Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Concert 1

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano, H. 356

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů lived and worked in Paris, France from 1931 where he gained his main footing as a composer.  In 1941, he sought to escape war and traveled to the United States where he arrived in New York City and quickly reestablished his career there. Boston Symphony director Serge Koussevitzky was crucial to Martinů’s early success as he premiered and commissioned several compositions. Toward the end of his career, Martinů returned to Europe, where his fame soon subsided.

The Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano was composed later in life in 1956 while the composer was living in New York. The work reveals the influence of neoclassicism of Poulenc and Stravinsky plus rich colors reminiscent of Debussy.  If is filled with polka and march rhythms and various other intriguing technical passages that embrace the strength of his Czech roots.

Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), Sonata in G Minor for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 29

Ferdinand Ries was a German composer who was a friend, pupil and secretary of Beethoven.  He was a fine pianist and prolific composer of symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos, three operas, and numerous other works. He lived and worked in Russia before fleeing to London in 1813 at the time of Napoleon’s march toward Moscow. He later returned to his homeland of Germany to focus on his operas and other works.

The Sonata in G Minor, Op. 29, was composed in 1809, though it was not published until 1812. The history of the work is unclear, but it is thought that Ries composed it for a friend who would have been a well-known clarinetist of the time. The two parts are of a “duet” in nature with both parts showing equal prominence. An historian indicates that this sonata is an important milestone in the development of the clarinet sonata “because this work is one of the earliest known clarinet sonatas where there is effective writing for the clarinet that exploits its full potential”.  The last movement of this work was inspired by Eastern European Zigeuner music.

Michele Mangani (1966-  ), La Boheme Fantasia su Concerto du Temi Giacomo Puccini

Michele Mangani is an Italian composer born in Urbino, Italy.  He has held various positions through the years, including his post as the Artistic Director of the Wind Orchestra of Marche and Professor of Music for Wind Instruments at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro.  He has achieved recognition at several competitions through the years for his playing of the clarinet, his conducting, and his compositions.

The “La Boheme Fantasia” is a delightful arrangement for clarinet and piano of some of the most well-known themes from Puccini’s great opera.  This medium gives instrumentalists the chance to perform these historic vocal solos.

Bela Bartók (1881-1945), Three Folk Songs from the County Csik

Bela Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist during the first half of the 20^th century, from which time he is considered one of the most important composers. He and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary’s greatest composers. Through his study and founding of the field now known as “ethnomusicology”, Bartók "has empowered generations of subsequent composers to incorporate folk music and classical traditions from whatever culture into their compositions”.  

The work “Three Hungarian Folk Songs from Csik” was initially composed in 1908 for solo piano, but it has been arranged for various instruments.  They are not necessarily considered folk songs in the traditional sense of being anonymous, oral traditions. Instead, they are arrangements of traditional folk melodies from the Csík region of Transylvania (now Romania). Bartók collected and transcribed these and many other folk melodies during his fieldwork in the region. The work was later published by Bartók himself and is now part of the classical repertoire.  

Bela Bartók, Romanian Folk Dances

Bartók composed his Romanian Folk Dances in 1915 for solo piano, and reworked it for orchestra two years later. It is a set of six pieces based on folk tunes that would have originally been played on fiddle or fife. Each of the six movements is quite short, with the entire piece lasting only about 5 minutes. 

Concert 2

Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841–1904), Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 for Piano Four Hands

Antonin Dvořák was a Czech composer who frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia.  His style has been described as “the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition”, and he has been described as “arguably the most versatile composer of his time”.  His Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” is one of the most cherished and often-performed works up through the present time. 

The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. They were originally written for piano four hands (the version we hear today), and they wereinspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances. They were orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher soon after composition. The pieces, lively and full of national character, were well-received at the time and today are considered among the composer's most memorable works, occasionally even making appearances in popular culture.

Franz Krommer (1759-1831), Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 83 for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello

Franz Krommer was a Czech composer and violinist during the classical music period in Europe. He studied violin and organ with his uncle and became an organist. However, he later became a violinist and a Kapellmeister (conductor) for the orchestra of the Count of Limburg-Stirum (modern day Germany) as well as with other musical organizations throughout his life. During his day, Krommer was one of the most popular composers in Vienna, alongside Beethoven.

The Quartet, Op. 83 was published in 1816 and is in four contrasting movements.  

Erno Dohnányi (1877-1960), Sextet, Op. 37 for Violin, Viola, Cello, Clarinet, Horn and Piano

Ernst von Dohnányi (the better-known German version of his name) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor.  Born into a noble family, he studied music with well-known musicians of the day who had connections to the likes of Brahms and Liszt.  Dohnányi's first published work, his Piano Quintet in C minor, earned approval from Brahms, who promoted it in Vienna. After an extensive and successful career in Europe, he moved to the United States in the late 1940s and taught for ten years at Florida State University.  Ernst von Dohnányi was also the grandfather of the famous conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, the former long-time Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra.

The Sextet, Op. 37 was written in 1935 during a lengthy period of illness, during which the composer was bedridden for several months.  The movements display varying styles. The first movement “seems to allude to the symphonies of Mahler”, the second is a march, the third is a “Mendelssohnian scherzo”, and the finale makes reference to jazz and ragtime.

Concert 3

Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940), Ritornello for Cello and Piano, Op. 25

Vítězslava Kaprálová is an important twentieth-century Czech composer.  A child prodigy, she started composing at age nine, and at fifteen she entered the Brno Conservatory where she studied composition.  She continued her studies at the Master School of the Prague Conservatory (1935-1937), and further advanced her musical education at the Ecole normale de musique in Paris with Charles Munch (1937-1938) and, according to some unverified accounts, with Nadia Boulanger (1940), while also studying composition privately with Bohuslav Martinů (1938-1939). Despite her untimely death in 1940, possibly from typhoid fever, Kapralova left behind an impressive body of work. In 1946, in appreciation of her distinctive contribution, the foremost academic institution in the country - the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Arts - awarded Kapralova membership in memoriam. By 1948 this honor was bestowed on only 10 women, out of 648 members of the Academy. Only one of the ten women was a musician - Kapralova.

“Ritornello” combines rhythmic imagination with enjoyable lyrical melodies.  The two instruments are quite balanced in their roles in this work.  It consists of one movement which is around four minutes in performance length.

Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841–1904), Silent Woods, Op. 68 and Rondo for Cello and Piano, Op. 94

Antonin Dvořák was a Czech composer who frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia.  His style has been described as “the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition”, and he has been described as “arguably the most versatile composer of his time”.  His Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” is one of the most cherished and often-performed works up through the present time. 

“Silent Woods” was composed in 1883 and may have played a part in the genesis of his famous cello concerto. This work is a luscious romance, evocative of a forest at dusk in which the long-breathed melody sits perfectly on the cello. There is a livelier middle section in the key of C-sharp minor. In 1893, Dvořák made a new arrangement of the piece that calls for full orchestral accompaniment, making particularly delicious use of the woodwinds.

Dvořák planned a farewell tour in 1892 of various Bohemian and Moravian cities before his anticipated departure to the United States.  He wrote the “Rondo in G minor for Cello and Piano” on Christmas Day 1891, putting the finishing touches to it on December 26. The piece was first performed, as part of the tour, in the town of Kladno on January 6, 1892 and was orchestrated the following year at the same time as “Silent Woods”.  Knowing that he would soon be leaving his home (only for a few years, as it turned out), it was important to the composer that the shape and spirit of Czech folk music make themselves felt from the poised, minor-key dance that opens the piece, right through to its similarly ominous ending. In between, the solo cello is in control – leading the orchestra through various contrasting scenes, each speaking of rustic village life, and ranging from the loving to the respectful and the tempestuous. The music of this adventure-in-miniature is playful, virtuosic (for the cello) and full of conversational exchanges. It is also unfailingly elegant and exceptionally controlled, largely cleansed of the mud of the countryside.

Bela Bartók (1881-1945), Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano

Bela Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist during the first half of the 20^th century, from which time he is considered one of the most important composers. He and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary’s greatest composers. Through his study and founding of the field now known as “ethnomusicology”, Bartók "has empowered generations of subsequent composers to incorporate folk music and classical traditions from whatever culture into their compositions”.  

“Contrasts” was written in 1938, and themes within are based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies. It was written in response to a letter from violinist Joseph Szigeti, though it was officially commissioned by clarinetist Benny Goodman. The three movements contrast in tempo. The first movement begins with a lively violin pizzicato, after which the clarinet introduces the main theme, which is then varied. The title “Recruiting Dance” is an example of a music genre that was commonly played at military recruitings. The second movement entitled “Relaxation” is much more introspective with a shifting mood without a defined theme.  The third movement, “Fast Dance”, is a frenzied dance with some further internal “contrasts”. 

Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900), Quintet in D Major, Op. 42 for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Cello, and Piano

Zdeněk Fibich was a Czech composer from the late 19^th century. He is far less well-known than Dvorak or Smetana, possibly because he was more ambivalent to the rising Czech nationalism within the Hapsburg Empire and therefore felt less motivated to consciously write “Czech music” than did his compatriots.

The Quintet in D. Minor, Op. 42 dates from 1893 and is considered his most important chamber work. Because of the unusual combination of instruments Fibich selected for the original version, his publisher asked for another version for standard piano quintet. We will hear the original version tonight. The main theme is warm-hearted and presents a colorful reflection on the peacefulness of nature.  The second movement features a melody which is serene and dignified but also capable of tremendous passion. Following is a scherzo reminiscent of Schubert and includes two trios which Fibich instructs “to be played with wild humor”.  The finale is bright, joyous and festive.

Concert 4

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Quartet for Piano and Strings in A Minor

Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemia (then part of the Austrian Empire) to Jewish parents of humble origins (he later converted to Catholicism), but he displayed his musical gifts at an early age. After graduating from the Vienna Conservatory in 1878, Mahler held a succession of conducting posts of rising importance in the opera houses of Europe, culminating in his appointment in 1897 as director of the Vienna Court Opera (Hofoper). He is now known as one of the greatest of all opera conductors.  Late in his life he was briefly director of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the Modernism of the early 20th century.  His music was largely neglected for many years, including a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi years.  However, his compositions were rediscovered after the war, and they have become some of the most-often performed and recorded of all composers.

The Quartet for Piano and Strings in A Minor is the composer’s sole surviving piece of instrumental chamber music. He began work on the piece at around age 15 or 16.  The first performance featured Mahler at the piano. The final known performance in the 19^th century was in September 1876. The manuscript was then lost until the rediscovery by his widow Alma Mahler in the 1960s. It received its American premiere in February 1964 by Peter Serkin and The Galimir Quartet at Philharmonic Hall in New York. The single-movement work marked “Nicht zu Schnell” (not too fast) may have been initially intended as part of a multi-movement work which was never completed.

Josef Suk (1874-1935), Quartet for Piano and Strings in A Minor, Op. 1

Josef Suk was a Czech composer and violinist. From a young age, he was deeply involved and well-trained in music. He learned organ, violin, and piano from his father, Josef Suk Sr.  He later focused his studies on composition under the teachings of Hanuš Wihan. Despite extensive musical training, his musical skill was often said to be largely inherited.  Suk's greatest inspiration came from another of his teachers, Antonin Dvořák, whose daughter Suk married.

The Quartet for Piano and Strings was completed in the early 1890s. It was Suk’s first published work and was dedicated to Dvořák. The work has been described as “an ebullient, melodic work of high spirits and general optimism, rhythmically alive, and in an imaginative style”.  It immediately became a standard, possibly in part to the extensive concerts by the Bohemian Quartet in which Suk was second violinist. The work later disappeared from the standard repertoire and was out of print for more than half a century before being reprinted in recent years.

Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841–1904), Quartet for Piano & Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 87

Antonin Dvořák was a Czech composer who frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia.  His style has been described as “the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition”, and he has been described as “arguably the most versatile composer of his time”.  His Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” is one of the most cherished and often-performed works up through the present time. 

The Quartet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major was composed in the summer of 1889 at his residence in Vysoká (in present-day Slovakia).  The forthright statement of the opening theme in the strings is answered directly by the piano, although the two elements of the ensemble soon find themselves combining in a diverse array of interweaving and overlapping textures. The tone shifts often between a swaggering enthusiasm and a heartfelt lyricism, with side journeys into paragraphs of intense passion. The extended slow movement is built around as many as five different themes, allowing Dvořák to explore a wealth of emotional states. The following movement, often described as a Ländler, is announced by a brief fanfare, then moves into ethnic territory. The full sound of the ensemble that opens the final Allegro signals that this will not be a simple, light-hearted closing, but a vigorously animated affair with plenty of instrumental interplay. 

Program notes by Larry Reed