† A NOTE ABOUT THE MUSIC ¢
Welcome to the PRSQ’s 2011-2012 season. We’ll be taking you on a musical tour of Europe, with stops in Bohemia, France, and Russia – all anchored by two Viennese titans, Beethoven and Schubert.
First up is a stop in Russia, with our ‘Romantic Russians’ program. Borodin, chemist by day and composer by night, was a member of ‘The Five’, a group of iconoclasts who sought to advance Russian nationalism through music. They attracted both attention and derision – Tchaikovsky, especially, was dismissive of the conceit and dilettantism he perceived in that circle (to be fair, The Five were amateurs in most senses of the word, but among them was some true talent.) Borodin’s lyrical String Quartet No. 2, written in 1881, breaks no new ground in the genre, but its beautiful melodies have made it a favorite of audiences and players alike. Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1, the product of a much more adept composer, displays an adroitness with the genre that is exemplary. Melodic beauty is united with perfection of form, especially in the slow movement, the famous Andante cantabile.
Next up is France. Our ‘French Impressions’ program presents three quartets all linked by relationships and history. Ravel’s Quartet in F major formed part of a failed submission for the Prix de Rome (Ravel was later ruled as ‘ineligible’; no doubt the jury was tiring of his continuing futility in pursuing the award – he did, after all, apply five times.) Ravel’s teacher, Fauré, to whom the quartet was dedicated, was also unimpressed. Debussy, however, loved the work. He wrote Ravel, “In the name of the gods of music and in my own, do not touch a single note you have written in your Quartet.” Debussy’s only string quartet (and first chamber work) had been composed ten years earlier, just before the astonishing Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Fauré himself occupies an interesting niche in the transition of French music from the late-Romantic to Impressionism: his earlier works shocked his more conservative contemporaries, and he remained the most advanced French composer until the appearance of Debussy. Today, it may be hard to hear his music as revolutionary; Fauré’s music is the art of lyricism, not drama, with a sense of restraint that creates an inherent intimacy of expression. His String Quartet Op. 121 was his last work.
We next stop in Vienna for a ‘Schubertiade’. Franz Schubert was just about completely ignored during his lifetime by the musical establishment; it remained to his friends to present his works in evenings devoted exclusively to the composer. As friends of Schubert ourselves, albeit nearly 200 years later, we are presenting two of his masterpieces: the ‘Rosamunde’ Quartet and the sublime Cello Quintet. This latter work is surely in the running for ‘Greatest Chamber Work of All Time’, though it’s given a run for its money by the Rosamunde Quartet. It will truly be an afternoon of friendship, as we are delighted to be joined by Eric Wilson, professor of cello at UBC.
‘The Bohemians’ are next, with works by Dvorák, Suk, and Smetana. Prodigiously talented, Smetana was composing by the age of eight, with high aspirations: “I wanted to become a Mozart in composition and a Liszt in technique,” he once said. Smetana set about writing music that would celebrate Czech nationalism (profoundly influencing Dvorák in the process). His masterpiece in chamber music is the autobiographical string quartet ‘From my Life.’ Dvorák’s own chamber masterpiece, the ‘American’ Quartet, was written during a sojourn in the USA, hence the title. It is permeated, however, with a strong scent of homesickness for his native Bohemia. Suk, who happened to be Dvorák’s son in law, spent most of his working life as the second violinist of the Bohemian String Quartet. His String Quartet Op. 11 was written in 1896, only three years after Dvorák’s ‘American’.
We end our season with Beethoven. For quartet players, it pretty much all begins and ends with Beethoven. We will be playing a masterpiece from his middle years, the first of the Razumovsky quartets, as well as the first quartet of his late works, the great Op. 127. Once declared ‘absurd’ and ‘unplayable’ by his contemporaries, these quartets now prove Beethoven’s singular genius. - Brian Mix
Saturday 8 September 2012
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Program note sample - Pacific Rim String Quartet 2010-2011 Season
A Note About the Music
For our new Sunday Afternoon series at Canadian Memorial, we’ve decided to go back to the beginning – or rather, the end of the beginning.
Joseph Haydn was a musical innovator par excellence. He just about single-handedly developed the modern forms of nearly all the genres associated with ‘Classical’ music, including, of course, the string quartet. So we’ve built our Canadian Memorial series around three of his greatest quartets. It just so happens the ones we’ve picked are from the end of his fruitful life, including his last completed quartets, the two Lobkowitz quartets of 1799, so named on account of a commission extended by Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz. Old age and ill health was catching up to Haydn, and the commission was never completed. Alongside the Lobkowitz quartets, we’ve chosen Op. 76 No. 3, the Emperor, written only two years earlier, and which incorporates Haydn’s own favorite melody in the slow movement. Despite the fact that these are the works of an aging man, you’d never know it to hear it – vitality and life fairly spring from the page at every moment.
Haydn paved the way for all the masterpieces that soon followed from composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn – all the way up to Shostakovich. So, each concert includes a work by one of these other great masters. We looked for works with passion, life, and complexity. It turns out we also chose works associated with death – Mendelssohn’s memorial quartet to his sister Fanny, Shostakovich’s memorial quartet to his wife Nina... even Schubert’s Death and the Maiden. But of course, works written in memoriam are really about the living. Besides, what could be more appropriate for a series at Canadian Memorial?
When you hear Shostakovich’s quirky, compact, and ultimately intense Quartet No. 7, dedicated to his late wife, you may find yourself wondering what sort of relationship they actually had. On the other hand, if the originality of the music is a reflection of Nina’s character, she must have been an interesting person to know. We’ve paired the Shostakovich with one of Mendelssohn’s most passionate works, his String Quartet Op. 80, written as a cathartic release from his grief over the sudden death of his beloved sister. Little did he know that he himself had but months to live.
The next concert pairs Beethoven with Haydn. Beethoven was in many ways made possible by Haydn, though he would perhaps be the last to admit it. The same patron who commissioned Haydn also supported Beethoven – the latter’s Op. 18 Quartets came from the same genesis as Haydn’s incomplete Op. 77 set. However, we’ve chosen a middle opus from Beethoven, the 3rd quartet of his Op. 59 set, mostly because it’s just such a great piece. Beethoven’s striking originality is shockingly apparent when you realize that his Op. 59/3 was composed less than ten years after Haydn’s Emperor.
The third concert includes a masterpiece from perhaps the most gifted, productive, and neglected master of them all, Franz Schubert. Schubert wrote more music, of a higher quality, than just about anyone else you can name. Unfortunately, most of it was written in the shadow of the much more illustrious Beethoven. The epic Quartet in D minor was composed in 1824, after a bout of ill health made Schubert aware of his own mortality. As did Haydn with the Emperor, Schubert quoted his own song (Der Tod und das Madchen) in the slow movement of the quartet.
With the conclusion of our Canadian Memorial series, we’ll be returning to our other home, Pacific Theatre, to round out our 2010-11 season. This final concert is dedicated entirely to the works of Shostakovich. And each of the works we’ll play has its own dedication. We’re reprising the Quartet No. 7, dedicated to his wife. That work will be followed by the powerful Quartet No. 8, purportedly dedicated to “the victims of fascism and war”, but really a searing indictment of man’s inhumanity to man. And finally, we conclude our concerts with Shostakovich’s unearthly final Quartet No. 15, which is a personal testament to the composer’s own approaching end.
For our new Sunday Afternoon series at Canadian Memorial, we’ve decided to go back to the beginning – or rather, the end of the beginning.
Joseph Haydn was a musical innovator par excellence. He just about single-handedly developed the modern forms of nearly all the genres associated with ‘Classical’ music, including, of course, the string quartet. So we’ve built our Canadian Memorial series around three of his greatest quartets. It just so happens the ones we’ve picked are from the end of his fruitful life, including his last completed quartets, the two Lobkowitz quartets of 1799, so named on account of a commission extended by Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz. Old age and ill health was catching up to Haydn, and the commission was never completed. Alongside the Lobkowitz quartets, we’ve chosen Op. 76 No. 3, the Emperor, written only two years earlier, and which incorporates Haydn’s own favorite melody in the slow movement. Despite the fact that these are the works of an aging man, you’d never know it to hear it – vitality and life fairly spring from the page at every moment.
Haydn paved the way for all the masterpieces that soon followed from composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn – all the way up to Shostakovich. So, each concert includes a work by one of these other great masters. We looked for works with passion, life, and complexity. It turns out we also chose works associated with death – Mendelssohn’s memorial quartet to his sister Fanny, Shostakovich’s memorial quartet to his wife Nina... even Schubert’s Death and the Maiden. But of course, works written in memoriam are really about the living. Besides, what could be more appropriate for a series at Canadian Memorial?
When you hear Shostakovich’s quirky, compact, and ultimately intense Quartet No. 7, dedicated to his late wife, you may find yourself wondering what sort of relationship they actually had. On the other hand, if the originality of the music is a reflection of Nina’s character, she must have been an interesting person to know. We’ve paired the Shostakovich with one of Mendelssohn’s most passionate works, his String Quartet Op. 80, written as a cathartic release from his grief over the sudden death of his beloved sister. Little did he know that he himself had but months to live.
The next concert pairs Beethoven with Haydn. Beethoven was in many ways made possible by Haydn, though he would perhaps be the last to admit it. The same patron who commissioned Haydn also supported Beethoven – the latter’s Op. 18 Quartets came from the same genesis as Haydn’s incomplete Op. 77 set. However, we’ve chosen a middle opus from Beethoven, the 3rd quartet of his Op. 59 set, mostly because it’s just such a great piece. Beethoven’s striking originality is shockingly apparent when you realize that his Op. 59/3 was composed less than ten years after Haydn’s Emperor.
The third concert includes a masterpiece from perhaps the most gifted, productive, and neglected master of them all, Franz Schubert. Schubert wrote more music, of a higher quality, than just about anyone else you can name. Unfortunately, most of it was written in the shadow of the much more illustrious Beethoven. The epic Quartet in D minor was composed in 1824, after a bout of ill health made Schubert aware of his own mortality. As did Haydn with the Emperor, Schubert quoted his own song (Der Tod und das Madchen) in the slow movement of the quartet.
With the conclusion of our Canadian Memorial series, we’ll be returning to our other home, Pacific Theatre, to round out our 2010-11 season. This final concert is dedicated entirely to the works of Shostakovich. And each of the works we’ll play has its own dedication. We’re reprising the Quartet No. 7, dedicated to his wife. That work will be followed by the powerful Quartet No. 8, purportedly dedicated to “the victims of fascism and war”, but really a searing indictment of man’s inhumanity to man. And finally, we conclude our concerts with Shostakovich’s unearthly final Quartet No. 15, which is a personal testament to the composer’s own approaching end.
©2010 by Brian Mix
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