2010
Mimir Chamber Music Festival Program Notes
Mimir Chamber Music Festival 7:30 PM Thursday July 8, 2010 Pepsico Recital Hall at TCU Fort Worth, Texas
Program notes by Stephen Seleny
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
String Quartet in C Major Op. 49, No. 1 1. Moderato 2. Moderato 3. Allegro molto 4. Allegro
The music of Dmitri Shostakovich is tart and acrid, sometimes with biting humor, and when it speaks to the heart, it does so with a curious, bitter tone. His technical genius allowed him to write grand-scale works based on the smallest of motives. His overall output was enormous: 15 symphonies, numerous concertos, and stage works. There are also 15 string quartets, but only one quintet with piano. The chamber music of Shostakovich reveals his innermost feelings, maybe because in this medium he could somewhat escape the ever-critical eyes of Soviet authorities. One only needs to read Testimony, the quasi-memoirs actually written by Solomon Volkov, to glimpse what Yehudi Menuhin called the “tragic horror of a trapped genius”, and to understand that just about everything Shostakovich composed had both an official and a hidden meaning.
Shostakovich completed his first, quite unsophisticated quartet in 1938. It was premiered by the Beethoven Quartet, at that time the best string ensemble in Moscow. Shortly before, he had received a savage attack from the official Communist press for his opera Lady Macbeth of Minsk. To pacify these critics and emotionally regroup, Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony and this quartet. The following quote from the composer clearly indicates that in this little quartet he found an escape from the oppressive Communist Party line: “I began to write it without any particular idea or feeling in mind and thought that nothing would come of it…I wrote the first page as a sort of exercise in quartet form, without any thought of completing it. But then the piece got hold of me and I completed it very quickly. It’s a ‘springtime’ work – one should not look for any great depth in it.”
The first movement is delightful, with a tranquil melody. It is short and uncomplicated. The tempo marking for the second movement is the same as that of the first, but its character is quite different. Its main theme, played by the viola, is a Russian folk song-like melody. The third movement is a quick “Scherzo”, full of rapidly repeated notes and a catchy little melody in the middle. In the last movement, merriment and infectious good humor predominates. This little quartet is unlike the others that followed. For a moment, the composer was able to set aside the miseries and intellectual limitations of Soviet society and create a carefree little gem.
Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) String Quartet Op.20, No. 1 1. Allegro violente ed agitato 2. Vivacissimo 3. Calmo e poetico 4. Allargamente rustico
The Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera divided his creative years into three periods. The first, from 1937 to 1948, he characterized as “objective nationalism,” using actual folk songs and rhythms, unaltered. The second period he called “subjective nationalism,” creating folk music-like melodies and rhythms following the work of Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, both of whom he admired and emulated. The third period, from 1957 to 1983, became a time of experimentation. Ginastera referred to it as “neo-expressionism” and, indeed, he was experimenting. Two of his operas, Bon Rodrigo and Bomarzo, from this period, earned the epithet “topless operas” in Newsweek. They were banned for many years in Argentina and when finally performed, had to be toned down a bit.
String Quartet No. 1 was written in 1948 and is essentially an homage to Bartók, using Argentine folk idioms and traditions as Bartók had used the folk idiom of Hungary. The first movement evokes images of gauchos and is particularly reminiscent of Bartók. It is strident, driving music contrasted with eerie moments of “night music”, again harkening back to the giant shadow of Bartók. The second movement, a “Malambo”, is a musical depiction of two men trying to outdo each other in a frantic, seemingly endless dance accompanied by guitars. In the ensuing nocturne-like movement, the strings are tuned like guitars. It includes a lovely cello solo which was probably written for Ginastera’s wife, who was an excellent cellist. The finale evokes the strumming of guitars. Its second theme is a Criolla folk song-like melody, and the entire movement recalls the high energy of the first movement.
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Variations on a Bavarian Folksong, “Dirndl is harb auf mi”
It is hard to picture this ditty being written by the composer of such complex operas as Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier, and the tone poems Also Sprach Zarathustra, Ein Heldenleben, and Don Juan. It is also interesting to note that in contrast to the lush, exotic, sensual music for which he is best known, Richard Strauss lived a bourgeois life, constantly counting his honorariums – which were exorbitant in contrast with contemporaries such as Mahler. He willingly accepted the domination of his shrewish wife, Pauline, who acted like Cerberus, frightening away colleagues and would-be friends. Her constant battle cry was, “Richard, go compose!” Obediently, Richard went and composed a wide variety of works. Many of these are now on shelves, receiving few performances. But he also composed many immortal masterworks that are rightfully in the living repertoire.
Indeed, Strauss’s music was central to the international music scene during the first part of the last century. Not only was he the last great composer of the Romantic era, he was also a magnificent conductor. His rich, inimitable orchestral scores are full of magic. Many of his songs (mostly for the soprano voice, a timbre and range which he loved) are permanently in the repertoire. His operas and tone poems are played by every opera company and orchestra. His last work, Four Last Songs, for soprano and orchestra, is a magical farewell to the Romantic age.
The set of variations performed tonight, was written when Strauss was only 14 years old, and its origins are obscure. Maybe he needed money? The words of the title are in Austrian slang, roughly translated as, “that girl is mad at me”. Maybe Strauss had a secret, sixth sense foreboding of his future marriage? (Please forgive the sarcasm!) Although this set of variations is a youthful, unpretentious work, it clearly shows the talent and promise of the future composer. For those listeners who know Strauss’ oeuvre, this little set may bring a smile, reminding us that even the great ones often start modestly. For those for whom Strauss’s later music is unfamiliar, the work will still be thoroughly enjoyable. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) String Quartet in a minor, Op. 51, No. 2 1. Allegro non troppo 2. Andante moderato 3. Quasi Minuetto 4. Finale: Allegro non assai
Unlike Beethoven, who preserved every significant or fleeting musical idea in his notebooks, Johannes Brahms left absolutely no trace of his compositional method. Quite the opposite: if what he wrote did not please his self-critical ears, it ended up in the fireplace. Occasionally he reworked an earlier composition into something different. For instance, his first Piano Concerto was originally intended to be a symphony. The giant shadow of Beethoven seems to have hovered over him for a long time, if not through his entire life. Brahms treated the genre of the string quartet with the utmost reverence because of his memory of the superb quartets of Beethoven. “You do not know what it is like hearing his footsteps behind me”, Brahms wrote. Although Brahms composed some 20 string quartets, only three survive: Op. 51 (Nos. 1 and 2) and Op. 67. The rest ended up in his fireplace. Furthermore, he struggled with these three existing quartets for many years, adding, cutting and revising.
The Quartet in A Minor was started in 1850 and finally published in 1873 – thus, it represents more than twenty years of struggle. It is dedicated to Dr. Theodor Billroth, the famous Viennese surgeon and chamber music player. The music pays homage to Brahms’ close friend, Joseph Joachim, the brilliant Hungarian violinist, whose motto was “Frei aber einsam”, or “Free but lonely”. Brahms incorporated the first letters of this motto (F-A-E) into the main theme of the first movement, and used them freely and often in the musical texture. Although this first movement is full of polyphonic writing, one is never distracted from the free flow of the music, which is essentially lyrical and introspective. The serenity that pours out from the second movement, Andante, is not only a touching contrast, but its masculine gentility warms the heart. The third movement is a charming, free-flowing dance, a Minuet. It is a welcome contrast to the introspective second movement and to the fiery Hungarian Czardas of the closing movement. Clearly Brahms had Joseph Joachim in mind while composing this work’s brilliant finale.
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