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Our 2011-2012 Past Seasons: 2010--2011 |
PROGRAM NOTESQuartet in F Major, Op. 77 Number 2 was written in 1799 and was the last of 83 works in this genre by Haydn. In later years he tried to compose more quartets, but those were never completed. He had ended the century of rationalism with this work filled with confidence in the established Classical Forms. Further works would not have suited him in the new Romantic Era, and he was to live only ten more years in this new era.
Fred Raimi has written about this Quartet that "the only indication that it was composed by an old man is the overall mastery of form and detail ... The opening Allegro moderato ... is based on a single theme, broad and stately in character ... The Minuet is a true scherzo in its speed and brilliance, and ... use of a "trick" rhythm: a group of two notes superimposed on the triple meter ... The slow variation movement is the glory of the quartet ... an idealized song and a slow march ... this Andante seems an extension and a deepening of the character of the opening moderato. The Finale, then returns somewhat to the playful mood of the Minuet ... The piece is both intellectual and cheerful."
Lento Assai was commissioned as part of the Cypress String Quartet's ongoing Call & Response project, a program in which composers write works inspired by the timeless masterpieces of string quartet repertoire. The two works presented to me to study and respond to were Mendelssohn's Op. 13 and Beethoven's Op. 135. Like Felix Mendelssohn, who drew deep inspiration from the late quartets of Beethoven and in some cases quoted them literally, I have found a wellspring of ideas flowing from the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 135 (Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo). Beethoven begins with the introductory building of a D-flat major chord followed by a haunting melody played by the first violin. The first several minutes of my piece can be heard as an expansion of these two ideas. I begin in exactly the same manner and then elaborate on Beethoven's opening by continuing to build chords of my own in a "glacially" deliberate manner. Once returning to D-flat, my melody begins like Beethoven's and then takes its own path. I also managed to work in a curious "dotted-rhythm" idea in the parallel minor of C-sharp. This serves as the middle section of Beethoven's piece; in mine it forms the accompanimental basis for an angular melody which contrasts the smoothness and scalar nature of the main melody. As in several of my recent works, my intention -- by way of the meditative quality of much of this piece -- was to create a kind of musical refuge for the listener, a temporary place of peace and tranquility. I suspect my continuing desire to pursue this type of expression led me toward this particular moment in a Beethoven masterpiece of many great moments. Lento Assai was commissioned by the Cypress String Quartet in conjunction with the Lied of Center of Kansas, the Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center and the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress. It was premiered at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C. on February 6, 2009.
The last year of Beethoven's life was difficult on every level. His health was poor, his finances were in shambles and his suspicious and distrustful nature had driven away all but a few friends. This made him cling desperately to his nephew (and adopted son) Karl. In August 1826, Karl attempted suicide, claiming later: "My uncle harassed me so." Amid the chaos, Beethoven composed what was to be his last Quartet, Opus 135 in F Major. His third quartet in the key of F (Op. 18, No. 1 and Op. 59, No. 1 share the key), the work was written during the two months that Karl was recovering in the hospital. Completed in October 1826, Opus 135 was written only months after Beethoven's surprising Quartet in C-sharp minor, Opus 131. That the two share the same span of time and sprang from the same composer's imagination is mind boggling. After stretching the form of the quartet to its very limits in Opus 131 (which is in seven movements, played without pause), the Opus 135 Quartet is in a new style, or rather, is a return to a more classical aesthetic. The brevity and "normality" of the piece makes it stand apart from the other quartets of Beethoven's late period. Scholars suggest that perhaps he intended Opus 135 to be the first of a new set of quartets. The Quartet in F, Opus 135 is in a traditional four-movement form, but this is not to say that the piece is uninspired. It is as if Beethoven had distilled quartet writing to its very essence. The first movement (Allegretto) is capricious, while being gently conversational, providing the listener with an entertaining "tug of war". The scherzo movement (Vivace) follows with humor and brilliance, at times wild (in one section the lower three voices repeat a rhythmic figure some 50 times while the first violin interrupts with bursts of what sounds like country fiddling). For the third movement (Lento assai, cantante e tranquillo), Beethoven returns to his beloved variation form, offering a song or hymn, with four variations. The composer's working title while sketching the movement was "Süsser Ruhegesang oder Friedengesang" ("Sweet Song of Rest or Peacefulness"). For the finale movement, Beethoven provides us with a riddle as a preface. Above the music, he writes "Der Schwer gefasste Entschluss" (The Difficult Resolution or Decision), and gives us two short examples of music. The first is marked "Grave" and contains the question "Muss es sein?" (Must it be?). The second is marked "Allegro" and states not once, but twice: "Es muss sein! Es muss sein!" (It must be! It must be!). What follows is a musical discussion, going back and forth between the two, with the answer "It Must Be!" triumphantly claiming the end. The piece comes to a close with wit and lightheartedness. Scholars have hotly debated Beethoven's meaning of the opening question and answer, with opinions ranging from discussions of Beethoven using music to debate a range of ideas including (but not limited to): "free will versus destiny", the laundry bill, the necessity of paying the rent, and the inevitability of death. Published posthumously and released in August 1827, Opus 135 is dedicated to Beethoven's friend Johann Wolfmayer, a musical amateur and wealthy merchant. Beethoven did not live to see the work's publication or first performance.
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