Program Notes - written by Yvonne Georgiadou

First Printed for 7th International Pharos Trust Chamber Music Festival 2007

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

String Sextet No.1 in B flat major Op.18 (1860)

Allegro ma non troppo
Andante ma moderato
Scherzo – allegro molto
Rondo – poco allegretto e grazioso

In 1854, Brahms produced his first major, full-length chamber work, the Piano Trio in B major Op.8. The Piano Trio was also his last chamber work before a period of persistent lack of productivity, as the composer did not produce another complete chamber work for six years. A month after the completion of the Piano Trio, young Brahms was devastated to live through the suicide attempt and subsequent institutionalisation of his mentor, Robert Schumann. On the one hand, Brahms was ardently devoted to Schumann’s wife, Clara, with whom he maintained a lifelong, intimate relationship. On the other hand, Brahms was an ethical man with numerous inhibitions regarding women, probably due to his early experiences as a pianist in Hamburg’s taprooms. After Schumann’s death in 1856, Brahms was more willing than ever to become Clara’s pillar, despite the fact that their passion had already grown fainter.

In 1857, Brahms became the Music Director at the principality of Detmold, teaching the piano to Princess Frederike and conducting a female choir. The peaceable stay at the principality was Brahms’ remedy for the stormy events he had suffered in the previous years, which the composer once described as “Werther years”. The composer was never dry of ideas. During the six years of inactivity, he produced several sketches for a chamber work, most possibly a string quartet, only to abandon plan after plan. Even so, his comeback as a composer of chamber music was more than impressive. Between 1860 and 1865, Brahms produced seven chamber works – the Op.25 and Op.26 Piano Quartets, Piano Quintet Op.34, Cello Sonata Op.38, Horn Trio Op.40 and his two celebrated, Sextets Op.18 and Op.36. There is no adequate information as to when Brahms began composing these works, although it has been suggested that he drafted ideas long before his Detmold period.

Following the successful premieres of his two orchestral serenades and the First Piano Concerto, Brahms completed the Sextet No.1 in B flat major Op.18 in the summer of 1860. The work opens with a formal introduction by just three of the six instruments. At first, an elegant melody is presented by the first cello. The theme is supported by the second cello, which acts like a base line, and the first viola, which accompanies in between. Soon, the two violins are incorporated, with the first violin leading the melody, and the second viola joining in last. All six instruments undergo a number of variations, settling on a Viennese-waltz subject, while the pace is pulled back, giving the movement the latitude to reach a striking conclusion. The Andante movement in D minor presents an assortment of variations. The first three variations, combining Baroque “pasticcio” qualities along with Romantic monumental elements, climax on figurations of 16ths and 32nds. The contrasting fourth variation, in major, abandons all previous Baroque references in favour of poise and tranquillity, while the fifth variation shows signs of a bagpipe imitation by the violas. The theme reappears in an impeccable blend of minor and major tonalities, incorporating once again elements of past and present. The energetic Scherzo is one of Brahms’ most dynamic ideas, bearing a resemblance to the temperament of Beethoven’s scherzos. Technically however, it abides more by the German Romanticism of Weber or Schumann, since the opening motive is developed in the concise central section, generating a considerably less contrasting effect. Akin to the first movement, the finale of the Sextet, a warm and gracious Rondo – poco allegretto e grazioso, presents a gradual introduction of the instruments. At first, the main theme is executed by the first cello, accompanied by the second cello and the second viola. Then, the two violins and first violas are presented, leading to a contrasting discourse between the two groups of instruments and a well-balanced conclusion.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) -

String Sextet No.2 Op.36 in G major (1865)

Allegro non troppo
Scherzo: Allegro non troppo
Poco Adagio
Poco Allegro

While the String Sextet No.1 in B flat major Op.18 can be viewed as a tribute to Clara Schumann, the Sextet No.2 in G major Op.36 is evidently a tribute to Agathe von Siebold, with whom Brahms used to have a strong romantic attachment. Agathe genuinely believed that she was Brahms’ fiancée and she expected the composer to ask her for marriage. Even so, he ran away when he became conscious of his beloved’s aspirations: “Do not ask me to marry you, but I can always fold you in my arms and tell you that I love you”. Agathe did not want to see him again and she preferred to end their relationship.

In the summer of 1864, Brahms visited Göttingen, where Agathe had once lived. Overwhelmed with memories, the composer realised that composing a work dedicated to Agathe would enable him to recover from feelings and recollections of affection and guilt. Brahms began working on a string sextet during his stay near the spa Baden-Baden in autumn 1864. The idyllic setting of the area, together with Brahms’ engrossed frame of mind, resulted in his Op.36 which, along with his Piano Quintet in F minor Op.34, is considered one of the most accomplished chamber works of the period. Customarily, the Sextet carries the subtitle “Agathe”, chiefly because the work acted as a kind of emancipation for Brahms, enabling him to recover from the idea of Agathe. Furthermore, the composer had included the notes A-G-A-D-H-E (H=B in German notation) in the thematic material. Back in 1854, Brahms had also implemented motives referring to Clara Schumann in the finale of his First Piano Trio Op.8, which he later revised.

The first three movements of the String Sextet No.2 Op.36 in G major were composed in 1864, while Brahms was staying in Baden-Baden. The final movement was composed in 1865. Quite reflective and mystifying, the first movement, Allegro non troppo, introduces the main Agathe theme. The theme is not only suggested by the thematic material, but also by the rhythmic enhancements that stress the name of Agathe, therefore launching the opening with a rather rhythmic ambiguity. The blurred impression is further accentuated by the trills in the first viola and the major to minor swings, hence releasing a rather mesmerizing impression of breadth. The following Scherzo movement, in G minor, is much more aloof and detached. Contrastingly, the energetic dance-like trio in G major and in triple time conveys an air of cheerfulness and confidence. The third movement, Poco Adagio, incorporates a set of five variations and a coda. There are understated references to the main theme of the Sextet and the entire movement is dominated by a sense of clarity that is proportionately developed by a nearly fugal counterpoint, more noticeable in the third and fourth variations. Climax and catharsis are ascertained in the fifth variation - the only variation in major. The finale is established by an A minor triad and it soon introduces a lively main subject that incorporates both playful/spirited and rather composed episodes, as well as major and minor ornamentations, before its liberating recapitulation.

Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976)

Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major Op. 65 (1961)

Dialogo: Allegro
Scherzo pizzicato: Allegretto
Elegia: Lento
Marcia: Energico
Moto perpetuo: Presto

Regarded as one of the most prolific composers of the twentieth century, Benjamin Britten lived and worked during a period where music was undergoing radical transformations. He was celebrated amongst audiences despite the fact that that he was often attacked by critics. He was a boy from the provinces, whose music was far from avant-garde and his contact with left-wind intellectuals such as Auden made him appear as rather suspicious. Throughout his career, Britten displayed a rather conservative musical language, though he exhibited an intensified interest on uncovering new possibilities of sound and diverse music atmospheres and rhythms. Britten’s compositional technique was apparent early on and it was further developed by his teacher, Frank Bridge, and later on by John Ireland at the Royal College of Music. Early in his career, Britten was influenced by Stravinskian Neoclassicism, though he never took part in the anti-Romantic reaction; Stravinsky himself spoke of Britten in a rather bitter way, describing his 1962 War Requiem as “a Honegger-type cinemascope epic in idiom derived in part from Boulanger-period Stravinsky”. Nevertheless, Britten’s subtle sense of irony was musically expressed though references to English composers of the past, such as Purcell, and his diatonism was by no means used for cynical suggestions.

In the mid-twentieth century, contemporary music was divided into groupings, with a rivalry between the avant-garde composers, such as Boulez and Stockhausen, the experimentalists, such as Cage and Wolff and the traditionalists, such as Shostakovich and Britten. It was though the British premiere of Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto in E flat major Op. 107 in September 1960 that Britten would first encounter Mstislav Rostropovich. The performance would also denote the beginning of a long-term friendship between Britten and Shostakovich. “I think they first knew each other without meeting each other” Rostropovich said of the two composers. During the same evening, Shostakovich introduced Britten to Rostropovich who “attacked the composer and pleaded more sincerely and passionately with him to write something for the cello”.

After fifteen years of dedicating himself to vocal composition and excited by Rostropovich’s exceptional artistry, Britten returned to instrumental music with the Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major Op. 65. The work was premiered in July 1961 at Aldeburgh, with Britten on the piano and it instantly became a worldwide sensation. This was to be followed by four additional cello works inspired by Rostropovich, the Symphony for Cello and Orchestra Op. 68 and his three celebrated Cello Suites. The progressive Sonata is a complex work that presents both the performers with numerous opportunities for virtuosic display. The two instruments are treated as if they are two separate, independent human voices, persistently conversing and reciting. The work comprises five character section-movements, each carrying a distinctively descriptive title. A work of an unusually ingenious spirit, the Sonata demonstrates such a variety of contrasting moods and rhythms and a uniformity of musical models and resourceful structures to fit each movement, that it has been described as “Suite-like”.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

The Little Shepherd L.113/5(1906-1908)
Les Collines d’ Anacapri L.117/5(1909)
La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune L.123/7 (1910-1912)
L’ isle joyeuse L.106(1904)

By the beginning of the 20th century, the pianoforte had arrived at the peak of its maturity. Debussy took advantage of the instrument’s possibilities by composing music that fully exploited both the spectrum of the keyboard and its intensity of dynamics. Debussy also drew on the function of the pedal in a rather unorthodox manner, such as sustaining certain chords while others are being executed, thus blending their colours into one sound. The composer arranged chords in such a manner, as to weaken rather than establish the impression of a particular key. Akin to the art of Impressionist artists, Debussy’s music does not offer literal representations of the subjects; instead, it attempts to suggest aural images of the subjects with subtle allusions to their very essence. Though the composer never accepted the term “Impressionist”, his music conveys what he once confessed to Varèse, the fact that he cherished both the visual arts and music alike.

Even so, “impression” was merely the starting point of Debussy’s music and the true stimulus was established in the consequential mental function of “memory”. Hence, he stated that he wanted to sing his interior landscape with the simple artlessness of a child. Debussy composed the six pieces of the Children’s Corner Suite between 1906 and 1908, and dedicated them to his young daughter, Chouchou. Entailing a testament on how children perceive the world the work is largely correlated to the trend established by Schumann in his Kinderszenen. Likewise, Debussy’s Suite embodies the composer’s own sentiments regarding his lost innocence and the miraculous phenomenon of childhood. The Little Shepherd is the fifth piece in the set, unfolding the image of the infinite countryside and the evocative stillness of a young shepherd’s life. Short in its actual length, the piece gives the impression of spreading onto a more extended dimension. A withdrawn introduction is followed by the rather energetic, yet poignant, main theme, emulating the sound of the shepherd playing his flute. The reappearance of the introduction is more effusively revealed, giving its place to a double repetition of the Shepherd’s main theme and a rather pensive conclusion.

In 1909, Debussy spent much of his time in London, where he was attending the rehearsals of his opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, at Covent Garden. During this period, he was also working on the completion of his first Book of Preludes for Piano, which was followed by the second Book, three years later. The playful Les Collines d’ Anacapri is the fifth prelude of Book I and its title is borrowed from an Italian folk song. Indeed, the piece stands as a short musical depiction of Italy, intermingling the echoes of bells, the engrossed impression of the serene sea, the spirited rhythm of a tarantella and a Neapolitan serenade.

The more exotically mystifying La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune, is the seventh prelude of Book II. Debussy composed the piece after he found inspiration in the events related to the coronation of King George V as Emperor of India. Nevertheless, the composer did not seem to face up to the occasion with a musically celebratory manner. Instead, he opted to render a more vague and exotic account of the country of India, with a piece that, for the most part, is both atmospheric and gloomy.

The single movement L’ isle joyeuse was composed in 1904, while Debussy was still working on the symphonic sketches, La mer. Not surprisingly, L’ isle joyeuse contains much of the orchestral quality of the sketches, as well as a distinct ambience and energy in its contrasting subjects. Inspired by Watteau’s Embarkation for Cythera, the work reflects much of Debussy’s affinity for freedom in feeling and technique, in an attempt to emulate the elusive and allusive internal functions of the intellectual. Structured in a modified sonata form, the seductive L’ isle joyeuse is densely layered, consisting of whole-tone and parallel arrangements and gradually moving towards an impressive finale.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, K. 478 (1785)
Allegro
Andante
Rondo: Allegro moderato

Added into the composer’s thematic catalogue in 1785, the Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, K. 478 was produced during Mozart’s Viennese decade (1781-1791), throughout which he enjoyed some of his greatest accomplishments. Year 1785 was also extremely busy for the composer, since he was approaching the completion of his first fully-fledged Italian-language opera, the controversial Le Nozze di Figaro. The K. 478 Quartet was commissioned, along with two further piano quartets, by the Viennese publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister. Nevertheless, the work did not seem to have a laudable commercial success with potential clients, partly because it was extremely hard to perform and partly due to its uncommonly dismal character. Being more non-conformist than ever, Mozart did not wish to comply with the already established conventional chamber music idiom. Instead, he opted to stir audiences by producing works of a noncompliant quality, which exposed his own personal frame of mind. As a result, Hoffmeister asked Mozart to cancel the remaining two piano quartets, though the composer had already begun working on K. 493.

Mozart was exceptionally skilled in establishing a definite temper through specific tonalities and the K. 478 is set on his “tragic” key, the G minor. As a dramatist, Mozart associated the key of G minor with moments of seriousness, as in the case of his Symphony No. 40, and with episodes of increased tension and menace, as in the case of Susanna’s anxiety in Act III of Figaro. In reality, the somewhat dark and dramatic nature of the K. 478 Quartet was atypical for the time. Even though Mozart had presented a challenging writing for the piano-part, the keyboard was treated as a mere component of a quartet, rather than the leader. All instruments were assigned an equal partaking in music and shared interchanging passages of evenly balanced importance. The opening Allegro is commandingly introduced by a subject, which is further developed and mingled with other more lyrical major-key passages, thus generating an astounding blend of ferocity and tenderness. The edgy disposition is endured until the second movement, Andante, where it settles on a pensive cantabile melody, landing on the more tranquil, yet sombre, final Rondo.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Piano Quartet No.2 in E flat major, K. 493 (1786, published in 1787)
Allegro
Larghetto
Allegretto

After having to deal with the poor sales of Piano Quartet No.1 in G minor, Mozart’s publisher, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, decided to cancel the two remaining piano quartets he had originally commissioned. Considering how Mozart treated the first piano quartet, it was inevitable that a second piano quartet would likewise generate disappointing earnings. For the most part, the Viennese audience seemed unprepared to accept the uncommon genre of the piano quartet. Furthermore, by producing a piano quartet of extreme complexity and dexterity that was almost impossible for amateur pianists to execute, Mozart had apparently upgraded the role of the piano from being a mere accompanist to becoming a leader. Even so, Mozart had already begun the composition of K. 493, which he completed shortly after the premiere of Le Nozze di Figaro in May 1786.

Preserving the enthusiasm and the veiled rebellious wit of Figaro, K. 493 is as arresting as K. 478, though substantially jollier. The work was eventually published in 1787 by Artaria as Op.13 and soon after, became one of Mozart’s first chamber works to be published in England.

The Quartet No.2 in E flat major is excitedly introduced by an animated Allegro in a sonata form, showcasing a concerto-like virtuosity in the piano writing. The initial exhilaration soon evaporates into a central mellow motif, which is gradually developed and frequently revisited throughout the movement. The leisurely A flat Larghetto movement is remarkably affectionate, displaying an absolute poise of captivating discourse between the piano and the strings. The final movement, Allegretto, is as exuberant and charming as the opening movement, with an exquisite first theme that progressively leads to a high-spirited finale.