Download The Ives Quartet - Noe Valley Chamber Music

Noe Valley Chamber Music presents:
A neo@noe concert performance
April 14, 2013
The Ives Quartet
Bettina Mussumeli, violin
Susan Freier, violin
Jodi Levitz, viola
Stephen Harrison, cello
String Quartet No. 22 in B-flat Major, K. 589
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Allegro, in B flat Major
(1756-1791)
Larghetto
Menuetto: Moderato
Allegro assai, in B flat Major
String Quartet Set (1978)
Lou Harrison
(1917-2003)
Intermission
String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11
Moderato e semplice
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893)
Andante cantabile
Scherzo: Allegro non tanto e con fuoco
Finale. Allegro giusto
The Ives Quartet is exclusively represented in North America by
California Artists Management (www.CalArtists.com)
This concert was funded in part by The Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, the Zellerbach
Family Foundation, and the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Program Notes
WA Mozart: String Quartet No. 22 in B-flat Major, K. 589 (Prussian 2)
The three "Prussian" quartets of which this is the second were apparently the first of six commissioned by King
Frederich Wilhelm II of Berlin, but whatever the intended destination of these works, Mozart in the end had to sell the
scores hurriedly for ever-needed cash, and the set was never finished. While the music evidences his accomodation of
the cello-playing monarch with abundant activity for that instrument (second violin and viola taking more of a back
seat than usual), Mozart manages never to let such considerations compromise the integrity of the composition and
maintains, as always, exquisite balance. In the Allegro, a conventional ABA sonata form, cello and first violin share
the opening material, with cello moving into lead voice only to fall back in favor of the viola for the
recapitulation. This brief eclipse prepares the cello's re-emergence in the Larghetto with a cantabile theme sotto voce,
which it shares with the first violin. In the unusually long and vigorous Trio in the third movement, the cello is more
or less retired from melodic prominence. Instead, it here furnishes an insistent rhythmic foundation to the violin
melody. The Trio also has an interesting second section, highly chromatic, with marked contrasts in texture, dynamic
and range. With the Rondo finale Mozart gives his first attention to virtuosic polyphonic development in a highly
concentrated movement, and the quartet ends with a brilliant flourish.
Lou Harrison: String Quartet Set
String Quartet Set was commissioned by Robert Aitken, New Music Concerts of Toronto and the Canada Council.
The premiere was given in Toronto and was performed by the Orford Quartet. The work is in five sections:
1.Variations on Walter von der Vogelweide's “Nu alrêst leb'ich mir werde” were begun in the ‘40s when I first
encountered that Minnesinger’s lovely melody. Walter lived in the 13th century, and the variations are in Europeanstyle quintal counterpoint, also medieval in origin. The original version for guitar is published in Peermusic’s “Por
Gitaro”.
2. Plaint. We all complain, at least a little.
3. Estampie is a medieval peasant’s stamping dance, roughneck and Breughelish.
4. Rondeaux, an homage to Dandrieu and the French Baroque, is my only fully “harmonic” piece in the European
style.
5. Usul (Turkish for a rhythmic mode). As 18th Century European composers wrote Turkish marches imitating the
Janissary bands, I have here written imitating the gentle melodic style of the old Turkish Court.
—Lou Harrison
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (1871)
Tchaikovsky’s first string quartet comes from the early years of his professional career. Shortly after
graduating from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1865 (the Conservatory had only been open since 1862,
and Tchaikovsky was the first prominent Russian composer to receive professional training in music),
Tchaikovsky was offered a position teaching music theory at the newly opened Moscow Conservatory. As
hinted by the opus number, the first string quartet is an early work, written before the ballets, symphonies
and operas for which he is now known and loved. Of these works, only the Romeo and Juliet FantasyOverture and the first symphony were composed before the first string quartet, and almost all of his
previously published works were short piano pieces in salon genres or songs.
The immediate impetus for composing a string quartet was financial. Tchaikovsky’s salary at the
Conservatory was not enough to support him, and he was not yet successful enough as a composer to rely on
money from the publication and performance of his works. In February 1871, at the urging of Nikolai
Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky presented a concert of his own music, consisting of songs, piano music, an opera
excerpt, and his new string quartet, composed for the occasion. The quartet was performed by the quartet of
the Russian Music Society, led by Ferdinand Laub, a virtuoso from Prague who had come to Moscow to be
professor of violin at the Conservatory, and including the cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, for whom
Tchaikovsky would later compose his Variations on a Rococo Theme.
By far the best-known and most popular portion of the quartet is its second movement, whose main theme is
a folk song that Tchaikovsky heard and wrote down while visiting his sister’s estate in modern-day Ukraine
during the summer of 1869. This movement quickly took on an independent life, and was frequently
performed in arrangements by Laub and Fitzenhagen. Tchaikovsky was somewhat irritated by the
disproportionate attention given to this movement at the expense of his other works, complaining to his
brother that audiences “don’t want to know anything else!” Still, Tchaikovsky himself arranged the
movement for cello and string orchestra in 1888, and one of the great moments of his life was the experience
of sitting next to Leo Tolstoy as the writer was brought to tears by this very music.
The first movement begins with an ever-so-slightly uneven rhythmic pulsing, a sound which has reminded
some listeners of an accordion. This distinctive rhythm is then combined with flowing scales and eventually
subordinated to a broader and more lyrical melody. The famous second movement alternates the 1860
folksong with an original melody over plucked accompaniments. The third movement is a vigorous scherzo
in the minor mode, which, like the first movement, is largely concerned with repeated notes and rhythmic
surprises. The finale, although wholly constructed from new material, is based on an apparently artless
melody that seems to aspire to the condition of folk music.
--Dr. Derek Katz
THE IVES QUARTET has captivated audiences from San Francisco to New York, Taiwan to London. Committed
to presenting the full scope of the string quartet literature, the Ives Quartet continues to earn critical and popular
acclaim for the depth and diversity of its programming, with repertoire ranging from recognized classics and
neglected masterpieces of the past to new commissions and distinctive collaborations with guest artists.
An independent touring and recording ensemble, the Ives Quartet performs on noted chamber music series
and festivals nationwide. They produce home season concert series in San Francisco, San Jose and Palo Alto,
and devote time to a wide range of educational projects, from K-12 activities for children to annual concert
and teaching residencies at universities.
The Ives Quartet’s success in commissioning distinguished artists, including Pulitzer Prize-winning
composer William Bolcom, resulted in a National Endowment for the Arts grant and funding by the Aaron
Copland Fund for Music to support recordings of contemporary American quartets. Laurel Records and the
Music and Arts released works of William Bolcom, Ben Johnston, Marc Neikrug and Donald Crockett. The
IQ has also released a French CD featuring works by Faure, Milhaud and Frank Bridge, and a DVD with
Delores Stevens of the Piano Quintet, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms, produced by AIX Entertainment. The
Quartet’s recording of the first four quartets by the American composer Quincy Porter are on the NAXOS
label.
In a departure from convention, the Ives Quartet is a combination of players with American and European
experience and sensibilities, drawing on the talent and experience of the international, solo, orchestral,
chamber, and recording careers of its artist members. Each an acclaimed performer on his/her instrument, IQ
members have earned distinction with other renowned chamber music ensembles, including I Solisti Veneti,
the Chester Quartet, the Stanford String Quartet, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players. This
variety and breadth in each artist’s background contributes to the ensemble’s unique sound.
Performer’s Bios
BETTINA MUSSUMELI received her B.A. and M.M. degrees in violin from The Julliard School, where
she studied with Ivan Galamian, Dorothy DeLay and Paul Doktor, as well as chamber music with members
of the Juilliard, Guarneri and Cleveland String Quartets. After completing her studies at Julliard, Ms.
Mussumeli became co-concert-master and soloist with I Solisti Veneti, performed throughout Europe,
Australia and the Far East, and made numerous recordings for the Erato, RCA, Tactus and Concerto labels.
Ms. Mussumeli is currently on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is an
artist/faculty member at the Zephyr Festival is the Italian Alps.
SUSAN FREIER earned degrees in Music and Biology at Stanford University as a Ford scholar and
continued her studies at the Eastman School of Music, where she formed the Chester String Quartet. The
Chester went on to win the Evian, Munich International, Portsmouth (England), and Chicago Discovery
competitions and became faculty ensemble-in-residence at Indiana University at South Bend in 1980. In
1989 Susan returned to her native Bay Area to join the Stanford University faculty and the Stanford String
Quartet. She participates in numerous festivals and has performed on NPR, the BBC and German State
Radio. Her recordings can be heard on the Newport Classics, Stolat, Pantheon, Laurel, Music and Arts, and
CRI labels. A faculty member at the San Diego Chamber Music Workshop, she also performs at the
Telluride Chamber Music Festival and the Mendocino Music Festival.
JODI LEVITZ, noted Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music,
launched her concert career while still a student at Juilliard when she was appointed principal viola soloist
with the Italian chamber group I Solisti Veneti. Since then Ms. Levitz has performed as solo violist
throughout Europe, South America, the Far East and the United States. She has recorded works by Cambini,
Giuliani, Hummel, Mendelssohn, Rolla, Schoenberg and Schubert on the Concerto, Dynamic, and Erato
labels. Ms. Levitz holds Bachelor and Master of Musical Arts degrees from the Juilliard School. She
currently serves as chair of the string and chamber music departments at the San Francisco Conservatory and
is an artist/faculty member at the Zephyr Festival is the Italian Alps.
Cellist STEPHEN HARRISON has been on the Stanford University faculty since 1983, when he returned
to his native Bay Area to join the newly formed Stanford String Quartet. A graduate of Oberlin College and
Boston University, he has been solo cellist of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players since 1985,
recording on the Delos, CRI, New Albion, and Newport Classics labels with the ensemble. Former principal
cellist of the Chamber Symphony of San Francisco, Mr. Harrison has also taught and performed at the
Schlem and Orfeo International Music Festivals. Most recently he has served as principal cellist at the
Mendocino Music Festival and coached and performed at the Telluride Chamber Music Festival and the San
Diego Chamber Music Workshop.