Download Jerusalem 10-15 Notes

Tonight’s program features three works written by composers who were still in their formative
years. Beethoven’s Quartet in A Major was written between 1798 and 1800, alongside his first
symphony, which premiered in 1800 in Vienna. He was 28 years old when he began the string
quartet, and still engrossed in his study of the music of Mozart and Haydn. Ravel wrote his only
string quartet in 1903, when he was also 28. He submitted the work to two Parisian composition
contests, both of which he lost. Brahms penned his Quartet in A Minor in 1873 as the second of a
pair of string quartets. They were his first published efforts in the genre and were completed
three years before his first symphony premiered in 1876.
We have, then, a distinctive opportunity to explore the music of three young masters of the string
quartet, each written when the composer had begun to discover their personal voices, but before
their styles were firmly entrenched. Indeed, in each of these compositions we hear stirrings of
what would later be the hallmarks of their personal styles: Beethoven’s grand harmonic visions
and lush melodies, Ravel’s melodic bravery and breaking of traditional forms, and Brahms’s
characteristic rhythmic experimentations and musical dialogues.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 (1798-1800)
Musicologists frequently divide Beethoven’s works into three chronological categories centered
around changes in his life, such as his loss of hearing. The second period, for example, includes
his famous Fifth Symphony, where the iconic four-note opening motive can be described
metaphorically as “fate knocking at the door” (though Beethoven never said such a thing). His
last period includes the triumphant Ninth Symphony, with its bombastic “Ode to Joy” celebrating
life even after his total loss of hearing. Tonight’s work comes from his first period, when he was
thoroughly engrossed in his study of Viennese musical language, most notably found in the
works of Mozart and Haydn. The first period features less well-known works than the latter two
(the Sonate pathétique and the first two symphonies being the exception), but it is here that
Beethoven established his own musical language.
Much has been said about how Beethoven’s work marked the end of the Classical Period, with
its adherence to musical forms and balanced melodic phrases, and ushered in the Romantic Era,
featuring daring harmonic gestures and unique styles for each composer. While Beethoven’s
singular role is perhaps overstated, we can hear some signs of this transition in tonight’s work.
This quartet was modeled directly on Mozart’s String Quartet No. 18 in A major (1785), which
itself was dedicated to Haydn. Both Beethoven’s and Mozart’s quartets follow the same fourmovement plan, with fast outer movements, a minuet and trio for the second movement, and a
lyrical andante for the third. Both also rely on clear melodic statements and an economy of
writing, although Beethoven’s is more daring in form, especially in the later movements.
The first movement sounds classical indeed, with its light and playful primary melody, and a
contrasting melody in a darker minor key. These sorts of conflicting themes were a staple of the
string quartets of Haydn and Mozart, and here Beethoven begins his work in a similar fashion.
Also in the manner of the classical period is the grand return to the recapitulation (when the
primary themes return near the end of the piece for a final restatement). Beethoven’s adherence
to earlier conventions in no way diminishes this movement. Instead, it is an expertly crafted
classical statement with rich and lyrical melodies, and moments of harmonic confusion that are
given a highly satisfying resolution.
The second movement is similarly classical in nature, especially with its rich dialogue between
the instruments, stemming from Enlightenment ideals of equality and debate. In the third
movement, however, Beethoven explores some elements of his more romantic style. The
opening statement of the theme and variations is a lush tapestry of melodies that only grows in
sweetness. It is like a warm fall evening, full of color and beauty, but before the chill of winter
has fully arrived. Following this theme are five variations that grow in complexity, but each
retaining the beauty of the primary theme. The final variation in particular is romantic, heard
here with a signature Beethovian melody, heroic and bold, that foreshadows the later brilliant
writing of his symphonies. The final movement provides a rush of counterpoint, with cascading
melodies occasionally interrupted with dramatic pauses that only heighten the excitement
building to a charming ending.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
String Quartet in F Major (1903)
Ravel wrote his only string quartet in 1903, dedicated to his teacher and fellow composer,
Gabriel Fauré. Along with Claude Debussy, the three composers were among the most
prominent in the French Impressionism movement surrounding the turn of the century. Although
the term applies less aptly to music than to art, impressionist music dealt with the conveying of
atmospheres and moods, rather than tone-painting and programs, in a similar way that
impressionist painters attempted to capture light and the essence of a scene, rather than a specific
image. Ravel was the youngest of the trio by over a decade, and by the time he developed as a
composer, the musical language of the era had been established, consisting of an increased
exploration of dissonance, the incorporation of uncommon scales, and the eventual abonnement
of large-scale forms (such as the string quartet, which is why Ravel and Debussy produced only
one apiece, much to the later chagrin of fans of the genre).
Ravel submitted his quartet to two major composition institutions, a scholarship contest named
the Prix de Rome, and as a submission piece to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a
student. Both groups rejected the piece, largely on the grounds that it was poorly balanced and
lacked the correct musical forms. While Ravel was understandably frustrated, and indeed soon
left the Conservatoire, the rejections greatly bolstered his career as an anti-academic and
rebellious musical figure. Debussy famously wrote to Ravel saying, “In the name of the gods of
music and in my own, do not touch a single note you have written in your Quartet.” It is now a
widely performed and celebrated composition, as are many of Ravel’s later works.
The first movement opens with a lustrous and almost Parisian melody. It reappears in altered
form throughout the movement and is hinted at throughout the entire composition. Following a
series of gliding harmonic shifts, a common impressionist technique, the melody returns in
chaotic bursts before settling in for a peaceful ending. One can picture a serene afternoon nap in
the Luxembourg gardens of Paris, or perhaps entering a Monet landscape of light and color.
The second movement maintains the dreamlike state following the restful ending of the first.
Melodies are in pizzicato and accompaniments are bowed, created a soundscape rarely heard in
art music. It is likely the best known tune that will be heard tonight, and film buffs may
recognize it from Wes Anderson’s Royal Tenenbaums (2001), where it is used to reinforce an
outlandish and whimsical setting. The daring pizzicato gives way to rich counterpoint, but it
returns throughout the movement, again transplanting the listener to a work of art, though here
perhaps one that is more Picasso than Monet.
After the jovial second movement, the sluggish tempo of the third creates a sharp contrast.
Furthermore, the atmospheric bowings and lack of a clear melody place the listener in a state of
limbo and unrest. When the melody final enters as a variation on the primary theme from the first
movement, it is immensely satisfying. The final movement erupts in a flurry of activity. It is the
most disjointed of the four movements. Splashes of melody are interrupted with displaced
rhythms and hemiola (three beats played against two beats). Indeed, the focus here seems to be
on shifts in the meter, from five beats a measure, to three or four, and back to five. If the first
movement is Monet in sound, and the second Picasso’s cubism, then perhaps this movement is a
Van Gogh countryside.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 51, No. 2 (1873)
Brahms entered his musical maturity at a later stage in life than Beethoven or Ravel. Indeed,
Brahms destroyed many of his compositions that he had written before he turned thirty as he felt
that they were not satisfactory. A meticulous composer, his first symphony did not premiere until
1876, when he was forty-three years old, after nearly fifteen years in composition and revision.
The Quartet in A Minor can therefore be heard as an early work, even though he was forty years
old upon its completion. He composed it in a pair with the String Quartet No 1 in C Minor, and
claimed to have destroyed twenty string quartets before finally finishing this satisfactory duo. No
matter how long it took him to publish his first string quartets, this pair and his later efforts
firmly cemented his place in the long tradition of Germanic quartet masters, beginning with
Haydn and Mozart, through Beethoven, and into the twentieth century works of Arnold
Schoenberg.
The Quartet in A Minor is the more lyrical of the two from 1873, and is highly unified
thematically. The first movement opens with a song-like melody over a lilting triplet
accompaniment. The movement proceeds almost like a theme and variations, with sharp breaks
between sections that feature explorations of new rhythmic and harmonic material. Throughout
all the transitions, however, is the delicate melody of the upper strings. We also hear several
instances of the two-against-three hemiola that became a staple of Brahms’s composition.
Indeed, throughout much of this string quartet it sounds as if Brahms is experimenting with
rhythmic devices such as syncopation and contrasting meters that would be ubiquitous in his
later masterworks.
The second movement is closely allied melodically with the first, and in some ways sounds as a
continuation. It is characterized by moments of fury that burst out of the lullaby-like texture of
the majority of the movement. It is highly emotional and quintessentially romantic in its
expressive contrasts between gentleness and ferocity. The third movement is designated “Quasi
Minuetto.” The Minuet originated as a French stately dance in triple time. Traditionally it has a
bright and cheerful melodic character, as heard earlier in the second movement of Beethoven’s
Quartet in A Major. Here Brahms opens with a dark impression of a Minuet, with little of the
lightness and charm typical of the genre, although there are moments in the middle of the
movement that hint at the original meaning of the term.
The final movement is modeled on another dance, here the Csárdás, a traditional Hungarian folk
dance that features a driving pulse. The Csárdás was adapted by several romantic composers,
including Strass, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky. The dance provides a perfect opportunity for Brahms
to continue his explorations of rhythmic variations. There are several moments when the time
signature is undermined by syncopation and hemiola, all driving to a dramatic concluding
flourish, as if a dancer is preparing to strike her final pose.
Nicholas Johnson
Butler University