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Concert on 21 Apr 90 8:00pmat Lim Por Yen Theatre, Arts Centre
ProgrammeWolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quartet No.19 in C major "Dissonance" K.465 Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No.3 Op.73
Antonin Dvorak: String Quartet No.12 in F major "American" Op.96
Comment from South China Morning Post
Programme Notes
String Quartet No.19 in C major "Dissonance" K.465 (1785)
Mozart first met Haydn, the single most important person who established the form of string quartets, in 1781. Record shows that they participated together in performances of string quartets in 1784. Through these means, Mozart gained intimate familiarity with the new and special way in which Haydn composed string quartets. In response, Mozart composed a series of six string quartets during the period from 1782 to 1785. These quartets were subsequently dedicated to Haydn. In a letter to Haydn, Mozart affirmed that the content of these quartets were 'the fruit of long and laborious endeavour'. Haydn was obviously gratified and expressed his highest praise to Mozart in front of Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, as an honourable man, that your son is the greatest composer I know, either in person or by name. He has taste, and besides that, the greatest understanding of composition..." Quartet No.19 is the last of this series. It earns its nickname "Dissonance" from the opening Adagio. The harmonic uncertainty here is extreme. More significantly, however, is the individuality of the voices. Yet they can be joined in various combinations to produce sound effects which is refreshing and inventive when one considers the classical period when this piece was written. Apart from the opening Adagio, the whole quartet is Mozartean in style, filled with joy, humour, tenderness, and ... notes.
String Quartet No.3 Op.73 (1946)
In Shostakovich's musical life, his entry to the string quartet world was rather late. While his first symphony was written at nineteen, he did not write his first string quartet until thirty-one. The quartets by Shostakovich are actually symphonies for four instruments with a deep emotional content, broad phrases, and intense climaxes. The resources of a string quartet are exploited: the highest registers of the instruments, new timbres, cross-reference between movements, and crossing of the parts. The first movement is in sonata form. Two contrasting, naive but grotesque themes forms the skeleton of the movement. The development section is a double fugue, based on two elements of the first theme. After recapitulation, the movement ends with a dynamic and exciting coda. The second movement is a rondo built from three themes. The first and second themes are resolute and astringent, with ostinato accompaniment. The third theme is ghostly and shimmering. The coda is a sluggish version of the first theme. The third movement is also a rondo with three ominous themes. The first two are in mixed duple and triple times. The third theme is a sarcasm of goose-stepping Prussian soldiery. The bewildering reappearance of the second theme signifies the end of this movement. The fourth movement is centred around a sorrowful and dramatic theme. The tragic and solemn octaves in the lower parts alternate with the singing of the first harmonica. Further on, the theme becomes more agitated and finally the original theme is presented by tenor harmonica with the accompaniment of kettle-drum-like bass. Without a break, the extensive final movement begins with solo tenor stating the first theme, which is then taken by the first harmonica. The touching second theme appears in first harmonica and then tenor harmonica against a background of delicate accompaniment. The playful third theme is introduced by the bass. The first harmonica shortly joins with bass. The climax is built up from the first theme and at its height heard the melody from the preceding movement presented canonically. After the climax, the three themes are heard in the reverse order. This quartet ends in the fading sound of the first harmonica against a sustained harmony.
String Quartet No.12 in F major "American" Op.96 (1893)
During his stay in America from 1892 to 1895 for a contract with the National Conservatory of Music in New York, Dvorak composed his finest works in orchestral music and chamber music. In May 1893, he completed Symphony No.9 "From the New World". Then he spent his summer holidays in Spillvile, a Czech community in Iowa where he was never happier during his America stay. In Spillvile, he felt immediately at home. His four children whom he missed so much reunited. After several months of dull city life in New York, the countryside life in Spillvile was really refreshing and charming. Under these favourable conditions, he made a sketch of a string quartet in three days' time. He wrote at the end of the sketch: "Thanks to Lord God, I am satisfied, it went quickly". Within a fortnight, he finished this so-called "American" Quartet on 23 June. The Quartet immediately gained widespread popularity. The fiftieth performance was given in one year's time after the premiere on New Year's Day of 1894. The popularity is largely due to its lively rhythms, joyful mood, predominant major keys, and appealing themes. The first movement opens with a countryside melody played by viola which is now arranged for the tenor harmonica. Opening by viola was Dvorak's favourite practice as he was a viola player and the effect of such opening is indeed attractive. The second movement is a beautiful Lento, characteristic of Dvorak's style and can be compared to his celebrated second movement of the New World Symphony. The third movement is a Scherzo. It is believed that Dvorak was inspired by an encounter with a small red bird with black wings and wrote the second theme of this scherzo which is much like a bird song. The finale is energetic right from the beginning until the end except a solemn episode which sounds like the small organ in a local church.
Programme Notes by Lau Chun Bong |
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