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Joshua Bell & Sam Haywood – January 31, 2016 Chaconne in G minor attrib. Tomaso Antonio Vitali 1663-1745 In 1867, the German violinist and conductor Ferdinand David (1810-1873) published his edition of a work for violin and figured bass that he attributed to Italian composer and violinist Tomaso Vitali. David enhanced it with embellishments and key changes into a virtuoso showpiece that bears little relationship to the original; it is likely that if Vitali were in the audience he would not recognize it. As if that weren’t enough, recent research has cast doubt on the attribution of the original to Vitali since the style does not correspond with other authenticated works by this composer. The title itself is an anachronism. The original manuscript, currently in the Dresden library, is headed Partie, which in the 19th century was a term for a set of variations. Finally, David’s arrangement isn’t even a true chaconne, which demands a variable melodic line over a repeating ground bass. David’s version is characterized by frequent key changes, although always accompanied by the ground in its new key. Whatever its pedigree, however, the technical challenges of the piece have made it popular among violinists, a number of whom have since made their own transcriptions of the original or some third-generation transformation. It made history when Jascha Heifetz chose it to open his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1917. Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer” Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827 The sonata was one of the genres for which Beethoven gradually charted a completely new course with only the occasional backward glance at his predecessors. In their originality of form and their emotional intensity, the piano sonatas reflect Beethoven's creative development throughout his career. But the sonatas for piano and strings broke new ground as well. Before Beethoven, the Classical duo sonata for keyboard and any other instrument definitely featured the keyboard in the dominant role. Even Mozart's later violin sonatas, while they involve dialogue between the two instruments, neither give the violin true independence nor exploit its unique voice. Already starting with his first violin sonatas, the three of Op. 12, Beethoven began breaking loose from the Mozartian model. Grander and more complex, they feature greater technical demands on the violinist and an increasingly equal role for the two instruments. This evolution in style became more pronounced with later sonatas, making them more suitable for the concert hall rather than for amateur private performance in aristocratic salons. Had it not been for Beethoven’s dedication of his Violin Sonata in A, Op. 47, few people today would recognize the name of the French composer and violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer. Beethoven met Kreutzer in 1798, when the latter came to Vienna in the retinue of Napoleon’s army. Beethoven admired Kreutzer greatly, both as a person and as a musician. Unfortunately, according to Berlioz, “...the celebrated violinist could never bring himself to play this outrageously incomprehensible composition.” Actually, Kreutzer was Beethoven’s second choice as dedicatee, the first being another violinist, George Polgreen Bridgetower, who ultimately performed it with Beethoven at the 1803 premiere. Apparently, a rivalry over a woman explains why today we are familiar with Kreutzer but not with Bridgetower. The final movement of the Sonata was originally composed in 1802 as the finale of the Sonata Op. 30 No. 1. Beethoven composed a different ending for that sonata and was able to use the original one for the “Kreutzer.” This was a lucky break, since he had not finished the first two movements until the morning of the premiere, and poor Bridgetower had to perform the second movement from Beethoven’s working manuscript (a notoriously and characteristically messy affair). The Sonata, in Beethoven’s own words, is “...written in a highly concertante style, just like a concerto.” By 1835 it was actually being performed in Hamburg as a violin concerto. The first notes of the introduction make the diversion from tradition quite clear and deliberate: a violin “recitative” solo begins the introduction, with the piano following thematically but trying to establish another key. And that’s the last we hear of A major, the supposed key of the piece, for a long time. Violin and piano continue in a musical discussion over what key and mode the piece should be in until well into the fiery allegro. The argument then escalates over who will dominate the thematic material, as the piano firmly puts its stamp on the second theme, now forcing the violin to follow. This dialogue, however contentious, illustrates what Beethoven meant by “concertante” in his description of the work. The second movement provides much needed rest in a relatively conventional set of variations in which violin and piano alternately take center stage. The excitement begins anew in the finale but this time with more speed than musical tension. Violin and piano seem to have settled their differences, although Beethoven keeps the key unstable until the end of the piece. Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 13 Gabriel Fauré 1845-1924 The bulk of Gabriel Fauré’s music – whether piano, chamber, vocal or orchestral – conveys the impression of a personal and private statement, an intimate conversation between the composer and his muse. All his life Fauré’s ideal was, as he put it, to create musique de chambre; the larger forms – opera, symphonies or concertos – were not for him. As a result, his music is admirably suited for performance in private homes or small halls. The elegance and “ease” of much of his music belies the painstaking effort that went into the composition; Fauré was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Fauré was no formal innovator. He was a student of Camille Saint-Saëns, the quintessential French neo-classicist of the late 19th century, who considered form an essential component of “good” music. Fauré respected Saint-Saëns greatly, and as a result the structure of his chamber music compositions fits the classical mold. However, within that framework, he always experimented and surprised audiences with unexpected phrasing and harmonies, and elegant twists of musical development. The A-major Violin Sonata, graceful, warm and lyrical, is Fauré’s first published chamber work. While a guest at an industrialist’s estate in Normandy in the summer of 1875, Fauré asked for technical advice from another guest, the Belgian violinist Hubert Léonard. The 30year-old composer, largely unknown at the time, succeeded in getting the work published by the prestigious Breitkopf & Härtel under condition that he receive no royalties or fee. The premiere in 1877 was a success. There is a lush Brahmsian quality to this Sonata, both in form and musical content. It is certainly not a technical showpiece, its charm more in the subtlety of feeling. It is often compared to the Violin Sonata by César Franck, written eleven years later, but Franck’s Sonata is lavish and emotional from start to finish. Fauré opens the first movement with an unusual slightly syncopated theme and a hint of modal melody and harmony, a characteristic that would soon be exploited and expanded by all the French composers of the end of the century. The second movement begins with a brooding figure in the piano, also calls Brahms to mind, especially the slow movement of the Horn Trio, which he wrote in memory of his mother. But Fauré’s general reserve avoids any passionate outpouring. The third movement, a typical scherzo and trio, allows the violin a bit of technical display with staccato bowing and pizzicato, but the trio returns to Fauré’s more languorous style. At the premiere this movement was encored. The finale is the most extroverted of the four but without the bravura so common in last movements. Program notes by: Joseph & Elizabeth Kahn [email protected] www.wordprosmusic.com