Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Concert Pieces No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 113 and 114

Mendelssohn was a German Romantic pianist, organist, and composer born into a banking family. He received a music education alongside his equally talented sister Fanny; although, only Felix was allowed to pursue music as a profession, including music directorships in Dusseldorf and Leipzig. Eventually Mendelssohn would found the Leipzig Conservatory. Mendelssohn was musically more conservative than the dramatic emotions of other Romantic composers, and he was instrumental in reviving the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. 

These Concert Pieces have an interesting origin. A father-son duo of Munich clarinet virtuosos named Heinrich and Carl Baermann promised Mendelssohn their city’s specialty dumplings and strudel if he would compose a piece for them. Upon arrival, Mendelssohn dressed Carl with a chef’s hat, apron, and cooking spoon, then dressed himself the same with a quill instead of a spoon to work at his “keyboard oven”, which led to the first concert piece in the evening. The Baermanns were so pleased with the results they requested a second piece, which Mendelssohn obliged.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Trio in E-flat Major for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, K. 498

Mozart was an Austrian composer of the Classical period and one of the greatest in the entire Western concert repertoire. He composed the so-called “Kegelstatt Trio,” for his friends; clarinetist Anton Stadler and his piano student Franziska Jacquin. Mozart himself performed the viola part. The trio’s nickname  is likely an accident: Mozart composed another work, 12 Duos For French Horn, K. 487, where he penned the circumstances of its composition. “Kegelstatt” is the setting where the German game of skittles (forerunner of modern bowling) is played. It is thought that a cataloging mishap landed the moniker on the Trio in E-flat instead, and it has since become a distinguishing feature of this work. The three movements of this work do not have extremely varied tempi. The first movement is unusual in that it is an Andante, rather than the more typical fast opening movement, and it omits the standard repetition of the exposition. The second movement, Minuetto, features a distinctive triplet figure that is passed between viola and piano, beneath a legato melody, with the viola finishing the movement in a flourish of triplets. The final movement, Allegretto, is a rondo, yet with extended variation passages between recurrences of the rondo theme.

Christopher Theofanidis (b. 1967) Quasi Una Fantasia (for two clarinets and string quartet, Brightmusic commission)

Christopher Theofanidis is a Grammy award-winning American composer who regularly writes for a variety of musical genres, from orchestral and chamber music to opera and ballet. His works have been programmed by the world’s most celebrated orchestras, operas, and ballet companies. He composed his Symphony for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, “Rainbow Body” for the Houston Symphony and an orchestral/brass work for the opening of Bass Hall on commission from the Fort Worth Symphony. Other compositions include the ballet “Artemis” for the American Ballet Theatre; several concertos, including a cello concerto for the Dallas Symphony, a violin concerto for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Sarah Chang; as well as concertos for piano, viola, bassoon and organ with chamber orchestras. “Quasi una Fantasia” was jointly commissioned by Brightmusic and Chamber Music Northwest.  An arrangement for two clarinets and chamber orchestra was also commissioned by The Conservatory at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. Brightmusic performed the world premiere ten years ago!

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), Serenade for Two Clarinets and String Trio, H.334

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů had been living and working in Paris, France when he sought to escape war and voyaged to the United States. Martinů arrived in New York City in early 1941 and quickly reestablished his career in the United States. 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.

It is difficult to characterize Martinů’s style, and even Martinů long struggled with how to define himself as a composer. He saw his native Czechoslovakia as restrictive in its musical tastes and he sought to write music that was progressive and reflected the innovations of his time. Elements of Stravinsky, a composer Martinů greatly admired, can be heard in the Serenade for Two Clarinets and String Trio, H. 334. Martinů wrote a total of six serenades, this being the last in the series. The Serenades were each written for different and mostly unconventional combinations of instruments. The Serenade on today’s program is Martinů’s last and longest work in the genre, encompassing a range of styles and tempi, as opposed to the more staid arrangement of a typical serenade. The movement titles seem more suited to a larger work as its filled with lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and subtle counterpoint and harmonic language.
 

Program Notes by Malcolm Zachariah and Katrin Stamatis