GREAT STRING QUARTETS. Session Six, April 26, 2017

Transcription

1 GREAT STRING QUARTETS Session Six, April 26, 2017 Let begin today s class with your comments and questions about the Ravel, Villa Lobos, and Schönberg string quartets we listened to during the past week. EASY LISTENING VERMEER QUARTET, This week we highlight the Vermeer String Quartet, which was founded by four students who were attending the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. The Vermeer was long considered one of the very finest quartets in the world, and their many recordings are still among the finest available. For many years they were artists in residence at Northern Illinois University, where they coached and developed several leading quartets including the Shanghai and Pacifica quartets. SESSION SIX: SHOSTAKOVICH, BRITTEN, BARTOK Today s session will focus on string quartets by three of leading composers of the mid-20 th century, the Englishman Benjamin Britten, the Russian Dmitri Shostakovich, and the Hungarian Bela Bartok. GENERATIONS These three were members of the eighth generation of string quartet composers. The quartets were composed immediately before and immediately after World War II, in 1939, 1945 and THE AGE OF ANXIETY Today s string quartets were written during the mid-20 th century, commonly known as The Age of Anxiety, after a 1947 poem by W.H. Auden. Psychologists use the word anxiety to identify a personality disorder, but I am not using it that way now. Rather I am using it to identify the mid-20 th century period in which the political, social, and economic experiences of two world wars, a tragic interwar period, and the advent of atomic weapons resulted in widespread feelings of unease, foreboding and despair. These feelings did not arise from a personality disorder but were a realistic, even healthy response to world and personal events. In other words, the mid-20 th century world was anxious because it had a lot to be anxious about. In Auden s poem, four characters of differing temperament and background meet in a bar in New York City to discuss how the world is affecting their lives. They reveal these common feelings and experiences:

2 loneliness not being valued as persons not being able to love or be loved a pressure to conform to values and actions they strongly dislike. AUDEN S SUMMARY In his poem Auden summarizes their dilemma with these stark but beautiful words: We move on As the wheel turns one revolution, Registers all things, the rise and fall In pay and prices This stupid world where Gadgets are gods and we go on talking, Many about much, but remain alone, Alive but alone, belonging where? Unattached as tumbleweed. BENJAMIN BRITTEN PIC Benjamin Britten was England s greatest composer of the 20 th century, a shy, mild-mannered genius who wrote mostly for the human voice, including nine operas, three of which have entered the repertoire of the world s leading opera houses. In the years just before and after World War II he wrote three outstanding string quartets. STRING QUARTET IN C MAJOR, 1945 Britten s second string quartet is a three-movement work that expresses the uncertainty and confusion of the Age of Anxiety through intense dissonance and brooding intensity. It is above all bleak. The dramatic, passionate character of this piece reminds many listeners of the string quartets of Shostakovich, a composer Britten much admired. Immediately after the end of the war Britten accompanied the violinist Yehudi Menuhin on an extended concert tour in Germany, where they played many times for concentration camp survivors. Britten, a lifelong pacifist and conscientious objector during the war, was shaken by these experiences. He wrote the second string quartet after returning home to England.

3 OVERALL PLAN In this string quartet the traditional four-movement plan has morphed into three movements very unequal in length. The third movement lasts longer than the other two movements combined. I. Allegro calmo senza rigore Moderately fast 8:38 II. Vivace Very Fast 3:52 III. Chacony: Sostenuto Sustained Overall Duration 14:02 28:32 MUSICIANS The four young musicians of this string quartet met when they were members of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. They started playing together specifically to learn the string quartets of Benjamin Britten. PLAY 1 ST MOVEMENT EXPRESSING ANXIETY How did artists express this pervasive anxiety? Britten s way was to express it directly: to write music full of darkness, conflict, uncertainty, fear, hope, disillusionment, and foreboding. Another, very different response to the Age of Anxiety was to express it indirectly, through irony. Irony was not a 20 th century invention, of course, as every reader of Shakespeare knows. But in the Age of Anxiety irony became the most common way to express the horrors of the age, which seemed so extreme that they could not be expressed directly. ABOUT IRONY At the heart of irony is the act of dissembling, of deliberately concealing the truth or one s real feelings or motives. How is this done? By using words, images, or sounds to express something other than their usual meaning often to express the opposite of their usual meaning. By contradicting what is known to be true By deliberately misrepresenting things as they are By denying something by stating its opposite.

4 Irony may be used to describe an impossible situation. In Joseph Heller s 1953 novel, Catch-22, Yossarian, an Air Force pilot, desperately tries to get out of the war but is trapped by military regulation No. 22: If one is crazy, one does not have to fly missions; and one must be crazy to fly. But one has to apply to be excused, and applying demonstrates that one is not crazy. As a result, one must continue flying, either not applying to be excused or applying and being refused. Irony may be used humorously, as in this line from the film, Dr. Strangelove: Come come, gentlemen you can t fight in here. This is the war room. Irony may be used to show disapproval. When Archie Bunker promises to paint the living room for his wife Edith, she responds excitedly with That ll be the day! by which she really means, That day will never come! Sarcastic speech is used to cut or wound another, by mocking or ridiculing another: "Well, then, thanks for all your help!" to a person who has refused to help you. Sardonic speech is used to mock or to show disapproval, as in referring to World War I as The Great War. Irony may also be used to convince others by using words that are seemingly the opposite of what the speaker wants to achieve. In his funeral oration for Julius Caesar, Marc Antony attempts to turn the Roman people against Brutus and Caesar s other assassins by repeatedly saying, Brutus is an honorable man In January of this year, incoming Attorney General Jeff session announced that he would conduct a full review of the Affordable Care Act; these words signaled to his supporters that he was ready to repeal the act as soon as possible. And irony can be used to show disapproval indirectly, when to show it directly would be dangerous: Yes, Massa, says the Negro slave woman in pre-civil war America. Outwardly it is a sign of acceptance of her white master, who holds the power of life or death over her. Inwardly, her own mind, these same words were often statements of defiance.

5 Under what circumstances would an artist or musician use irony? When communicating directly would be too painful or too dangerous. When no words, images or sounds could be found convey one s actual feelings or experiences. SHOSTAKOVICH PIC Dmitri Shostakovich was the Soviet Union's greatest composer, achieving almost iconic status during his troubled lifetime. Over a period of forty years he wrote 15 string quartets, more any composer since Beethoven a hundred years earlier. Shostakovich was a patriotic Russian, a loyal Communist, a lifelong member of the Communist Party, and a willing member of the Soviet elite. His music was very popular with the public, but it was often criticized by Soviet censors for violating the principles of Soviet Realism, the official doctrine of the state and the Communist Party. For these reasons alone Shostakovich had a great deal to be anxious about. SOVIET REALISM Developed by Lenin himself, the doctrine of Soviet Realism viewed the arts as propaganda; their major purposes were to celebrate the greatness of the Soviet State and the Russian people. In practice this meant that music by Soviet composers should: celebrate the greatness and the accomplishments of the proletariat (common people), past and present, including military victories and overcoming adversity in all its forms dramatize the people s heroic struggles against the oppression of the upper classes, and their eventual victory over them portray Soviet life in positive, optimistic, and hopeful terms be easily understood by ordinary people. Only words on paper, you might say, but under Joseph Stalin the doctrine was ruthlessly enforced. Shostakovich sometimes found these principles impossible to follow, and as a result his music was twice condemned in Pravda, the official Communist Party newspaper. He felt deeply threatened by this and rightly so, for many of those criticized

6 were tried and found guilty, or murdered, or disappeared into the forced work camps of Siberia. CENSORSHIP It was well known by Soviet musicians that government censors focused on attending opera, ballet, and symphonic concerts, which attracted the largest audiences. By contrast, they seldom attended chamber music concerts or other less popular venues. Punishments included public denunciations, loss of teaching or other positions, cancellation of performances and bans on publications. Shostakovich began using string quartets to express his most personal feelings. Many of these are considered to be among his most personal and deeply-felt compositions. STRING QUARTET NO. 3, 1946 At the end of World War II, which the Soviet government called The Great Patriotic war, Communist officials expected all artists to celebrate Russia s great and costly victory over Nazi Germany by producing heroic, optimistic works. Shostakovich s 5 th Symphony of 1937 would have been a perfect piece for this moment, but unpredictably he provided his 9 th Symphony instead - a happy, graceful piece that made no reference at all to the sufferings of the Russian people or to the USSR s great victory. The piece was severely criticized by Soviet censors for its "ideological weakness" and its failure to "reflect the true spirit of the people of the Soviet Union." According to one leading critic: The Ninth Symphony is a kind of respite, a light and amusing interlude between Shostakovich's significant creations, a temporary rejection of great, serious problems for the sake of playful, filigree-trimmed trifles. But is it the right time for a great artist to go on vacation, to take a break from contemporary problems? Shostakovich answered this official censure, not with another patriotic, heroic symphony but with his ironic, witty, tongue-in-cheek String Quartet No. 3. The music itself is full of irony, but in addition Shostakovich gave each movement a title to suggest that the quartet was really a celebration of how the Soviet Union had won The Great Patriotic War. OVERALL PLAN This quartet adheres in part to Haydn s Grand Design but with five movements instead of four: I. Blithe ignorance of the future cataclysm Moderately fast 6:50

7 II. Rumblings of unrest and anticipation Moderate 5:23 III. The forces of war unleashed Fast 4:21 IV. In memory of the dead Slow 6:32 V. The eternal questions: Why? And for what? Moderate Overall Duration 10:06 34:12 BORODIN STRING QUARTET, The Borodin String Quartet has been one of the world s leading quartets since its founding in During the Cold War era, it was one of the few Soviet groups to become famous in the West, through many performances and recordings in the United States and Europe. Renowned for its rich, full sound, the quartet was long identified with Dmitri Shostakovich, who consulted with it when writing most of his 15 string quartets. Highly esteemed in the Soviet Union as well, it played for the funerals of Joseph Stalin and Serge Prokofiev. PLAY 1st MOVEMENT (IRONY) Blithe Ignorance of the Future Cataclysm BREAK BARTOK PIC Shostakovich and Bela Bartok are considered the greatest string quartet composers of the 20 th century. Bartok s six string quartets are the most important and influential quartets written in the first half of the 20 th century. They are programmed more often than those of any other 20 th century composer. In every way, but especially in instrumental technique and emotional content, Bartok s quartets broke new ground; all six are in the repertoire of every major string quartet throughout the world. STRING QUARTET NO. 6, 1939 Bartok s 6 th and last quartet was written in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War. Although this quartet has four contrasting move-ments, it is quite far removed from Haydn s Grand Design. Instead of each movement beginning with a contrasting theme, the first three movements all begin with the same theme, a

8 Mesto or sad and pensive melody, followed by one or more contrasting sections. The final movement consists entirely of the Mesto music an expression of the despair that Bartok felt at the outbreak of war and his own failing health and financial distress. In this way, this string quartet is reminiscent of a Rondo, an 18 th century form that alternates between a main theme and several others: ABACADA. I. Mesto Piu Mosso, Pesante - Vivace Sad and pensive Faster and heavy - Lively II. Mesto - Marcia Sad and pensive march-like III. Mesto Burletta - moderato Sad and pensive like a comic song - moderate IV. Mesto Sad and pensive 8:32 7:54 7:29 8:46 Overall Duration. 31:41 AEOLUS QUARTET, The Aeolus Quartet was formed by four advanced students at the Cleveland Institute of Music to perform classical and cutting-edge contemporary string quartet music. In addition to winning many major competitions, the Aeolus spends much of its time playing in low-income neighborhoods, public schools and retirement communities. It divides its time between Austin TX, where it is affiliated with the University of Texas, and the bay area of California, where it is affiliated with Stanford University. PLAY 1 st MOVEMENT This is the Mesto theme, which begins each of the four movements, played here by the viola. PLAY 2 nd MOVEMENT, 8:32 The 2nd movement begins with a shorter version of the Mesto music, then continues with a March an ironic piece based on a Hungarian folk dance. PLAY 3 rd MOVEMENT, 16:26 The 3 rd movement begins with another short version of the Mesto music, and then continues with a Burletta, an ironic piece based on a Hungarian folk dance.

9 PLAY END OF 4 th MOVEMENT 27:13 The quartet ends much as it began, with the viola playing alone the same music with which the quartet began.