Parker Quartet: Program

Sunday
15
june
parker quartet
Daniel Chong, violin
Ying Xue, violin
Jessica Bodner, viola
Kee-Hyun Kim, cello
WITH
5 PM
Thomas van Dyck, bass

STRING QUARTET IN F MINOR, OP. 20, NO. 5, HOB. III:35 (1772)
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Allegro moderato
Minuetto
Adagio
Finale: Fuga a due soggetti
AINSI LA NUIT: STRING QUARTET (1973-76)
Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)

Introduction and NocturneParenthse I
Miroir despaceParenthse II
LitaniesParenthse III
Litanies 2Parenthse IV
Constellations
Nocturne 2
Temps suspendu
:: intermission ::
STRING QUINTET NO. 2 IN G MAJOR, OP. 77 (1875/1888)
Antonn Dvork (1841-1904)

Allegro con fuoco
Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Poco andante
Finale: Allegro assai
33RD SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 27
WEEK 2
the program
STRING QUARTET IN F MINOR, OP. 20, NO. 5, HOB. III:35

Joseph Haydn (b. Rohrau, Austria, March 31, 1732; d. Vienna, May 31, 1809)
Notes
on the
program
by
Sandra Hyslop
Composed 1772; 22 minutes

Life at the rural Hungarian estate Esterhza, where Joseph Haydn took up residence at the
age of 34, proceeded with verve, as Prince Nicholas Esterhzy expended substantial sums of
time and money to create a center for the arts in the countryside. As Kapellmeister, Haydn
led and composed for an orchestra of about 25 resident instrumentalists, in addition to
assorted vocal soloists and choristers. The Prince entertained a steady flow of wealthy
visitors to the estate.
Fulfilling the Princes frequent requests for symphonies and operas, Haydn also became
remarkably adept at composing quickly for small string ensembles. The results were,
predictably, uneven in quality. In later years he requested of his Viennese publisher, Artaria,
that they ignore his first 12 published string quartets, those from his earliest years at
Esterhza, and start his official roster of quartets with the three sets that he composed in the
late 1760s and early 1770s. Those three sets were published as Opus 9, Opus 17 and Opus 20.
At Esterhza, Haydn had particularly

fine musicians, who gave his music
excellent performances as soon as he set
their parts before them, ink still drying.
The orchestras virtuoso concertmaster,
Luigi Tomasini, was a great friend in
addition to being the violinist whom
Haydn admired above all others. In
chamber music ensembles, Haydn
played second violin to Tomasini.
From 1761 to 1769, Haydns excellent
principal cellist, also a good friend,
was Joseph Weigl; he was replaced by
the esteemed Anton Kraft when Weigl
left Esterhza to join the Austrian
court orchestra in Vienna.
Earlier, Haydn had named his string quartets Divertimenti. With these
three sets, and ever after, he adopted String Quartet as the title for
such works. With Opus 20 he wrote final movements using fugal
materials, a significant new feature of string quartets that other
composers would imitate in years to come. Also in Opus 20, he began
to dislodge the minuet movement from second place: in Nos. 2, 4 and
6, the minuet is the third movement. These shifts in style may seem
small on paper; however, the effect, upon hearing the works, marked
a major new direction in style.
The first movement of the F minor Quartet, from 1772, is in classic sonata
form, with a minor-mode principal theme and a major-mode second
theme. The coda lends darkness to the final bars of the moderately
paced movement. The Minuet, similarly somber, is followed by a sweet,
cantabile Adagio. The two-subject fugue makes a sophisticated
conclusion to the Quartet.
AINSI LA NUIT: STRING QUARTET

Henri Dutilleux (b. Angers, France, January 22, 1916; d. Paris, May 22, 2013)
Composed 1973-1976; 18 minutes

In 1973 the Koussevitzky Foundation commissioned the esteemed French composer Henri
Dutilleux to write a string quartet to be performed by the Juilliard String Quartet using the
Stradivari instruments in the collection of the Library of Congress. Despite his impressive
works list, Dutilleux felt challenged by the assignment, as he had not composed a string
quartet since his student days.
For more than three years he worked assiduously, studying historical models and creating
practice sketches. He analyzed such modern scores as Anton Weberns Six Bagatelles and
Alban Bergs Lyric Suite, which supplemented his study of Beethoven and Bartk string
quartets, as well as other composers works. Already enamored of Bartks night music,
28 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
the evocative passages that occur frequently in his instrumental compositions, Dutilleux was
naturally pulled toward nocturnal images for his own new quartet. He took sketches to the
Juilliard Quartet for trials throughout this long process.
Dutilleux completed the quartet, Ainsi la nuit (Thus the Night), in 1976, dedicating it to the
memory of his friend Ernest Sussman and in tribute to Olga Koussevitzky, the widow of
the famed conductor whose foundation had supported the commission. In the end another
ensemble, the Quatuor Parrnin, gave the first performance of Ainsi la nuit in Paris on
January 6, 1977. The Juilliard Quartet performed it at the Library of Congress in Coolidge
Auditorium as planned, albeit one year later, on April 13, 1978. Dutilleux coached the
Juilliard ensemble in its preparation and attended the performance in
Washington, D.C.
In addition to music sources, Dutilleux was working under the spell of the
painter Vincent van Goghs Starry Night. He confessed to a profound connection
with van Goghs vivid visual expression of the universal energy in that work,
and he determined to test whether he could achieve something similar in
sound. He was also intrigued by the role of memory in van Goghs creation,
since painting a night scene had to rely heavily on memory and imagination.
The basic building block of Ainsi la nuit is a chord comprising several open
fifths piled atop one another. (Determine the interval of an open fifth by
counting up five notes on a major scale from any starting tone: from A to E,
for instance, or from C to G.) Playing several open fifths simultaneously, piled
upon one another, will produce some dissonance. Dutilleux piled the open
fifths artfully in order to achieve various effects as it reappears throughout
the work.
Dutilleux cast Ainsi la nuit in seven carefully balanced sections: Nocturne I,
Mirror, Litany I, Litany II, Constellations, Nocturne II and Suspended Time.
The chord, that piled-up stack of open fifths, is the principle, but not the sole,
unifying element.
1951 photo of Henri Dutilleux
The Juilliard String Quartet onstage at the

Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress,
with the Librarys Stradivarius stringed
instruments (Photograph: Chad Evans Wyatt)
Ainsi la nuit: Thus the night
Dutilleux also created four linking passages that he called parenthses to complete the
transitions between sections, to make them seamless. Sometimes the parenthse contains
elements that predict the following section; sometimes the parenthse echoes music
elements already sounded.
The composers concept of what he called progressive growth, his idiomatic approach to
developing thematic materials, describes the over-arching transformation of musical elements
from beginning to end of this string quartet. With only fleeting moments of expressive pause
along the way, Ainsi la nuit revolves without audible transitions, one vast 18-minute night sky.
Dutilleuxs resulting tribute to the vastness of the universe, Ainsi la nuit, is a brilliantly carved
gem, with endless facets reflecting the light as it turns under the skillful presentation of the
four musicians. A first hearing will reveal much of the brilliance. Repeated hearings will
reveal the depths of the work.
33RD SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 29
Notes
on the
program
by
Sandra Hyslop
STRING QUINTET NO. 2 IN G MAJOR, OP. 77

Antonn Dvork (b. Nelahozeves, Bohemia [present-day Czech Republic],
September 8, 1841; d. Prague, May 1, 1904)
Composed 1875, revised 1888; 30 minutes

In his years of playing viola in a Prague theater orchestra, Antonn Dvor
k had accumulated
a store of useful knowledge about the art and the craft of creating a music score. In 1874
he accepted an appointment as organist at Saint Vojte
ch Church and began seeking
opportunities for getting his own compositions into circulation.
In 1875 he submitted songs to a competition of the Austrian Commission for State Music
Prize in Vienna, whose small selection committee included Johannes Brahms. The handsome
sum of 400 gulden that he received as prize money was eclipsed by the professional
advantages that accrued from this event. Brahms became an active mentor to Dvor
k and
even urged his own Berlin publisher, Simrock, to accept the young Czech composer as a
client. Furthermore, the two composers developed a friendship that lasted to the end of
Brahmss life.
Antonn Dvork reading

a score.
Directly after learning of the Vienna prize, Dvor

k set to work on a composition for a small
local chamber music competition. He had already written one string quartet, and with his
experience as a professional violist, he felt comfortable with the genre. Within two months
he had completed a five-movement String Quintet in G major, won the prize and had the
satisfaction of hearing the work performed the following March in Prague. He numbered it
Opus 18.
In 1888, by now on the Simrock roster, Dvor
k submitted his Opus 18 String Quintet for
publication. Of the works five movements, two were lovely slow movements, an Intermezzo
and a Poco andante. Thinking that the balance would be better served with only one slow
movement, he removed the Intermezzo, re-titled it Nocturne, and turned it to another use.
Having readied his four-movement Quintet for publication, he was offended when Simrock
announced that he was re-numbering the work to Opus 77 in order to make it seem like a
brand-new composition. It was only one of several disagreements that Simrock and Dvor
k
had over the years. This time, as usual, Simrock had his way.
The maturity of the composition helped Simrocks dubious practice, as no one realized that
it was an early work. The first movement is really quite theatrical, with a hesitant cello-bass
duo introducing the main eventa skipping, extroverted first movement in G major. Dvor
k
derived drama through manipulation of the themes in the moody development section; the
darkness is dispelled by the return to good cheer at the movements end.
The Scherzo, in E minor, is a brisk, rhythmic dance of decidedly Slavic flavor. Its lilting second
subject provides a gentle contrast to the more masculine dance steps of the principal theme.
The wistful trio section slows the pace and the mood.
Dvor
ks gift for spinning melodies, leading them into harmonic byways and serving them
with imaginative accompaniments, creates a memorable third movement in C major. An
impassioned climax is followed by a sublime drift into sweet silence. The theatrical mood
of the first movement returns for the Finale, ending the Quintet with a jaunty rondo.
30 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

Parker Quartet: Program

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Parker Quartet: Program

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Parker Quartet: Program

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sunday

Thomas van Dyck, bass

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)

Antonn Dvork (1841-1904)

33RD SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 27

STRING QUARTET IN F MINOR, OP. 20, NO. 5, HOB. III:35

Composed 1772; 22 minutes

At Esterhza, Haydn had particularly

AINSI LA NUIT: STRING QUARTET

Composed 1973-1976; 18 minutes

28 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

1951 photo of Henri Dutilleux

The Juilliard String Quartet onstage at the

Ainsi la nuit: Thus the night

33RD SEASON | ROCKPORT MUSIC :: 29

STRING QUINTET NO. 2 IN G MAJOR, OP. 77

Composed 1875, revised 1888; 30 minutes

Antonn Dvork reading

Directly after learning of the Vienna prize, Dvor

30 :: NOTES ON THE PROGRAM

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.