarinet BENEFACTORS Dennis & Susan Carlyle George E. Coughlin Mr. & Mrs. Seymour Wexler Dr. & Mrs. Denton Cooley Dr. & Mrs. Grady L. Hallman Cultural Arts Council of Houston National Endowment for the Arts PATRONS Drs. Vlasta & Enin Adam Gary L. Holllngsworth Julia Mazow Lutz & Mariel Birnbaumer Barbara Kauffman Ining Schweppe Mr. & Mrs. Emory T. Carl Tomas & Marcella Klima Br. & A. 0. Susholtz Alex & Ann Goldstein Walter & lise Mannheimer Margaret Waisman SPONSORS Dr. & Mrs. J. K. Alexander Tom & Frances Leland Horty & Malcolm Sher Drs. Chester & Jaimie Cocbran Arlo Weltge & Janet Macheledt Robert & Natalie Thrall Lila-Gene George Heather & Richard Mayor Ste.ven J. Tillinger Haney & Sandy Gordon Aaron & Helen Mintz Angela & Samuel Weiss Mr. & Mrs. C. H. Hewitt Drs. Rob~rt & Susan Rich Drs. A. & J. Werch H. Blandin Jones Richard & Eva Rosencranz Ron & Margrit Young J. Parry Lauzon, M.D. Robert & Edith Zinll' CONTRIBUTORS Ralph A. Anderson, Jr. Drs. Fred & Eva Haufrect Steven & Barbara Meltzer Dr. Francisco Aviles Dr. & Mrs. H. L. Huddleston Gretchen & Peter Mieszkowski Mary & Bob Colligan Drs. A. J. & B. D. Kahn Alfredo Montero, M.D. Dr. & Mrs. G. Eknoyan John S. W. Kellett Daniel & Karol Mosher Lloyd & Margie Elllott Dr. & Mrs. L. B. Kudisch Mr. & Mrs. Nadlan M. Pryzant Ann Fairbanks Willlam P. Landfield, Jr. Mark & Amanda Schnee Judith T. Feigon, M.D. Carole & Howard Marmen Ining & Ida Wadler Helen Wls & Leonanl Goldstein Stanley & Hilde Weitzner BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ervin Adam ArthurS. Ginzbarg Jack B. Mazow James Alexander Harvey L. Gordon Daniel Mosher Francisco Aviles Constance Holford David G. Parsons Ira J. Black Barbara Kauffman Roslyn Ruetbain Kent Coleman Tomas Klima Paul Stark Carter Crawford Daniel Krohn Steven Tilliager Edward 0. Doughtie Larry Livingston Irving W adler Elmer Elsner Walter Mannheimer Margaret Waisman Ann Fairbanks Seymour Wexler FRIENDS OF MUSIC OFFICERS President ••.••••.••..•...... ••...... •...••.••••••••....•...•••.....•• Jack B. Mazow Vice Presidents •...... •.. Ann Fairbanks, Barbara Kauffman, Tomas Klima, Daniel Krohn Secretary ••••• ,. ••••...••••...... ••...... •.•...... •••• Margaret Waisman Treasurer••..•.•....•..•.•...... •.•...... •.•. Ervin Adam GUARNERI STRING QUARTET The Guarneri String Quartet celebrates its 20th Anniversary Season in 1984/85 with one hundred recitals in North America and Europe. Founded in 1964 at Vermont's Marlboro Music Festival, the Guarneri, which has been heralded as the preeminent string quartet in the world today, has had no changes in personnel. Three of the four players are faculty memnbers of the Curtis Institute of Music in and all members of the Quartet are Professors of Music at the University of Maryland. All have had major solo careers and, in addition to their work as a Quartet, continue to appear as soloists or in musical collaborations with others. Violinist , a winner of the Leventritt Award, made his solo debut at the age of fourteen with the Philharmonic and has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, New York and aeveland. John Dalley, violinistj made his concert debut at the age of fourteen. He has toured widely throughout Europe and Russia and, prior to joining the Quartet, served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory and was Artist-in­ Residence at the University of Illinois. Michael Tree, noted both as violist and violinist, made his debut at the age of twenty and has made solo appearances with the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Los Angeles Orchestras and at the Spoleto Festival. Cellist David Soyer, following a solo debut at the age of seventeen with the , distinguished himself with the Bach Aria Group, the Marlboro Trio, the Guilet Quartet and the New Music String Quartet. SPEAKING OF ANNIVERSARIES The current concert season marks not only the 300th birthdays of Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti and the 20th birthday of the Guarneri String Quartet. Of equal importance is the fact that the season which this concert closes is the 25th for the Houston Friends of Music and the eighth for its happy association with the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. 1984-1985 has, without doubt, been our most successful season. For the Board of Directors, the work con­ tinues to be a labor of love. We feel there is a close bond between audience, Board and musicians, and that this is the chief strength of this organization. We are very optimistic about the next 25 years. ------~~~~~~~----··--

PROGRAM NOTES

~artet in Db Major, K. 458, ("The Hunt") (1756- 1791) In 1781 Haydn completed the six quartets of his Op. 33, a set that was a landmark in the development of the Classical string quartet. These works made a profound impress~on on the young Mozart a~d were undoub~edly the stimulus for his return to the-medium after a hiatus of ten years. By 1785 Mozart had completed six new string quartets, three of which were played at1 a musical gathering at which Haydn was present. His reaction is recorded in one of the most famous statements of musical history. He said to Mozart's father: "Before God and as an honest man, I declare tl}at your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and what is more, the most thorough knowledge of composition." (How instructive it is to note the two definitive eighteenth-century requirements!) The Bb Quartet, K. 458, was written in 1784. The nickname "The Hunt" was not given to the quartet by Mozart, but probably derives from the 6/8 meter of ~ the first movement and its huriting-horn ·theme. This theme dominates the Allegro vivace assai almost completely, either in its intact ver­ sions or as melodic fragments. Moments of chromatic descent add seriousnes$ to the otherwise jolly effect. _ The Minuet, placed second, is given piquancy by off-beat accents, and its smooth lines are highlighted by the delicacy and gracefulness of the central Trio. A rich col~>ring and profound depth of feeling give the Adagio a glow that seems to come fro,p within, Shimmering chords accompany discrete melodic lines, a.nlf lone statements are placed against simple repeated notes in a move­ ment that is oqe of Mozart's most remarkable accomplishments.lts emotional effect is heigHtened by the conventional and courtly language in which it is cast. Tribute to Haydn is most obviously heard in the gay finale, which returns to the ''outdoor'' atmosphere of the first movement. Tpe monothematidsm and scoring are pure Haydn, but the wizardry, sophistication, and hidden am­ biguities are Mozart's alone.

Meditation on an Old Bohemian Chorale JosefSuk (1874-1935) As the son-in-law of Dv9rak, Josef Suk learped composition from the great Czech master, and was soon viewed as the beneficiary of his style and his ability. LikeJ>vorak, Suk concentrated

Downtown­ Main at Rusk Texas Commerce Bank MemberFDK concentrated .on instrumental music, and like Dvorak, his music was strongly molded, in the Romantic vein, with powerful influences of Czech nationalism and the Czech world view: moral, melancholic, courageous, conservative, philosophic. The 'Meditation on an Old Bohemian Chorale is based on the Czech hymn ''Saint W enceslas," and is a brief but affecting work. It was written in 1914 soon after the outbreak of the First World War. The music is emotional and introspective, with melodic inflections that give it an air of antiquity as well as contributing to the Eastern European accent. Suk indicated that the piece could be played by a string orchestra as an alternative to the string quartet version, but the four solo strings provide an atmosphere of intimacy and lnnigkeit that are integral to the music's effect.

Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. S AntonWebem (1883-1945) There is little music that is intellectually more rigorous than the Five Movements for String Quartet of Webern. Requiring intense concentration on the part of the listener, these cameos are carved beyond the point of easy recognition. Musical elements are skeletal, shadowy; eloquence is pared to the utterance of the barest essentials. The Five Movements were written in 1909 at a time when the young composer was just begin­ ning to achieve artistic independence. He had completed his doctorate iil musicology three years earlier, as well as the intensive lessons in composition with Arnold Schoenberg. It was during this time that Schoenberg was making his greatest strides towards the achievement of a musical system free from the constraints of traditional tonality, and Webern was profoundly influenced by the work of his mentor, although the compositions from this time already reveal a striking individuali­ ty of style. The longest of the Five Movements is the first, containing fifty-five measures of music. Within this span are projected an introduction, a skittering theme that proves to be seminal, a con­ trasting quieter melody, development of this melody, and a modified recapitulation of the whole. The second movement is quiet and pensive, suggesting rather than expressing a multitude of possibilities. A simple rhythm forms now a constraint, now an impulse, to the musical flow of the third piece. The rhythm falters, recuperates. A recognizable four-note melody unifies the fourth piece, in both descending and ascending forms, against the sparest of accompaniments. The fifth movement is founded on smooth cello motion and a kaleidoscope of chords and ris­ ing figures that hint at a reminiscence of the four-note melody of the previous piece. The entire composition lasts approximately ten minutes; but what is touched upon and left unsaid forms the unspoken material of a work many times that length.

La Oracion del Torero Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) Joaquin Turina, who was born in Seville in 1882, and died in 1949, was said to have kept the spirit of Seville in his music throughout his life. Certainly Andalusian rhythms and accents are hallmarks of his style, but he also deliberately attempted to write music that would take its place in the European mainstream, composing not only a symphnony but also chamber music modelled upon Classical antecedents. La oracion del torero, however, is a typically Spanish piece, with its passion, impressionism, fire and fervor. Composed in 1925, originally for four lutes, it was ar­ ranged by the composer both for a string quartet and for string orchestra. With its frankly programmatic title, the composer manages to evoke a series of impressions in the music that are nonetheless untramelled by specificity. In his traditional moments of reflection before the confrontation, the bullfighter prays for success in his venture, and ponders upon the trial that is at hand. Providing a glittering spectacle of color, movement, tension and grace, the bullfight is also the supreme test of daring and courage. Each fight may bring resounding glory or fatal ignominy. The deeply religious torero must also prepare his soul for death. QuartetinFMajor, Op.18No.1 (1770 - 1827) A composer writing string quartets at the end of the eighteenth century must have been con­ stantly aware of the great masterpieces of the quartet literature that had been produced by Haydn and Mozart. And yet Beethoven was never a slavish imitator. Op. 18 No. 1 is familiar in its formal and structural outline, but the restless mark of a new power is in it. As John Burk writes so ex­ pressively: "Certainly no one, not even Beethoven, could have borrowed that elegant investiture of a closing centur.y and worn it with the consummate grace of those two (Mozart and Haydn), who had made it so completely a part of their natures. The brocaded coat, already slightly out­ moded, does not encase these broader shoulders quite so comfortably." Beethoven's struggling perfectionism can nowhere be seen more clearly than in the eleven pages of one of his sketchbooks which he covered in developing and honing the opening motif of the first movement of Op. 18 No. 1. This motif is the gritty seed around which the pearl-like Allegro con brio is constructed. The Adagio opens with hushed chords which provide an accompaniment to the expressive violin melody. The passionate development is not without its hints of tragedy, and soaring arabes~ ques lend urgency to the powerful declamation. A perky elegance pervades the Scherzo, which contains pre-echos of the rhythmic subtleties Beethoven exploited to such an extent in his later quartets. The final movement is a joyous rondo, but its progress is marked by some decidedly unex­ pected key-shifts, contrapuntal passages and singing interludes. Program Notes provided by Jeremy Yudldn

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