concert program iii: String Variations JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) July 24 and 25 Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 (1721) Allegro moderato Wednesday, July 24, 8:00 p.m., Stent Family Hall, Menlo School Adagio Allegro assai Thursday, July 25, 8:00 p.m., The Center for Performing Arts at Soovin Kim, Frederik Øland, Kristin Lee, violins; Paul Neubauer, Mark Holloway, Asbjørn Nørgaard, violas; Menlo-Atherton Colin Carr, Laurence Lesser, Dmitri Atapine, cellos PROGRAM OVERVIEW RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949) Concert Program III illuminates the limitless splendor of the String Sextet from Capriccio, op. 85 (1940–1941) string ensemble genre, as first realized by Bach in his e"erves- Sean Lee, Soovin Kim, violins; Paul Neubauer, Mark Holloway, violas; Laurence Lesser, Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cellos cent Third Brandenburg Concerto, scored for trios of violins, violas, and cellos. Representing one of the Baroque master’s DMITRY SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) warmest sonic creations, the work invites listeners to revel in String Quartet no. 3 in F Major, op. 73 (1946) Allegretto the luminescence of string instruments. The lush String Sextet Moderato con moto from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio weaves an exquisite tapestry Allegro non troppo from one sinewy Romantic line to the next; Shostakovich’s Third Adagio Moderato String Quartet o"ers a more piquant perspective on the string Jorja Fleezanis, Arnaud Sussmann, violins; Mark Holloway, viola; Laurence Lesser, cello PROGRAMSCONCERT literature. The program concludes with Mozart’s Divertimento of 1788, a masterpiece for string trio as beguiling in character as it INTERMISSION is epic in breadth. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Mingle with the Musicians Divertimento in E-flat Major, K. 563 (1788) Wednesday, July 24, 10:30 p.m., Stanford Park Hotel’s Menlo Allegro Adagio Grill (Dutch treat) Minuetto I Visit with the Concert Program III musicians for dinner or a Andante Minuetto II: Allegretto drink or just to say hello. Please RSVP to 650-330-2141 or Allegro [email protected]. Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Colin Carr, cello SPECIAL THANKS Music@Menlo dedicates these performances to the following individuals with gratitude for their generous support: July 24: Chandler B. and Oliver A. Evans July 25: Anne and Mark Flegel Droplet Blues by Nicholas Monu www.musicatmenlo.org Program Notes: String Variations JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Your Royal Highness most humbly to have the kindness to (Born March 21, 1685, Eisenach; died July 28, 1750, Leipzig) preserve your goodwill toward me and to be convinced that I Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048 have nothing so much at heart as to be able to be employed on occasions more worthy of you and your service, since I am Composed: 1721 with matchless zeal, Sire, Your Royal Highness’s most humble Fantasia in C Major, BWV 573 (1722); Other works from this period: and obedient servant, Johann Sebastian Bach. Cöthen, March French Suites, BWV 825–830 (1722–1725); The Well-Tempered Clavier, 24, 1721 Book 1, BWV 846–869 (1722) Approximate duration: 11 minutes In spite of this flowery dedication, the Margrave of Brandenburg— lacking the musical resources to stage a performance of the concerti—never In late 1717, Johann Sebastian Bach departed Weimar, where he had held the thanked or paid Bach; but the works came to life nevertheless at Cöthen, post of Court Organist and Konzertmeister for nearly ten years. His ambi- as Bach had deliberately suited them for the greater number of technically tion to rise to the prestigious post of Kapellmeister—whether at Weimar proficient musicians he had at his own disposal. or elsewhere—set off a bizarre saga between Bach and his employer, Duke Apart from the circumstances of their genesis, the Brandenburg Concerti Wilhelm, a feud that culminated in Bach’s brief incarceration and unceremo- mark one of the finest musical achievements of the Baroque era. With each nious dismissal. Notwithstanding this embarrassing episode, these events scored for a different instrumental ensemble, they represent the fullest devel- also marked a transition into one of the happiest times in Bach’s career, as opment of the Baroque concerto grosso and demonstrate thorough mastery he took the position of Kapellmeister at the court in Cöthen. Indeed, Bach’s of composition for different instruments. The Third Brandenburg Concerto is obituary, written by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, takes care to note that scored for three violins, three violas, and three cellos. Its particular instrumen- when he later left Cöthen for a position in Leipzig, he did so with a heavy tation infuses the work with a rich sonority throughout its three movements. heart—not least of all on account of taking leave of his employer, Prince Indeed, one of the most remarkable characteristics of the Third Brandenburg Leopold, with whom he would develop a close kinship during his time in Concerto—a work composed in 1721, well before the viola and cello were Cöthen. Leopold was an amiable ruler and an avid music lover, and he regarded as soloistic instruments—is Bach’s egalitarian treatment of the full had been responsible for a musical renaissance of sorts in Cöthen. After ensemble. Throughout the first movement, melodic lines bounce around from assuming power, he increased the number of court musicians from three to player to player, at times giving the impression of a game of musical hot potato. seventeen, thereby having, upon Bach’s arrival, an able chamber orchestra The second movement comprises just one measure: a simple two- ready to serve as muse for the accomplished composer—and, specifically, chord Phrygian cadence, marked Adagio—often realized in performance as for an important catalog of instrumental works. The wealth of instrumental an improvisatory cadenza. The concluding Allegro assai revisits the joyful talent available to Bach at Cöthen afforded him the opportunity to pro- effervescence of the first movement. duce such pieces as the Suites for Solo Cello, the Sonatas and Partitas for —Patrick Castillo Solo Violin, and the magnificent Brandenburg Concerti, whose autograph is dated 1721 and which testify to the vitality of his writing for large instrumen- tal ensembles during this period. RICHARD STRAUSS Between 1718 and 1719, Bach had played for the elector of Branden- (Born June 11, 1864, Munich; died September 8, 1949, Garmisch- burg in Berlin while negotiating the terms for a new harpsichord for the Partenkirchen) CONCERT PROGRAMSCONCERT court at Cöthen. About two years later, he would compose these six con- certi, scored for varied assortments of instruments, and dedicate them to String Sextet from Capriccio, op. 85 the elector. The dedication reads, in the abject parlance of the eighteenth Composed: 1940–1941 century: First performance: October 28, 1942 Other works from this period: Die Liebe der Danae, op. 83 (1938); Diver- To His Royal Highness Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Branden- timento for Chamber Orchestra, op. 86 (1940–1941); Horn Concerto no. 2 burg, etc. Sire: Since I had the happiness, a few years ago, to in E-flat Major, TrV 283 (1842) play by command before Your Royal Highness, and observed at Approximate duration: 13 minutes that time that you derived some pleasure from the small musical talent that Heaven has given me; and since, when I was taking Capriccio, the last of Richard Strauss’s fifteen operas, represents one of the leave of Your Royal Highness, you did me the honor to request composer’s most interesting contributions to the literature. An opera about that I send you some of my compositions: I have therefore, in opera, the work is often described as a musical “conversation piece,” as its compliance with your most gracious demand, taken the liberty plot addresses questions about the nature of composition that preoccu- of tendering my most humble respects to Your Royal Highness pied Strauss towards the end of his career. Specifically, it asks the question with the present concerti, arranged for several instruments, beg- of which element of opera—music or poetry—is the greater art; the plot ging you most humbly not to judge their imperfection by the of Capriccio examines this question through the metaphor of a countess strict measure of the refined and delicate taste in musical pieces choosing between two suitors: a poet, Olivier, and a composer, Flamand. that everyone knows you possess, but rather to consider kindly The opera begins with a scene in the countess’s chateau, where a newly the deep respect and the most humble obedience which I am composed string sextet by Flamand is being rehearsed. In fact, that sextet thereby attempting to show to you. For the rest, Sire, I beseech is a beautiful chamber work in its own right: it serves as a de facto overture to Capriccio but is just as often performed independently as concert music. Music@Menlo 2013 The warm sonority created by the ensemble of two violins, two violas, writers, theater directors, and filmmakers in the years prior. Like much of and two cellos is immediately remarkable from the sextet’s opening measures. Shostakovich’s music, the Third Quartet has a strong narrative quality, sug- The addition of a viola and cello to the standard string quartet makes for a gesting an extramusical program—and, indeed, Shostakovich is said to have rich, sensuous sound that appealed especially to composers in the Roman- originally given subtitles to each of its five movements. The subtitles impli- tic period. Among the medium’s finest examples are Brahms’s two sextets, cate the work as a reflection on the experience of Soviet life during and opp. 18 and 36; Dvořák’s Opus 48 Sextet; Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence; following World War II. But given the social climate, and the scrutiny his and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht—all of which Strauss was surely familiar work would have been under by the authorities, Shostakovich was probably with.