Leipzig String Quartet

Transcription

1 today s performance Leipzig String Quartet Leipzig String Quartet s program was determined less than a week before today s performance by audience vote as part of the ensemble s choose-your-own Beethoven program. Due to the overall length of today s program, the Quartet has opted to play Op. 130 with Finale, as it was originally published, instead of with the Grosse Fuge.

2 Leipzig String Quartet Stefan Arzberger, violin Tilman Büning, violin Ivo Bauer, viola Matthias Moosdorf, cello Program Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, La Malinconia Allegro con brio Adagio, ma non troppo Scherzo: Allegro La Malinconia: Adagio; Allegretto quasi allegro Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, Serioso Allegro con brio Allegretto ma non troppo Allegro assai vivace ma serioso Larghetto; Allegretto agitato Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven INTERMISSION Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130, Liebquartett Adagio ma non troppo; Allegro Presto Andante con moto, ma non troppo Alla danza tedesca: Allegro assai Cavatina: Adagio molto espressivo Finale: Allegro Beethoven Leipzig String Quartet is represented by Melvin Kaplan, Inc. 115 College Street, Burlington, Vermont Recordings: Quartz, Telarc, Elektra, EMI

3 Program Notes Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, La Malinconia Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Although written fifth, Beethoven probably placed the B-flat quartet last because of the lengthy, slow introduction to the last movement, La Malinconia ( melancholy ), which gave the work its subtitle. From the viewpoint of musical development, this introduction is decades ahead of the rest of Op. 18. In some ways it presages the late quartets of the 1820s, with its moving evocation of grief and despair; it provides, as well, an insight into the depths of Beethoven s emotional state. The first movement opens with a vigorous, upward-leaping theme in the first violin that eventually becomes a duet with the cello. The far less agile subsidiary theme stays rooted on one note and then another, all within a rather narrow range. The development section ends with a held note, anticipating the return of the melodies, little changed from their original appearance. A refined, dignified melody is the main theme of the Adagio, which is organized into three-part, ternary form. The theme is introduced by the first violin over a bare-bones type of accompaniment. For the second violin repeat, the importance of the accompanying voices is considerably higher. The entire quartet joins for a brief episode together before the violin states the theme for the third time, now in a highly ornamental style. The contrasting section arrives with a thin, tenuous line played in octaves by the first violin and cello. A short bridge passage and rising chromatic scale in the first violin lead to the return of the opening theme, this time even more highly decorated than in its first hearing. The Adagio s stately mood is unceremoniously shattered by the eccentric and very original Scherzo that follows. Full of rhythmic verve, it is constantly being tripped up and sabotaged by misplaced accents and cross rhythms. One can only marvel at Beethoven s ability to squeeze such intricate and complex rhythmic patterns into straightforward triple meter. The slight trio, a flowing violin solo with a short transition, leads back to a literal repeat of the Scherzo. The Finale, the climax of the entire composition, begins with the astounding La Malinconia, which Beethoven directs must be played with the greatest delicacy. The introduction falls into two parts, the first characterized by repeated tones and the second by a fugal, imitative texture. Woven throughout is a three-note turn, or gruppetto, which is inserted as a decoration before a longer note. Several times, loud and soft chords alternate, each one preceded by a gruppetto, which adds even more gloom to the phrase. The main body of the movement is fast, in the style of a danze alla tedesca, or German dance, which was very popular at the time. Although the tedesca never succeeds in raising the somber pall cast by La Malincoina, as if to underscore the point, Beethoven twice interrupts the gay dance with short reminders of the slow introduction, before letting the tedesca dash furiously to the powerful last chords. Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, Serioso Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) Beethoven s Op. 95 quartet is the only one he supplied with a subtitle, Serioso, an obvious reference to the prevailingly somber mood of the piece. The composer s growing deafness, precarious health, frustration in love, financial insecurity and unhappy family life had combined to make him angry, bitter and deeply despondent. In a letter to his old friend Dr. Franz Wegeler on May 2, 1810, he wrote, If I had not read somewhere that no one should quit life voluntarily while he could still do something worthwhile, I would have been dead long ago, and certainly by my own hand. Oh, life is so beautiful, but for me it is poisoned forever.

4 Although extremely short, the Serioso, which Felix Mendelsohn called Beethoven s most characteristic work, is not a miniature. It is a compressed, concentrated composition, highly integrated movement to movement, with an emotional range that far exceeds its limited size. Usually classified as one of the final works of Beethoven s middle period, many of its pages anticipate the exalted third period quartets that were to follow some 14 years later. Beethoven began the quartet late in the summer of 1810, and finished it in October of that year. His dedication to Nikolaus von Zmeskall is significant, because it is the first quartet inscribed to a friend from the middle class rather than a noble patron. The work received its premiere in Vienna in May 1814, played by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The first movement, the shortest Beethoven ever wrote, lashes out with an angry, laconic phrase, played in unison by the entire quartet. Two features stand out: the five-note opening turn and the general descending and ascending contour. A suspenseful silence follows, after which the first violin whips up and down in forceful octave jumps. After briefly expanding the opening fragment, the quieter, rolling second theme is introduced by the viola and then picked up by the others. The violins state the tender third theme to complete the very concise, and not repeated, exposition. The short development, which opens in a fury based on the first theme, leads to a truncated recapitulation. The coda reaches a climax as the viola insistently repeats the opening five-note turn until, as though exhausted by the effort, it finally fades away. Beethoven related the second movement to the first by starting at the same soft level as the other ended and by giving the introductory cello phrase the same falling-rising shape as the quartet opening, although minus its decorative turns. The first subject then enters, a warm cantabile melody over a sinuous, weaving accompaniment. After a full stop, the viola announces the second theme, which Beethoven treats as a fugato, passing it from part to part in imitation. The fugato section is interrupted for a reminder of the cello opening before continuing with even more complex fugal treatment of the viola melody, including the addition of a countermelody, shortening the gap between entrances and inverting the theme. An abbreviated restatement of the beginning section precedes the coda ending. The third movement continues without pause, starting with a figure drawn from both the rhythm of the octaves and the sudden, dramatic silences of the first movement. The roughness and strong propulsive energy provide a sharp contrast to the contemplative mood that Beethoven has established. The middle section, resembling at once a solemn chorale and a grim march, is probably the source of the Serioso in the movement and quartet titles. The lower instruments move along in grave block chords as the first violin weaves a decorative filigree around the measured tread. Beethoven then returns to the opening and finally provides brief glimpses of both parts before concluding the movement. The finale is related to the third movement by a slow introduction based on that movement s opening rhythmic figure. To continue the chain of interconnections, the introduction s repeated last pair of notes is transformed into the head of the first subject of the ensuing Allegretto agitato. The first part of the theme is restless and anxious; the second part, weak and listless. In contrast, the following subject is blustery and violent, an evocation of a thunderstorm with flashing bolts of lightning. Unremitting restlessness and nervous anxiety pervade the movement until nearly the very end. Then, in an abrupt change of mood, Beethoven speeds up the tempo, changes mode from minor to major, and ends with a gay conclusion that attests to the indomitability of the human spirit, no matter how sorely tried by bad fortune.

5 Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130, Liebquartett Ludwig van Beethoven ( ) The B-flat is the third and last of the quartets Beethoven composed for Prince Galitzin, but it was published second, between Op. 127 and Op In some ways, Op. 130 is the most appealing of the late quartets. It follows the classical order of movements, fast, scherzo, slow and finale, except that Beethoven adds an extra scherzo and slow movement just before the finale. The treatment also makes obeisance to classical concepts, even though the melodies, harmonies, rhythms and internal formal structures are handled quite freely. Beethoven began the composition in March 1825 and was finished eight months later. The subtitle comes from the conversation books Beethoven used for daily communication in face of his total deafness, in which he affectionately referred to Op. 130 as Liebquartett ( Dear Quartet ). For some unknown reason Beethoven did not attend the premiere, given in Vienna by the Schuppanzigh Quartet on March 21, 1826, but waited in a nearby tavern. When Karl Holz, second violinist and Beethoven s close companion, rushed over to tell him of the excellent reception, including the audience s insistence on repeats of movements two and four, Beethoven reportedly replied: Yes, these delicacies! Why not the Fugue [the original finale, which he later replaced]? Then, after a moment s thought, Beethoven contemptuously exclaimed, Cattle! Asses! Despite the positive reaction, the final movement, an exceedingly long and elaborate fugue, confounded most listeners and invited much criticism from players and audiences alike. Beethoven s publisher, Matthias Artaria, and many others felt it should be replaced with a finale more in keeping with the rest of the quartet. Well aware of Beethoven s strong and principled nature, Artaria designed a roundabout way to get him to write a new last movement. Claiming that the public was demanding the fugue as a separate piece, Artaria first offered to pay Beethoven for a transcription for piano for four hands, and then convinced him to compose a substitute last movement for an additional fee. Although the extra money probably played some part in Beethoven s acquiescence, he most likely would have refused unless he agreed that the fugue was indeed too massive and powerful for the rest of the quartet. The published version of Op. 130, therefore, includes Beethoven s new Finale, while the original, the Grosse Fuge ( Great Fugue ), appears separately as Op The serene opening Adagio is not a prelude to what follows, but is an integral part of the thematic material; it reappears several times and binds the movements together. The high-spirited Allegro simultaneously flings out two striking phrases a running sixteenth-note pattern in the first violin, and repeated notes followed by a jump up to a held note in the second. The third motif in the first group, a figure made up of cascading three-note turns introduced in the second Allegro by the first violin, is an outgrowth of the cello melody from the opening Adagio. At one point in this Allegro, the music quiets for two measures of cello alone that lead to the subsidiary theme, which proves to be a transformation of notes four through seven of the introduction. The short, relaxed development includes three brief fragments of the Adagio. The Adagio does not appear again in the recapitulation, but is heard between statements of the opening theme in the coda. In his novel, Point Counter Point, Aldous Huxley describes the slow and fast parts of this movement as majesty alternating with a joke. The very short, engaging second movement presents the outgoing, jocular side of Beethoven s nature and offers a startling change from the complex first movement. With humor and charm, the simple opening sections merely repeats one melodic cell in symmetrical four-measure phrases. The contrasting middle part is similarly built on a single measure that is heard again and again until, suddenly, the four

6 players join in an ominous ascending scale that ends with the first violin slithering down a chromatic scale. Twice more the violin goes sliding down in a devilish bit of fun, before leading a shortened reprise of the opening section. The third movement projects a contrary air of mingled gaiety and melancholy. After two bars of introduction the viola states the somber principal theme in its darkest, lowest register, against which the other instruments contribute fresh, charming, countermelodies and accompaniment figures at the same time. The first contrasting melody is unabashedly sprightly and joyful; it is followed by a shortened, re-voiced statement of the opening theme. For the second interlude, the first violin plays a signing, dropping melody; the second violin s jaunty comments, however, prevent it from getting too sentimental or maudlin. The rest of the movement, essentially a freely varied repeat of what has come before, ends effectively with a loud, exclamatory chord. Functioning as a second scherzo, the Alla danza tedesca (like a dance in the German style) is innocent and whimsical in mood. It is organized in ternary form. The first part captures the swaying rhythmic robustness of the Ländler, a threebeat German peasant dance. The middle section is also in a rustic dance style, with three repeated staccato notes serving as its most prominent melodic feature. The expanded and elaborated return of the opening includes a particularly intriguing passage near the end in which the melody is fragmented, measure for measure. The poetic and predominantly soft Cavatina (Italian for short aria ) exemplifies Beethoven s interior music, spiritual and emotionally intense utterances of the utmost eloquence. His friend, violinist Karl Holz, wrote that Beethoven composed the Cavatina of the quartet in B flat amid sorrow and tears; never did his music breathe so heartfelt and inspiration, and even the memory of this movement brought tears to his eyes. The passionately sad movement is essentially one continuous outpouring of melody loosely organized into a three-part form. The climax comes just before the return of the opening melodic gesture, in a brief seven-bar passage marked beklemmt ( oppressed ), when the first violin whispers its disconnected cries of pain and anguish over pulsing repeated notes in the other instruments. The Finale, which Beethoven substituted for the original monumental fugue, was written at his brother s house in Gneixendorff, in November 1826, between bouts of serious abdominal illness that were to lead to his death four months later. Delightful and cheery on the surface, the new finale reflects several connections with earlier movements: the opening rhythm derives from the Presto; the subsequent active subject comes from the Allegro theme of the first movement; and the closing rhythm recalls the quartet introduction. The Schuppanzigh Quartet introduced the new Finale in December 1826 and gave the premier of the entire reconstituted quartet on April 22, 1827, nearly one month after the composer s death. Notes from Guide to Chamber Music, by Melvin Berger 1985 (used with permission).