TWENTY -NINTH SEASON NINTH CONCERT ~uston Friends of IJiusic and IJ.epherd lchool of IJiusic Rice University • P. 0. Box 1892 • Houston, Texas 77251 PRESENT THE Andrew Dawes - violin Kenneth Perkins - violin Sophie Renshaw - viola Desmond Hoebig - cello THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1989 Hamman Hall 8:00P.M. Rice University PROGRAM THURSDAY, MAY 4, 1989 Quartet in G Major . ........... FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN* Op. 76 No.1 Allegro con spirito Adagio sostenuto Menuetto e Trio - Presto Allegro ma non troppo Quartet No.3 .................. R. MURRAY SCHAFER** Slowly, but with great passion Allegro energico Very slowly and calmly INTERMISSION Quartet No. 1, Op. 12 . ........ FELIX MENDELSSOHN*** Adagio non troppo. Allegro non tardante Canzonetta Molto allegro e vivace Recordings: Delos, CBC, Fanfare, London *Last performed on March 11, 1981 by the Chilingivian Quartet. **This will be the first performance for the Houston Friends of Music. ***Last performed on February 2, 1978 by The Cleveland Quartet. The Orford String Quartet is represented by John Gingrich Management, Inc., P. 0. Box 1515, New York, NY 10023. 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 tum them in for resale. This is a tax-deductible donation. Call 527-4933 . 2 HOUSTON FRIENDS OF MUSIC is a non-profit organization dedicated to tbe presentation of chamber ensembles witb national and international ; reputations and to tbe development of new audiences. BENEFACTORS Dr. Edith F. Bondi Cultural ArU Council of Houston Barbara M. Osborne · Caduceus Foundation, Inc. Dr. A Mrs. Grady L. Hallman Dr. Meyer L. Prolct Dennis A Susan Carlyle National Endowment for the ArU Seymour A Shirley W exlct PATRONS Bcnno J . Bauer, Jr. Nora Klein, M.D. H. lrvinJ Schweppe, Jr., M.D. Lutz A Marie! Birnbaumer MarccUa A Tomas Klima Mr. A Mrs. A. 0 . Susholtz Mr. A Mrs. Emory T. Carl Dr. A Mrs. J . P . Lauzon Steven J . Tillingct Dr. A Mrs. D. A. Freedman Walter A I. H . Mannbcimcr Margaret W aisman A Steven CaUahan Alex A Ann Goldstein Jack A Julia Mazow Drs. A. A J. Wctch Barbara Kauffman David Parsons SPONSORS Vluta A Ervin Adam Dr. A Mrs. Harvey Gordon Mr. A Mrs. Nathan M. Pryzant James A Carolyn Alexander Harlan HaU Elizabeth G. Reynolds Barbara A Jim Butler Drs. Fred A Eva Haufrcct Richard A Eva Rosencranz Drs. Chester A Jamie Cochran H . Blandin Jones A Nancy Boothe Mary S. Schoettle Kent A Jan Coleman John S. W. KcUett Malcolm A Horty Sher Dr. A Mrs. Joel Cyprus Mr. A Mrs. Wendel D. Ley Robert A Natalie TbraU Fred Y. Durrance Mrs. Helen Mintz C. J. Velzcboer Ann Fairbanks Daniel A Karol Musher Irving A Ida Wadler Dr. Judith Feiaon A Nathan Goldman Mr. A Mrs. Arthur Newman Robert A Edith Zinn John A Marilyn Flynn Stephanie L. Normann ,. LUa-Oene Gcorae Mario A Ruth Paalia CONTRIBUTORS Ralph A. Andenon Lloyd E. Elliott, Jr. Mr. A Mrs. Walter R. Kaye Franc:ilco Aviles-Roil, M.D. Milton A Dixie Feiner William P. Landfieict, lr. Stephen A Paula Baker H . L. FrisscU M. A. Modelski, M. D-. J .H.U. Brown J. S. Fulton Joseph Padercwski Mr. A Mrs. Albert Casclli Arthur Ginzbara Marilyn PoUack LawrCDCC A Alice Cowles Beverly I. Hawkins Ann A Hermann Rath Carter D. Crawford Robert 0 . Hawthorn David A Jeanne Saletan Doris M. Curtis RobertW. Hill Dr. A Mrs. DouaJas Tsucbida John W. Eqleton Mrs. Johannah Hoffman Dr. A Mrs. Stanley Weitzner BOARD OF DIRECTORS Francisco Aviles Michael Hammond Roberta W. Newman Ira J. Black Barbara Kauffman David G. Parsons Kent Coleman Tomas Klima Mary Schoettle Carter Crawford Daniel Krohn Steven J. Tillinger Elmer Eisner Thomas Littman Marsha Tsuchida Ann Fairbanks Walter Mannheimer Irving Wadler Arthur S. Ginzbarg Jack B. Mazow Margaret Waisman Harvey L. Gordon Michael Modelski Seymour Wexler Daniel Musher FRIENDS OF MUSIC OFFICERS President ..................... ... .. ........... , ................. .... Ann Fairbanks Vice Presidents . ...... Carter Crawford, Marsha Tsuchida, Walter Mannheimer, Ira J. Black Secretary .......... .. ........ ........ .... : ...................... Bobby Newman Treasurer ........... ... ........ ..... .. .. .......... ..... ....... Steven J. Tillinger DoNJtions made In the memory of Mo:.elh Edelstein Schiff Mr. & Mrs. A. 0. Susholtz • Shirley and David Toomim Mrs. Nettie Rabinowitz The Orford String Quartet Canada's Orford String Quartet is one of the world's finest quartets; they gave us a great concert in January, 1987. Founded in 1965 at Quebec's Orford Arts Centre, its unique, luminous sonority has won the hearts of the public and press on five continents. The Orford String Quartet has won numerous awards of distinction in­ cluding first prize in the European Broadcasting Union's International String Quartet competition (1974). These musicians have received two Grand Prix du Disque-Canada for recordings of works by John Beckwith with R. Murray Schafer (1981) and for their Beethoven Cycle for CBC Enterprises (1983) as well as two JUNO Awards (Canada's Grammy) for best classical/chamber albums, Mozart Quartets (1985) and the Schubert two-cello Quintet (1987). · In 1986, the Quartet was named as the Eil8emble of the Year by the Canadian Music Council. The Orford String Quartet's large discography - more than 50 record­ ings - has recently been enhanced· by its new Beethoven Cycle on the Delos label, the first time the Cycle has been digitally recorded exclusively for compact disc and digital audio tape. The Orford String Quartet's repertoire presents over 160 works em­ , bracing the classics and contemporary music. It has actively commissioned and premiered new works by such leading composers as William Schuman, R. Murray Schafer and Michael Colgrass. · In 1987, with a major grant from TransCanada Pipelines and with assistance from the Canada Council and its Touring Office, the Quartet in­ itiated a unique National Residency Training P_rogram for aspiring profes­ sional musicians across Canada. Vibrant, stimulating and innovative, the Orford String Quartet's per­ formances are a remarkable musical experience. The Orford String Quartet was formed in 1965 at Mount Orford, Quebec. It is the Quartet in Residence of the University of Toronto where each of its members is an Associate Professor of Music. ANDREW DA WES, a founding member of the group, began his violin studies in Calgary. Later he attended the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva where he received the highest marks ever awarded. Mr. Dawes has been a prizewinner in many national and interna­ tional violin competitions. He has performed as a soloist with all the major orchestras in Canada, including the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Symnphonies and has given recitals in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Mr. Dawes' violin is a J. B. Guadagnini, made in 1770. KENNETH PERKINS, also a founding member of the Quartet, began violin lessons at the age of seven and undertook his first concert tour at fifteen. Mr. Perkins has taught at McGill University and now, along with his colleagues in the Quartet, he is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Toronto. He has appeared as.concertmaster or soloist with symphony orchestras throughout Europe and North America. His violin is a Matteo Gofriller, circa 1726. SHOPHIE RENSHAW, violist, began studying the violin at the age o( six. From 1976 to 1984 she attended the-Yehudj Menuhin School in Englan4. She has performed at major centres throughout Europe, including the Gstaad Festival, Switzerland, and participated in a tour of China and India with the Yehudi Menuhin School Chamber Orchestra, performing in Shanghai, Beijing and Bombay. Her viola is an Aegidius Klotz, made in 1783. DESMOND HOERIG, cellist, is a former member of both the National Arts Cen­ tre Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony, and is currently principal cellist with·the Cincinnati Orchestra; he will join the Orford full-time in September, 1989. He was Grand Prize winner in the CBC National Talent Competition in 1981 and then, one year later, a finalist in the Tchaikovsky Internatio~al Competition. He has performed regularly as a recitalist at many musical festivals and as a guest artist with international orchestras. In collaboration with pianist Andre\\' Tunis he was first prize winner in the Munich International Competition in 1984. 4 PROGRAM NOTES String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76, No. 1 ....•...... Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) According to the latest research, Haydn wrote some 68 string quartets. The traditional collection of 83 Haydn string quartets overstated the case by including a number of works by Haydn that are not string quartets and some string quartets that are not by Haydn. The 68 authentic quartets repre­ sent a remarkable,- indeed unsurpassed, contribution to th_e genre. In the view of the late Hans Keller, 45 of them are "profound and profoundly dif­ ferent, absolutely flawless, consistently original master quartets" which, taken as a whole, are the most important collection of works in this medium. The six quartets published together as Opus 76 were written for and are dedicated to the Hungarian Count Joseph Erdody. The set was first p-µblished in 1799, but Haydn likely began work on the quartets late in 1796, and he had finished all six of them by 1797. Thus Haydn was 64 when he wrote these works, and they are the crowning achievement of a lifetime of quartet writing. The first work in the set is remarkable for its textural varie­ ty. The first movement, after three powerful opening chords, begins with two solos and two duets before a full quartet texture is used. Both in this movement and in the Adagio, Haydn makes richly effective use of modula­ tion into the minor keys. The third movement is not what it appears to be, for although Haydn labelled it a minuet, it is really a scherzo.