Performers

Mark Laycock, conductor

Jaime Laredo, violin

Sharon Robinson, cello

Vienna Chamber Orchestra

Russian Chamber Chorus of New York

Concert Program

Mozart

Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, K. 492 Program Notes

Brahms

Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102 (“Double”) Program Notes

~ intermission ~

Beethoven

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 Program Notes

arr. Laycock

Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture

(Special Birthday Version)

For more information or to buy tickets, visit http://scheideconcerts.com/

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

- Born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria.

- Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna.

Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, K.V. 492

- Composed in 1786.

- First Performance: May 1, 1786, at the Burgtheater, Vienna with Mozart conducting.

- Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

- Duration: ~4 min.

French playwright Beaumarchais (1732 – 1799) wrote a trilogy of plays based on the characters Figaro, Count Almaviva and Rosine: Le Barbier de Séville, Le Mariage de Figaro, and La Mère coupable.

In 1782, Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) wrote a very popular opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia, based on the first play. This was one reason Mozart skipped this first play, but another more calculating reason was to capitalize on the popularity of the first opera. Decades later, Rossini was undaunted and wrote the opera that we now think of as The Barber, but for quite a while Paisiello’s version remained more popular.

After a private performance of Le Mariage, Louis XVI banned further performances. The King disliked the play’s portrayal of the aristocracy. Beaumarchais made several revisions until the King lifted the ban in 1784 and it became a popular success. Two years later, Mozart approached Lorenzo da Ponte, with whom he would write three operas, to ask if he could it into an opera. Unfortunately, Emperor Joseph II still banned performances of the play. da Ponte made several revisions and translated it into Italian, turning it into Le Nozze di Figaro. In his Memoirs, da Ponte relates that "I have cut out whole scenes, shortened others, and been careful everywhere to omit anything that might shock". In short, he made the story acceptable to the Emperor. Or, perhaps this was a political move by the reform minded Emperor who wanted to tweak the sensibilities of the nobility who had boxes at the theater. Le Nozze is the sequel to The Barber, picking up the story several years later. The opera was completed 2 days before opening night. da Ponte wrote that "As fast and I wrote the words, Mozart wrote the music, and it was all finished in six weeks."

Traditionally, an overture is a preview of the music we are about to hear in the rest of the opera. Mozart uses no material from the opera in this overture, but he does capture the frenetic pace of the plot, which after all has the subtitle “The Day of Madness”. The Overture to The Marriage of Figaro has remained one of the most popular (and also one of the most technically difficult to play) overtures in the symphonic repertoire since its premiere. The effervescent and infectious musical activity that permeates the sunny key of D Major sets just the right tone for anticipating great things to follow, and tonight’s performance is no exception – perhaps for this evening we should re-title the work The Marriage of Books and Music!

Resources

Public domain score

Slightly goofy graphical video

John Eliot Gardiner’s period instrument performance.

Riccardo Muti with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Johannes Brahms

- Born May 7, 1833 in Hamburg.

- Died April 3, 1897 in Vienna.

Double Concerto in A Minor for Violin and Violoncello, Op. 102

- Composed: the summer of 1887 near Thun, Switzerland.

- First Performance: October 18, 1887 at Cologne in the Gürzenich Hall with Brahms conducting, Joseph Joachim and Robert Hausmann as soloists.

- Instrumentation: Solo violin, solo cello, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 timpani, and strings.

- Duration: ~33 min.

Reményi and Brahms

In April 1853, Brahms left his home city to tour with Hungarian violinist Reményi (Eduard Hoffmann) as accompanist. At the end of May, they arrived in Hanover where the already famous violinist, composer and conductor Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) had been recently appointed Kapellmeister at the King’s court. (his name is pronounced YO’ – ah – kim). Joachim’s successful London debut at the age of 12 had been with no less than Mendelssohn conducting Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Brahms first heard this concerto five years later in 1848 with Joachim as soloist. Reményi had studied violin alongside Joachim at the conservatory in Vienna and sought to renew contact and perhaps schedule a concert there. At Joachim’s request, the shy Brahms played for him several of his own compositions. Decades later, Joachim confessed to being “completely overwhelmed” by Brahms’ talent. The two soon became close friends and after Brahms parted ways with Reményi, Brahms stayed with Joachim who was by then attending courses at the university in Göttingen. In September of that year, armed with an introduction from Joachim, Brahms knocked on the Schumann’s door thus beginning his other important lifelong friendship.

Joachim and his wife Amelie

In 1863 Joachim married alto Amalie Schneeweiss (yes, Snow White). Although Amelie gave up her opera career to be the mother of six children, she continued to sing. Brahms wrote songs for her including one for alto, piano and viola on the birth of their son who was named in Brahms’ honor. By 1883, Joachim had become increasingly suspicious of his talented and attractive wife. He accused her of having an affair with the publisher Fritz Simrock. Ever the gentleman, Brahms wrote a letter of consolation to her, defending her fidelity. Unfortunately, this letter was used as evidence in the divorce proceedings which Joachim initiated. Mostly due to this letter, the divorce was denied and the Joachims separated the following year. This caused a deep rift between the two old friends. Joachim would continue to play Brahms’ music, but refused to resume the friendship. Brahms continually tried to repair the relationship to no avail.

In August 1887, Brahms wrote to his publisher: “I must also tell you about my latest folly, a concerto for violin and cello! I had always intended to abandon the affair on account of my relations with Joachim, but to no avail. In artistic matters we have fortunately remained friends, but I should never have thought it possible for us to come together again on a purely personal level.”

From left to right: Robert Hausmann (cello), Josef Joachim (1st violin), Emanuel Wirth (viola) and Karel Halíř (2nd violin)

For years, Robert Hausmann (1852–1909), the cellist of the Joachim quartet since 1879, had tried to get Brahms to write a ‘cello concerto for him. This double concerto that Brahms produced was unprecedented for the time. While the idea of pairings of solo instruments against a larger body of strings was not new (i.e. Corelli and Handel’s Concerti Grossi, Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola K.V. 364, and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto Op. 56), Brahms was the first to unite the violin and the cello in this form. Brahms clearly intended something more personal. One can project the ‘cello part as representing Brahms himself, and the violin Joachim. Treating the soloists as opera characters was not an original idea, and Brahms made allusions in his letters that led some of his friends to believe that he was writing an opera. The unusual nature of a double concerto can be seen in a review by Brahms’s friend, Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick, who wrote “Such a double concerto is like a drama with two heroes instead of one, two heroes who, laying claim to our equal sympathy and admiration, merely get in each other’s way.” Needless to say, Brahms was far too skilled in this, his last orchestral work, to let the two heroes get in each other’s way.

On September 21 and 22, Brahms met with Joachim and Hausmann for rehearsals in Baden-Baden using Clara Schumann’s piano. This reinforces the idea that the concerto is chamber music for soloists and orchestra, as if his C minor Piano Trio Op. 101 from the previous year were a foreshadow. The following day, the Kursaal orchestra there gave a reading of the score in a private performance in the Louis-Quinze Room of the Kurhaus before it was formally premiered in Cologne with Brahms conducting. In their collaboration on the Violin Concerto, Joachim simplified the violin part. In this concerto, he went in the other direction, making it much more difficult.

There are three movements.

1. Allegro (A minor)

2. Andante (D major)

3. Vivace non troppo (A minor—A major)

The first movement begins with a bold statement by the full orchestra, but after only 4 measures the solo ‘cello takes over, launching into a cadenza. The brief initial orchestral outburst is full of portent, for much of the following material is spun from it. This main theme is in two parts; one a repeated figure in duple meter and another based on triplets, thus introducing a conflict – 2 vs. 3 – from the outset. The ‘cello is interrupted by the winds gently introducing fragments of what will become the second theme. They are in turn interrupted by the solo violin which is soon joined by the solo ‘cello. The shape of the motif first played by the violin references Joachim’s personal F-A-E (Frei aber Einsam) motto (to which Brahms had previously responded in the opening three notes of his Third Symphony in 1883, F-A-F “Frei aber Frölich” – “free but happy!”). An upwardly rushing passage leads back to an orchestral tutti where we hear with a more complete statement of the first theme. This is followed by a syncopated figure which will be prominent in the development. The second theme is then fully presented by the orchestra.

The second theme is a nod to the first theme in first movement of Viotti’s (1755-1824) Violin Concerto No. 22, which was a favorite of Brahms and Joachim. As you can see from the example, Brahms’ theme (marked b) is more of an allusion to Viotti’s theme (marked a) than a direct quotation; a wink between two knowing friends.

Viotti Violin Concerto No. 22, I

Brahms Double Concerto I, Second theme

In the development, Brahms pays most of his attention to the triple half of the main theme. After the soloists enter, we hear the original version followed by one in diminution where the effect is that it is twice as fast. Then we hear a melodic inversion – descending this time before the winds introduce another variant over the syncopated figure in the strings. Because the movement began with a cadenza, and virtuosic playing was on display throughout, there is no cadenza

Following an initial horn call, the andante D major second movement’s main theme is a lovely rising and falling arch played by the soloists in octaves accompanied by the strings. There is a hymn-like middle section followed by a return of the main theme, but this time with a pizzicato accompaniment. The hymn returns in the tonic key leading to an extraordinarily beautiful coda to bring the movement to a gentle close.

In the A minor rondo third movement, Brahms’ interest in Hungarian folk music, which was the initial basis of his friendship with Reményi, shines through. The Gypsy flavor is evident as well as humorous interruptions of the ‘cello by the violin. In fact, Brahms wrote his Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs) the same summer at Thun as when he wrote this concerto. The finale begins with the rondo (recurring) theme played softly by the ‘cello first then the violin. There are two contrasting episodes, the first a broad C major passage first presented by the ‘cello then quickly followed by the violin with both soloists playing double stops (each playing two notes at once, the second a dramatic rhythmically punctuated theme also presented with double stops from the solo instruments. The demands on the soloists are limited only by the technical possibilities of their instruments, as Brahms explores fully the tonal colors, sonic depths and beauty of these instruments individually and collectively with the orchestra, moving the listener through different musical scenes and feelings as though we are listening through a musical kaleidoscope. The coda begins quietly in a slower tempo, but soon the the original exuberance returns for a triumphal conclusion in A major.

Resources

Public domain score

Manuscript with Brahms’ annotations. Select the concerto from the menu.

Spotify playlist of the concerto. You can join Spotify for free.

Rattle Playlist on YouTube.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

- Baptized December 17, 1770 in Bonn, Germany.

- Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria.

Beethoven portrait by Joseph Mahler 1815

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

- Composed: 1811-1812.

- First Performance: December 8, 1813 at Vienna with Beethoven conducting.

- Instrumentation, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 timpani, and strings.

- Duration: ~40 min.

The significance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony played on tonight’s program alongside the “1812 Overture” is not to be underestimated. Although sketches for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 date from late 1811 while staying in Teplitz (near Prague), it was completed on April 13, 1812; so tonight we celebrate the 200th Anniversary of its composition. We also celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812, depicted so popularly in Tchaikovsky’s famous Overture that ends this evening’s concert. And yet there is another link to battles and soldiers that ties these two well-loved compositions together.

Beethoven’s friend Johann Mälzel (1772 – 1838), who was the P.T. Barnum of his day, is remembered today as an inventor of the metronome. He invented various musical automatons, including a trumpeter and a “panharmonicon” which simulated a military band playing on instruments with the sound and movements provided through an ingenious system of bellows and reeds. Following The Duke of Wellington‘s victory over Napoleon’s brother Joseph at the Battle of Vitoria, Spain, in June of 1813, Mälzel asked Beethoven to write a piece commemorating the Victory which could be played by his contraption. Beethoven did write the piece but it was too complicated for Mälzel’s machine.

In October 1813, Beethoven re-orchestrated the work and renamed it Wellington’s Victory, or, the Battle of Vitoria, Op. 91. Mälzel organized a December 1813 concert “for the benefit of Austrian and Bavarian soldiers disabled at the battle of Hanau.” The program included a march by Dussek and another by Pleyel that were played by Mälzel’s trumpeter. Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory and Symphony No. 7 both received their premières on that concert. Many famous and not-yet famous musicians, such as Salieri, Hummel, Meyerbeer, and Dragonetti, performed on this concert out of patriotic duty.

There are four movements:

1. Poco sostenuto – Vivace

2. Allegretto

3. Presto – Assai meno presto (trio)

4. IV. Allegro con brio

As in Beethoven’s symphonies 1, 2 and 4, this symphony begins with a slow introduction (poco sostenuto) in A major. Its length is almost as long as many entire first movements by Beethoven! The main part of the movement, still in A major, has the flutes presenting the three note rhythmic cell that dominates the rest of the movement. The movement is in sonata allegro form, but because the second theme relies so much on this rhythmic cell, as does the first theme, it might appear that they are the same. In addition to his use of rhythm, Beethoven is adventurous in his key scheme which begins so solidly in A major. Already in the introduction, he takes us to the very remote keys of C and F – neither of which are in the A major scale! In fact, the introduction does not introduce “themes” as much as it introduces the key scheme – C being up a third from the home A and F being down a third. So, we will see that these foreign keys are not confined to just this movement, but throughout the symphony. Beethoven was fond of ostinato (the repetition over and over of a musical line, usually in a lower voice), and uses it to great effect in the low horn in the transitions back to the principal theme in the Third Movement (Presto). However, the bass lines in the coda, which continually wraps around themselves, caused Carl Maria von Weber to comment that Beethoven was “ripe for the madhouse.” The first movement ends with two hammer blows of A Major chords that follow a full-throated orchestral declamation of the dotted rhythm motif.

From solid A Major, we are plunged immediately into A minor. In place of the usual slow movement, Beethoven marked the second movement Allegretto. His sketches show that he originally marked it andante, but he decided that it needed to be faster. This famous movement starts with a sustained second inversion A minor chord in the winds which fades away, leading to the lower strings softly playing the dactylic (long, short, short) rhythm which permeates the entire movement. The orchestration thickens an instrument at a time while the violas and ‘celli play a long yearning phrase over the incessant pulse. This movement was so well received at the première that it had to be immediately performed again. Recently, it was the music played in the background to the climactic speech in the movie The King’s Speech. The movement ends with the sounding of the same A minor chord that opened the movement, leaving the impression of the music starting all over again like a gentle tide lapping against the shore.

The third movement (Presto) is a combination of a scherzo in the remote key of F major and a slower trio in D major. These forms return twice, each slightly truncated from the last, but making the overall form ABABA, (where A is the scherzo and B is the trio). This was the plan that Beethoven favored in many of his middle period scherzi. Just when the final statement of the slower trio appears again and we feel we may not survive yet another repeat of the same material, Beethoven punches his way out of the movement with a hearty laugh of five sharp chords. Beethoven’s friend, composer and musicologist Abbé Stadler (1748-1833), pointed out a similarity between the trio and a Lower Austrian Pilgrims’ hymn that Beethoven possibly heard (before going deaf of course!) during one of his many visits to Teplitz.

The Finale greets the listener as if they had opened the door to a blast furnace, and picks up where the scherzo left off; Beethoven immediately proceeds to turn it up to 11. The two mighty whacks which open the movement leave no doubt that we are back in A major. In the development we are once again led to the remote keys of C and F, but which now seem familiar. Once again the rhythmic vitality of the the two themes comes to the foreground. The entire movement unleashes a relentless energy that can only be Beethoven’s, as the orchestra whirls to a climactic finish. One of many wonderful passages occurs right before the coda: while a fragment of the main theme is being tossed among the strings, we hear the basses grind away on the dominant E for what seems an eternity, so that when the full-throated coda finally erupts, the effect is palpable. This moment culminates in a dynamic marking of fff (f=loud, ff=very loud), a marking that Beethoven rarely employed, not even in his titanic Ninth Symphony. Donald Francis Tovey described the finale as being ”a triumph of Bacchic fury.”

To Richard Wagner, this Symphony was “the apotheosis of the dance”. Indeed, it has not escaped the attention of choreographers. Isadora Duncan performed the last three movements at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1908 and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo has performed the complete work. Conductor Thomas Beecham had a different sort of dance in mind when he said “What can you do with it? It’s like a lot of yaks jumping about.”

Resources

Public domain score.

Graphic score video of the second movement.

Carlos Kleiber YouTube playlist.

Table of Contents

Booked for the Evening

Performers

Concert Program

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Johannes Brahms

Ludwig Van Beethoven