December 19, 2011

Two more of Beethoven’s late Quartets. A couple weeks ago, as Beethoven’s birthday was approaching, we featured two of Beethoven’s late quartets, op. 132 and op. 131.  Today we’ll introduce two more, op. 130 and op. 135.

As with all late quartets, there’s confusion regarding their numbers.  String Quartet no. 13 in B-flat major op. 130, though second in order of publication, was actually composed during 1825-6 after the quartet in a minor, op. 132, making it the last of the quartets composed to fulfill the commission from the Russian prince Nikolai Galitzin. Whereas the quartet in a minor was Beethoven’s reflection on his recovery from a life-threatening illness, which gave birth to the profound and solemn "Heiliger Dankgesang" (Song of Thanksgiving) that forms the quartet’s centerpiece, the Quartet in B-flat major is quite possibly then the expression of renewed vigor and the composer’s exuberant return to his art. Hardly anywhere in the piece is there a mournful or sad measure. Premiered in March 1826, the original form of the Quartet in B-flat major included the colossal Grosse Fuge as the finale. Opinions of the performance were mixed mostly because of the fugue, which nearly eclipsed, artistically and temporally, the rest of the quartet. Urged by his publisher to replace the fugue with a less weighty finale, Beethoven composed an alternate ending in the fall of 1826, making this a rare instance in which Beethoven was swayed by either the opinion of the public or the publisher. Furthermore, the alternate finale was also his last completed composition.  We’ll hear the quartet in its original form.  It’s performed by Angelo Xiang Yu, violin, Miriam Fried, violin, Philip Kramp, viola, and Deborah Pae, cello.  You can listen to it here.

Beethoven composed his sixteenth String Quartet, Op.135 in F Major, in 1826, a mere few months before his death. Only one other completed composition, the alternate finale for the op. 130 quartet in B-flat major, postdates this work. In this sense, the string quartet in F major represents the culmination of a lifelong dedication to music. Of the late string quartets, the F major is the shortest (26 and a half minutes in this recording), the simplest in construction, and the only other quartet to follow the standard four movement plan besides the op. 127 quartet in E flat major. While in technique the F major quartet no doubt deserves its place among the other late quartets, it does not seem to burden itself with the same weighted discourse. Instead, as the French musicologist Joseph de Marliave stated, it is a "fluent play of brilliant but irresponsible wit," much like the alternate finale Beethoven composed for the op. 130 quartet.  The final movement, titled Der schwer gefaβte Entschluβ ("The Difficult Decision"), is perhaps the most famous part of the quartet, largely due to the purportedly philosophical question Beethoven penned above the slow introductory chord: "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?).  The answer that Beethoven gives later in the manuscript is simply, "Muss es sein" (It must be). Because of the obvious ambiguity of this question-answer pair, many solutions to this enigma have been proposed, each trying to tease out a meaning that may or may not be there. One of the more well-known explanations, and at least the most comical, comes from Anton Schindler. Schindler states that Beethoven's housekeeper, the only person allowed to disturb him while he was working, would ask him for money with which to buy food and other necessities. Beethoven would reply, "Es muss sein?" (Must it be?).  The housekeeper would then emphatically reply, "Muss es sein" (It must be).  Here is the performance of quartet op. 135 by Avalon String Quartet.

December 12, 2011

Beethoven.  The great German composer was born on the 15^th or 16^th of December, 1770 (all we know for sure is that he was baptized on the 17^th).  There’s no need to recount his life: hundreds of books of books were written about him, and his life, from his birth in Bonn, to his studies with Haydn in Vienna, to his first works, still influenced by Mozart and Haydn, to the onset of his hearing loss, to his mature period and then the burst of immense creativity at the late period, when he was completely deaf – al of this is part of the cultural lore.  Instead, we’ll just present several pieces from the different periods of his life.

Piano Trio, Op. 11 is an early piece.  It was originally written in 1797 as a trio for clarinet, piano and cello, which he then transcribed the  for the violin, cello and piano.  The trio has the nickname "Gassenhauer" or "Street Song" Trio because of the theme in the last movement, which derives from a popular song of the day.  Beethoven used it as a theme for nine variations.  It is performed by Lincoln Trio and can be heard here.

String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat Major op. 18, no.6 was written two-three years later, around 1800. Beethoven published his first six quartets as a single opus, just as Haydn and Mozart, who also had published their own multi-quartet sets. The first movement is still quite Haydnesq, but it’s the finale, subtitled La Malinconia" (Melancholy), that is surprisingly innovative.  The opening is full of unexpected harmonies and dynamic shifts, and in this sense it portends of the later quartets.  It’s performed by Arianna String Quartet, and you listen to it here.

Sonata for violin and piano No. 8 in G Major, the third in opus 30 sonatas, was written in 1801 or 1802.  It’s dedicated to the Russian czar Alexander I, somewhat surprising, considering Beethoven’s Republican inclinations.It’s played here by Christoph Seybold, violin and Milana Chernyavska, piano.  With its solid sonata form, this wonderful piece is still characteristic of early Beethoven.

From 1804, the beginning of Beethoven's "Heroic" decade (1803-1812), comes one his greatest pianos sonatas of the period, Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major "Waldstein."  The Waldstein surpasses Beethoven's previous sonatas in both depth, scope, and freedom of form, setting the stage for his later piano sonatas.  The sonata got its name from the dedicatee, Count Waldstein.  In Italy and Russia the sonata is known as 'L'Aurora' (the dawn in Italian), probably for the serenity of the opening chords of the third movement.  The Waldstein is performed by the pianist Yukiko Sekino. Listen to it here.

We’ll jump almost 17 years, to one of Beethoven’s last sonatas, Sonata in A Flat Major, Op. 110.  Between 1810 and 1819 Beethoven wrote just two piano sonatas, but in the years 1819 through 1822 he wrote and published one sonata a year, from the magisterial no. 29, op. 109 “Hammerklavier” to op. 111, the two-part sonata no. 32.  Sonata no. 31 is in three movements; the profound third movements consists of several sections, two of which represent a fugue and another one, its inversion.  The sonata is played here by the pianist Inesa Sinkevych.

And finally, Große Fuge (Grande Fugue), from 1826. Große Fuge was composed as the final movement of his Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130.  Later Beethoven replaced the finale of the quarter and published the Fugue separately, as opus 133.   The contemporaries described the fugue as “incomprehensible” and “a confusion of Babel.”  This contrapuntal tour de force is still very demanding on both performers and listeners.  Here is it performed by the violinists Angelo Xiang Yu and Miriam Fried, Philip Kramp, viola, and Deborah Pae, cello.

December 5, 2011

Two Beethoven’s Quartets.  We don’t feature string quartets often enough.  Some of the most sublime and sophisticated music has been written for this intimate ensemble, but till recently our library was rather poor in this regard.  Fortunately, young musicians at the Steans Institute play quite a lot of this wonderful music in informal ensembles.  In anticipation of Beethoven’s birthday on December 16, here are two recordings made at the Steans.

The traditional sequencing of Beethoven’s three string quartets opp. 130,131 and 132 is somewhat misleading.  Beethoven wrote Quartet no 15, op.132 first, in 1825 (it is actually his 13^th quartet, the number 15 is the order that this quartet was published in, not written).  The majestic Op. 130 with the Große Fuge finale followed later the same year.  Op. 131 was completed in 1826.

Beethoven composed String Quartet in a minor, op. 132 following a serious illness, which he thought was fatal (in the score, above the third movement, Beethoven wrote the inscription which reads, in translation: “Song of thanksgiving to the Diety on recovery from an illness, written in the Lydian mode”).  This vast movement (almost 17 minutes long, it starts 18 minutes 30 seconds into the performance) is undoubtedly the epicenter of the work, not just structurally but emotionally.  Beethoven, who in later years became greatly interested in the old ecclesiastical modes, modeled it along the lines of variations on a cantus firmus with intervening episodes.  We’ll hear this quartet (here) performed by Miho Saegusa, violin, Miriam Fried, violin (teachers at the Steans often play alongside their students), Vicki Powell, viola and the recent Tchaikovsky winner Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello.

Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14 in c-sharp minor, op. 131 was completed in 1826.  The c-sharp minor quartet is wholly unique, even in Beethoven’s oeuvre. Comprised of seven movements played continuously without break, it runs for about 40 minutes.  From the opening movement, Adagio, written as a fugue rather than in the traditional sonata form, its themes develop in a continuous flow, without pause, weaving one into another.  It is performed by Miho Saegusa, violin, Kobi Malkin, violin, Alex Link, viola, and Karen Ouzounian, cello.  To listen, click here.

November 28, 2011

Recent anniversaries, redux.  An astrologist or a musically inclined statistician may consider studying the pattern of composers’ birthdays: there are long stretches with not a single anniversary, and then a treasure trove of great names.  Here are several, recent and upcoming this week.

Benjamin Britten, probably the greatest British composer of the 20^th century, was born on November 22, 1913.  His greatest work was in the opera: just think of Peter Grimes, The Beggar's Opera, Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw (it’s said that he has more operas performed worldwide than any other composer born in the 20^th century).  We don’t have recordings of Britten’s operas, but here’s his String Quartet No. 2, Op. 36.  It’s performed by Miho Saegusa (violin), Jung-Eun Jenny Ahn (violin), Jan Grüning (viola), and Matthew Allen (cello).

Two Spanish composers, Joaquin Rodrigo, famous for his guitar Concierto de Aranjuez, and Manuel De Falla, one of the most important Spanish composers of the 20^th century, have their anniversaries one day apart. Rodrigo was born on November 22, 1901, De Falla – on November 23, 1876.  Here’s Rodrigo’s Sonata Giocosa played by the guitarist Ana Vidovic.  And here’s an old recording of De Falla’s Danse Espagnole made by the wonderful Russian-American violinist Albert Markov with the late Milton Kaye on the piano.

One of the most interesting Soviet composers of the second half of the 20^th century, Alfred Schnittke was born on November 24, 1934.  Here’s the second movement of his Piano Quintet.  It’s performed by the great proponent Schnittke’s music, the violinist (and conductor) Mark Lubotsky and his colleagues: Dimity Hall (violin), Irina Morozova (viola), Julian Smiles (cello), with Schnittke’s widow Irina on the piano.

And finally, the great French-Italian composer, the founder of the French Baroque music and the favorite court musician of Luis XIV, Jean-Baptiste Lully was born on November 28,1632 in Florence.  Here’s his Suite from Bourgeois gentillomme, played by Baroque Band.  And we didn’t even get to Gaetano Donizetti!