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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240722T193000
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SUMMARY:Miró Quartet with Elinor Freer
DESCRIPTION:Miró Quartet with Elinor Freer \nThis concert is sold out. Please contact Lori Hopkinson at lori@bowdoinfestival.org or 207-373-1400 to be placed on a waiting list. Concert also livestreamed at bowdoinfestival.org/festivalive. \nMiró Quartet\nDaniel Ching\, William Fedkenheuer\, violin • John Largess\, viola • Joshua Gindele\, cello \n  \nWOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART\nPiano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major\, K. 493 \n I. Allegro‬\n‭II. Larghetto‬\n‭III. Allegretto \nElinor Freer\, piano \n  \nALBERTO GINASTERA\nString Quartet No. 1\, Op. 20 \nI. Allegro violente ed agitato‬\n‭II. Vivacissimo‬\n‭III. Calmo e poetico‬\n‭IV. Allegramente rustico \n  \nCLAUDE DEBUSSY\nString Quartet in G Minor\, Op. 10 \nI. Animé e très décidé‬\n‭II. Assez vif et bien rythmé‬\n‭III. Andantino\, doucement expressif‬\n‭IV. Très modéré \n  \n\n  \n‭WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART‬\n‭Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major\, K. 493 (1786)‬ \nHaydn is often regarded as the grandfather of two of chamber‬ music’s most venerated configurations — the string quartet‬ and the piano trio — genres in which Mozart excelled\, too\,‬ following in the elder composer’s footsteps. Yet the piano‬ quartet was a later-blooming form. Unlike the string quartet —‭ which matured relatively early into a rarefied genre destined‬ for professional-caliber musicians\, each capable of sustaining‬ individualistic yet interdependent lines in consort — piano‬ chamber music proceeded to develop primarily in the sphere‬ of aristocratic entertainment. This allowed adept keyboardists‬ to showcase concerto-like virtuosity accompanied by a light‬ string complement\, often two violins and a cello. Sometimes a‬ bass would join in; sometimes a flute or oboe would replace a‬ violin. \n  \nThe two piano quartets written by Mozart in 1785–86 — the ‭first of which will be performed later this week — distinguish themselves from this model\, and that is partly what makes‭ them so noteworthy. On the one hand\, Mozart\, a star pianist\,‭ continued to showcase his skill with effervescent keyboard‭ writing. On the other hand\, rather than reducing the strings to‬ a subsidiary role\, Mozart devised means of distributing the‭ thematic material between the piano and string cohort. He did‭ this not simply by trading melodic and accompanimental roles\,‭ but by simulating the techniques of galant conversation and‭ discourse\, as musicologist Edward Klorman has demonstrated‭ with respect to K. 493. Melodic snippets are introduced by the‭ pianist\, for example\, as an idea may be proffered in speech;‭ this is taken up and developed by the violinist. A note of‭ consternation is intoned by the viola\, leading the other‭ musicians down a melodic and harmonic detour\, ultimately to‭ be resolved by the piano.‭ In other words\, each instrumentalist appears\, at different‭ moments\, to possess the agency to steer the conversation‭ into new directions\, inspiring agreement\, or occasionally‭ dissent\, from fellow interlocutors. While such galant repartee‭ crops up throughout Mozart’s chamber music\, in the case of‭ this chatty piano quartet\, we might even hear echoes of‭ Mozart’s operatic style — after all\, just before composing‬‭ K. 493\, Mozart had completed K. 492:‬‭ The Marriage of Figaro‬‭.‬ \n  \nALBERTO GINASTERA‬\nString Quartet No. 1\, Op. 20 (1948) \nBorn in Buenos Aires to parents of Catalan and Italian descent\,‬ Alberto Ginastera made it his mission to forge an Argentinian‬ voice in concert music through the integration of traditional‬ European forms with local and folkloric elements — a project‭ shared by many South and Central American composers of his‭ era\, including the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos\, a generation his‭ senior. Ginastera did this in two main phases\, which he‭ described in his own terms: first\, his “objective nationalist”‭ style\, featuring direct quotations from Argentine melodies and‭ rhythms within a tonal framework; and then\, starting in‭ around 1947\, his “subjective nationalist” style\, where these‭ same elements were increasingly abstracted and submerged.‭ This transition came on the heels of an extensive‬ ‭fifteen-month tour of the United States over 1945-47\, where‬ he visited leading universities (Harvard\, Yale\, Columbia) and‬ conservatories (Juilliard and Eastman)\, and studied under‬ Copland at Tanglewood.‬ \n  \nGinastera’s First String Quartet reflects the fruits of this‭ maturation\, as the composer recognized in the program note‭ he wrote for the work:‭ \n  \nI wrote my First String Quartet in Buenos Aires\, in 1948.‭ This work was awarded the “Carlo Lopez Buchardo” prize‭ that same year in the first national competition for‭ composers organized by the Wagnerian Society of Buenos‭ Aires. It was selected by the International Society for‭ Contemporary Music for its XXVth Festival program in‬ Frankfurt (1951) and on that occasion was performed by the‬ Koechert Quartet.‬ \nIt consists of the usual four movements — Allegro\,‭ Scherzo\, Adagio and Rondo — wherein rhythms of‭ Argentine folk music can still be perceived through a‭ re-creation of an imaginary folklore. In this Quartet I find‭ that some characteristics of my own artistic personality‭ materialize for the first time: strong and incisive rhythms\,‭ adagios that are anxiety-ridden\, lyrical and contemplative‭ and atmospheres that are mysterious\, nocturnal and‭ surrealistic.‬ \n  \nCLAUDE DEBUSSY‬\n‭String Quartet in G Minor\, Op. 10 (1893)‬ \nDebussy’s only String Quartet dates from an important‬ formative period\, during which the composer\, thirsting for‬ novel artistic means\, became increasingly drawn to the‬ Symbolists. These poets and artists sought a somewhat‬ mystical mode of indirect expression\, making use of‬ techniques of suggestion\, metaphor\, and quasi-synaesthetic‬ sensory manipulation to “paint\,” as Stéphane Mallarmé put it\,‬ “not the thing\, but the effect it produces.” During the early‬ 1890s Debussy began attending the Tuesday meetings of‬ Mallarmé’s collective\, “les mardistes.” He composed song‬‭ cycles to the poetry of Paul Verlaine (‬‭Fêtes Galantes‬‭ and‬ Mélodies‬‭)\, and even tried his hand writing and setting‬‭ his own‬‭ Symbolist verses (‬‭Proses lyriques‬‭). A breakthrough‬‭ composition\,‬‭ Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune‬‭\, an‬‭ instrumental adaptation of Mallarmé’s poem\, dates from this‬ period\, and it was in 1893 that Debussy discovered the plays of‬‭ Belgian symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck and undertook his‬‭ opera with Maeterlinck’s‬‭ Pelléas et Mélisande‬‭ serving‬‭ as‬ libretto.‬ \n  \nIn the midst of this experimentation\, Debussy’s decision to‬ write a “String Quartet” might appear comparatively‬ old-fashioned\, and Debussy’s publisher\, Jacques Durand\,‬ recalled his own surprise upon hearing of the composition.‬ The resulting work\, however\, is anything but traditional. The‬ entire quartet draws upon a single motif — the syncopated‬ rhythm and ornamental flourish with which the work opens — which reappears in the subsequent movements\, by turns‬ playfully shrouded in pizzicato textures\, and throbbingly‬ plaintive with the use of the mutes.‬ \n  \nThe quartet was premiered by an ensemble led by the famed‬ violinist Eugène Ysaÿe\, whom Debussy had met in 1893.‭ Despite a formidable performance by all accounts\, the‭ difficulty and complexity of the piece produced a tepid‭ reception. As Durand recounted: “As soon as the work was‭ printed\, Ysaÿe came to give it a first performance in Paris. The‬ success was immense\, the interpretation was first rate. We\,‬ my father and I\, set about recommending the Quartet to all‭ the violinists capable of playing it; we graciously offered it to‭ several ensembles. Our repeated efforts were in vain. People‭ did not want to bother with this music which was reputed to‭ be unplayable.” According to Durand\, ensembles only warmed‬‭ to the work over time\, as tastes became increasingly attracted‬‭ to musical “novelty.” “The most frustrating part\,” he continues\,‬ “is that certain personalities\, to whom we had previously‬ offered the Quartet\, came back later to ask us for it\, claiming‬‭ they’d never known about it before!” \n  \nProgram Notes by Peter Asimov‬
URL:https://www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/miro-quartet-2024/
LOCATION:Studzinski Recital Hall\, 12 Campus Road S\, Brunswick\, ME\, 04011
CATEGORIES:Concert,Ticketed Events,Mondays,Livestream
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