Download About the Music - Colburn School

About the Music
ludwig van beethoven (1770–1827)
Quartet for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello
in E-flat Major, Op. 16 (1796)
by Felicity James, violinist in the Bachelor of Music program
of the Colburn Conservatory of Music
Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Quintet for Piano and
Winds, Op. 16, in 1796, while touring Europe as a concert
pianist. At the time, the young Beethoven had not yet gained
notoriety as a mature composer, but was known first and
foremost as a virtuoso pianist. Although Op. 16 is frequently
performed as the quartet for piano and strings heard this
evening, the original scoring was for piano, oboe, clarinet,
horn, and bassoon, and premiered in 1797. During this first period of his compositional
development, Beethoven’s style was clearly affected by composers of the Classical era,
especially Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The influence of Mozart’s 1784 Quintet for Piano and
Winds, K. 452, is quite apparent in Op. 16. Beethoven borrows heavily from the earlier work,
employing the same instrumentation, the same key, the same three-movement structure, and
a very similar musical style. Though it is not known when Op. 16 was first performed as a
piano quartet, parts for the string version and the wind version, each using an identical piano
part, were published at the same time and with the same opus number in 1801, indicating
that each arrangement of the work was of equal importance to Beethoven.
The first movement of the quartet opens with a lengthy Grave introduction that features a
series of double-dotted rhythms played in unison by the ensemble. After gradually building
up tension through dramatic and harmonically dissonant transitional material, the cheerful
main theme is finally introduced in the piano, starting off the Allegro in a light and playful
mood. The movement continues on in sonata form, exhibiting a rich development section
and false recapitulation before finally closing with a lively coda.
The Andante cantabile opens a lyrical melody in the piano, which is joined by string
accompaniment before the melody passes among all four instruments. Beethoven moves to
About the Music
the dominant B-flat major in this movement, which could be described as a mix of variation
and rondo forms, and features a lovely variety of songlike melodies and accompanying
textures in both the strings and the piano.
The energetic Rondo finale features virtuosic writing for the piano throughout and even
includes a short keyboard cadenza in the movement. This emphasis is not surprising given
that Beethoven was a well-known virtuoso, and while writing the quartet he was also in the
process of composing his first two piano concertos. In this spirited conclusion, Beethoven
passes lively, cheerful melodies and strong dotted rhythms among the four instruments until
the main theme returns one last time to close the piano quartet with a final flourish from the
piano and a triumphant return to the tonic.
ernő dohnányi (1877–1960)
Sextet in C Major for Piano, Clarinet, Horn,
Violin,Viola, and Cello, Op. 37 (1935)
by Rachel Ostler, violinist in the Master of Music program
of the Colburn Conservatory of Music
Hungarian-born Ernő Dohnányi was introduced to music
by his father, a mathematician and amateur cellist who took
him to the local cathedral organist, Károly Forstner, for piano
lessons. An apt student, Ernő left home for the Franz Liszt
Academy of Music in Budapest at the age of 17, where he
studied piano and composition and received his diploma in
just three years. At age 20, he made his celebrated debut as
a pianist in Berlin and Vienna, which immediately led to a successful touring career. He is
notable for integrating chamber music into his concert schedule, reintroducing the works of
Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to his audiences. Dohnányi’s talent for composition had
already brought acclaim from Brahms, and he was quickly establishing himself as the greatest
Hungarian composer and pianist since Liszt. His performing career was prolific, continuing
long past his debut at 20, through his 10-year teaching position at the Hochschule in Berlin
from 1905 to 1915, and his return to Budapest at the outbreak of World War I.
In the years after 1915, Dohnányi balanced a brilliant career as a pianist, composer, and
conductor while committing himself to transforming musical life in Budapest and in all of
Hungary. As a conductor, he championed the works of his colleagues Kodály, Weiner, and
especially Bartók, often at the expense of his own works. His compositional style was vastly
different than that of his countrymen; while Bartók created new paths, Dohnányi celebrated
and appreciated Bartók’s work but did not imitate. His style did not break with the Romantic
tradition, but rather sought to perfect the forms and language of the Romantic style, an
aesthetic perhaps best manifest in his chamber works.
The Sextet in C Major, Op. 37, was written in 1935 and is Dohnányi’s final work for chamber
ensemble. Despite being written for the disparate mix of clarinet, horn, piano, violin, viola
About the Music
and cello, the balance of the voices in the sextet is entirely natural. Dohnanyi exploits the
broad palette of colors and creates a harmonious blend between the strings and piano
while embracing and enhancing the timbral difference of the horn and clarinet. Each of the
sextet’s four movements is strikingly unique: a slightly ominous first movement shifts to a
cold, tyrannical second movement, followed by a form-driven third movement, and, finally, a
carefree finale. The first movement, Allegro appassionato, seems to start en media res on a
dissonant chord, leading to a heroic theme introduced by the horn. As the theme transfers
first to the clarinet then to the viola, the heroic mood shifts to foreboding lyricism that is
both harmonically and rhythmically driven. The piano part is unrelenting in its turbulence,
punctuated by periods of string, horn, and clarinet unison writing that creates a sweeping
feeling of epic drama.
The intense, sustained opening phrases of the Intermezzo soon fade into a dark, menacing
march. This march is filled with a terrifying sense of absolute authority; the F minor piano
rhythm is crowned with soaring wind and string lines that combine into a dauntless battle
cry. The movement closes with a lyrical and melancholic theme, which somewhat lightens
the weight of the march but does not provide true relief.
Dohnányi’s neo-romanticism and allegiance to Brahms is never more evident than in the
theme and variations of the third movement, Allegro con sentimento. The theme is first
introduced by the clarinet with embellishment from the piano, then slowly developed into
a fast triplet variation before relaxing into a larger, pastoral iteration led by the horn. This
slower variation gradually returns to a restatement of the opening theme that leads, without
a break, to the Allegro vivace giocoso finale. The final movement is a lighthearted answer to
the darkness of the second movement. It is playful and utterly humorous in nature, hinting
at the style of European 1930s jazz. The middle waltz section is like a Viennese take on
vaudeville, its comical mood permeating the entire movement. Dohnányi brings the waltz
back briefly toward the end of the finale, gracefully pulling from it the heroic horn theme
that began the sextet, and then building to a grandiose finish with the entire ensemble.
Octet for Four Violins, Two Violas, and Two Cellos
in E-flat Major, Op. 20 (1825)
felix mendelssohn (1809–1874)
by Tanner Menees, violist in the Artist Diploma program
of the Colburn Conservatory of Music
To compose a piece as original, mature, and vivacious as
the String Octet, Op. 20, would be a noteworthy
achievement at any age, but Felix Mendelssohn composed
it at the age of 16. At this point in his life, Mendelssohn’s
oeuvre already included a dozen string symphonies, one full
symphony, his opera Die Hochzeit des Camacho, and three
piano quartets. The octet is dedicated to Mendelssohn’s
teacher, Eduard Rietz, for whom the virtuosic first violin part was written.
The symphonic texture and rigorous counterpoint of the octet are reflective of
Mendelssohn’s prolific writing for string orchestra as a very young composer. The octet’s
combination of instruments had been employed just once before, in the “double quartets”
of Louis Spohr, written in 1823. There is an important distinction to be made between
Mendelssohn and Spohr: while Spohr’s compositions truly treated the ensemble as two
quartets playing together, Mendelssohn experimented with many different combinations of
the instruments rather than limiting himself to keeping each quartet as a basic unit. These
different combinations of instruments allow for a large palette of timbres, creating an
original work of great variety.
The first movement is the longest of the work and, from start to finish, vigorous
syncopations and running sixteenth notes infuse palpitating energy into the movement.
The first violin part abounds with flashy runs that makes one appreciate the legendary
technical prowess of Eduard Rietz.
In contrast to the lively first movement, the second is dark and more introverted in
character. There are a few explosions of unbridled passion that temporarily transform the
About the Music
reserved nature of this somber and mysterious movement into angry, grief-stricken wailing.
The movement concludes with unsettling triplet figurations in the second viola part.
Full of stylistic turns that have come to be associated with Mendelssohn, the teasing and
capricious scherzo depicts the witches’ sabbath of Walpurgis Night from Goethe’s Faust.
It is interesting to note that not only was Mendelssohn a precocious composer, he also
had an insatiable appetite for literature and philosophy at a young age. The choice of
Faust as the inspiration for the scherzo was no accident—Mendelssohn and Goethe were
well-acquainted, and the scholar had spent many hours talking with Mendelssohn and
listening to his music. The evocative scherzo became so popular at the time that it was
often performed as a stand-alone work.
The finale is a boisterous celebration full of intricate contrapuntal and virtuosic writing,
once again reminding one of Reitz’s abilities. After cleverly quoting the scherzo,
Mendelssohn builds to the iconic climax of the movement with E-flat pedal syncopations in
the cello parts, insistently pushing forward while the rest of the instruments climb toward
catharsis. Youthful jubilance overflows as the octet nears its final, triumphant cadence.