It's a new year with
lots of beautiful music to play and lots of mysteries to solve. Four
more guest conductor candidates (condidates? candiductors?) will
bring challenging and diverse repertoire with them to be savored by
performers and concert-goers alike. Then in May, the mechanisms of
decision will crank to life, and we'll just have to wait and see…
2016 begins with a spate of chamber music. (Actually, it began with
the Vols destroying Northwestern, but there's already plenty of press
about that elsewhere). ANYWAY, this weekend's Chamber Classics
concert features the Principal String Quartet performing three gems
of the quartet literature, and Gabe Lefkowitz' Concertmaster Series
will include Dvorak's fabulous Piano Quartet. Winter FINALLY seems to
have arrived, so come on down to one of our warm downtown venues to
hear these terrific works.
This
Sunday at 2:30, the Principal String Quartet will play Schubert's
Quartettsatz, Prokofiev's 2nd Quartet, and Brahms' 3rd Quartet in B-flat.
“Quartettsatz”
(the last syllable is pronounced “zots”) simply means “quartet
movement;” in the chamber music realm, this work is comparable to
his
“Unfinished Symphony.”
It
seems to be a piece to which Schubert could add no more.
It is a darkly animated work, with the
mood
of his own song, Der
Erlkรถnig
echoing about. The Prokofiev piece that follows has melodies
based on Kabardino-Balkar folk melodies from the North Caucasus. It's Prokofiev at his quirky
best; considering that the premiere was delayed by a Nazi
air raid, the specter
of World War II is not as blatantly palpable
as in the works of Shostakovich from the period. The
first movement is march-like,
but not martial; the second movement sandwiches two deeply
lyrical passages around a perky
waltz; and the finale is driven by lots of motor rhythms and features
a formidable cello cadenza.
Brahms'
final quartet op. 67 is nothing like his previous two, which is no
surprise, given that the earlier two share an opus number (51). Its
first movement Vivace's
B-flat tonality and 6/8 meter are reminiscent
of that of the Mozart “Hunt” Quartet that we performed at the
Square Room in November. The third movement Agitato
is a sublime
tour
de force
for the viola; some violists believe it should be considered
standard solo repertoire for the viola. A closing Theme and Variations halts seemingly
in mid-sentence to revert to the theme of the first movement. The
unusual twists and turns in all three of the works to be presented
are a joy to bring off, and Gordon, Edward, Katie and I have had a
blast getting to know them.
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