Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Concert 1 - Paris, Budapest, and Vienna

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), Suite from L’invitation au Chateau for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano

Francis Poulenc was a French composer and pianist from the first half of the 20th century.  He became loosely connected with other composers during that time in a group known as “Les Six”. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. In his early works, Poulenc became known for his high spirits and irreverence. During the 1930s, a much more serious side to his nature emerged, particularly in the religious music he composed from 1936 onwards, which he alternated with his more light-hearted works.

Suite from L’invitation au Chateau for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano is a musical setting from a play by Jean Anouilh which centers around a ball hosted by a young man who disapproves of the engagement of his twin brother.   He schemes to introduce a charming young mystery woman incognito (a beautiful professional dancer) who will upstage all the other women

at the ball. Since the setting is a ball, dancing to music is the background for the action, gossiping, and plotting that unfolds. Poulenc provides short character movements to set the various moods for the scenes, as well as longer ballroom dance movements, including several waltzes, a tango, a two-step, and a short tarantella. 

Erno Dohnányi (1877-1960), Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 10

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.

Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 10 is a five-movement work composed in 1904. It was a progressive work for the time with its way of developing themes contrapuntally and by the shifting chromatic tonality. 

Carl Frühling (1868-1937), Trio in A Minor for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 40

Carl Frühling was an Austrian composer and pianist.  His career mainly consisted of work as an accompanist and teacher of piano and composition. After struggles during the years of economic stress in Europe in the early 1930s, he died impoverished in Vienna.

Trio in A minor for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 40 is thought to have been composed around 1900.  The opening movement presents its warm and graceful themes at a relaxed tempo. The clarinet is often given the bass line which creates an unusual effect. The second movement features both a Viennese waltz and a Ländler-like melody.  Movement three is sad and reflective and ends with a duet between the cello and clarinet. The work closes with a spirited Allegro vivace.

Concert 2 - Vienna, Paris, and Bucharest 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828), String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581 

Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic period. Despite his short life of only 31 years, Schubert left behind a vast collection of works including more than 600 secular vocal works, seven completesymphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. Appreciation of Schubert's music was somewhat limited while he was alive, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death due to promotion by prominent composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and others.  Today, Schubert is considered one of the greatest composers in the history of Western classical music. 

 The String trio in B-flat Major, D. 581 is one of the three trios that Schubert wrote, all in B-flat Major. This four-movement work was written in 1817 and exists in two versions due to his subtle but precise attention to detail. 

Jean-Michel Damase (1928-2013), Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano

Jean-Michel Damase was a French pianist, conductor, and composer. Born to a harpist, he began studying piano and solfège at the age of five and composing by age nine. He was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1940 at age 12 and won first prize for piano in 1943 and first prize for composition in 1947. 

The Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Piano was composed in 1962.  Spanning about 16 minutes, the piece showcases Damase's signature quasi-Impressionistic style, blending flowing, lyrical melodies with delicate, agile, and virtuosic writing for all three instruments.

George Enescu (1881-1955), Trio No. 1 in G Minor for Violin, Cello, and Piano

George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He was born in the village of Liveni (later renamed “George Enescu” in his honor).  Enescu is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. As a child prodigy, he began experimenting with composing at an early age. At age 7, he became the youngest student ever admitted to the Vienna Conservatory. In 1891, at a private concert hosted by his teacher Joseph Hellmesberger, he met his idol, Johannes Brahms. His works were influenced by Romanian folk music.

The Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor probably dates from the time of his studies in Vienna, around 1897 where Schumann and Brahms were obvious influences. The work reveals thematic material that is both fresh and engagingly individual.Once thought lost, parts were discovered in recent years, and this 26-minute, four-movement composition demonstrates the composer's precocious talent, blending passionate Romantic themes with brilliant chamber writing. 

Concert 3 - Paris, London, Budapest, and Vienna

Jean Francaix (1912-1997), Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon

Jean Françaix was a French pianist, orchestrator, and neoclassical composer known for his prolific output and vibrant style. He is particularly known for his chamber music for piano and winds.  Françaix was born into a musical family in Le Mans, and his first publication in 1922 at age 10 caught the attention of a composer who steered young Jean toward the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger.  He was also an accomplished pianist, and he earned a First Prize in Piano at the Conservatoire de Paris. Françaix remained very active as a composer, right up to his death.

The Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon was written in 1922 for the staff at the Le Mans Conservatory. Françaix’s sense of humor is matched by his compositional style.  Typically light, full of trills and charming melodies, his contributions to the wind ensemble repertoire are works that allow the musicians to display a variety of technical skills. This 10-minute work moves through a myriad of sounds and moods, from the mysterious to the amusing, from the joyful to the melancholy.

Paul Patterson (1947- ), Westerly Winds for Quintet

Paul Patterson is a British composer and Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music.  He studied trombone and composition at the same institution.  Patterson was awarded the John Armitage Memorial Commission for 2005. For this, he composed The Fifth Continent, a work for solo counter tenor, choir, brass quintet and organ, which received its premiere in Southwark Cathedral in March 2005.

Westerly Winds for Quintet is a four-movement work composed in 1999 for the standard woodwind quintet.  Known for its lighthearted and humorous style, the piece weaves together various West Country English folk tunes, such as Linden Lea and the Helston Floral Dance.

Endre Szervánsky (1911-1977), Wind Quintet No. 1

Endre Szervánsky was a Hungarian clarinetist who studied at the Budapest Academy of Music from 1922-1927. He played in various orchestras before returning to the Academy to study composition from 1931–1936. He then worked as an orchestrator for the Hungarian Radio and taught musical theory. He was appointed professor of composition at the Budapest Academy in 1948.  He was influenced by fellow Hungarians Kodály and Bartók.  

The Wind Quintet No. 1 is an immensely appealing work which uses folk-inspired melodies and harmonies to evoke a specifically Hungarian landscape. The work opens with a slow introduction that ascends through the lowest registers of the ensemble until the oboe takes over with the spirited main theme. This melody is characterized by a short accentuated note followed by a longer one, a rhythmic device idiomatic to the accented first syllable in the spoken language. Secondary themes later intervene.  The brief but flamboyant Scherzo flies by on its way to a stately Trio.  The Andante begins quietly but gradually builds to a wonderful excitement in the high register of the clarinet before sinking to a quiet close.  The Finale is a virtuoso exercise in a series of headlong traditional dances with driving rhythms and a flurry of catchy melodies.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A Major, K 581

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. From an early life as a child prodigy to the very end of his life, he amazed audiences and fellow composers alike.  His work displayed many new creative elements in the prominent music of the Classical Period. The vast volume of works (in the Köchel catalogue created in 1862) extends from an early minuet for keyboard composed at age 5-6 to beyond 600 works in basically all media of performance.

The Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A Major, K. 581 was written in 1789 near the end of Mozart’s life. It was originally written for basset clarinet, though is now usually played on the clarinet in A.  It is Mozart’s only completed clarinet quintet and is one of the earliest and best-known works that was written for the instrument. It remains one of the most admired of the composer’s works. This four-movement work it is sometimes referred to as the “Stadler Quintet”, having been written for the clarinetist Anton Stadler.

Concert 4 - Paris, Budapest, and Vienna

Alexander Burrow, Prelude No. 1 “Dedication”

Franz Liszt (1811-1886), Transcendental Etude No. 4 “Mazeppa”

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic Period. With a diversebody of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era, and his piano works continue to be widely performed and recorded.

The Transcendental Etude No. 4 “Mazeppa” is one of a series of 12 compositions which are known for their technical difficulty and expressive range. Composed in 1851, "Mazeppa" is inspired by the legendary Ukrainian hero Ivan Mazepa, who, according to lore, was tied to a wild horse as punishment and survived the ordeal. The piece captures the spirit of this story. symbolizing the struggle and triumph over adversity. "Mazeppa" is marked by its demanding technical requirements, including rapid octave passages, intricate finger work, and dynamic shifts. The piece opens with a powerful and chaotic theme that mirrors the wild ride of Mazepa and then transitions into lyrical sections that contrast with the earlier intensity. The étude concludes triumphantly, representing Mazepa's ultimate survival and ascension. As part of Liszt's broader contribution to the piano repertoire, "Mazeppa" showcases his innovative use of the piano to evoke orchestral textures and narrative elements. It's a vivid example of emphasis on virtuosity and expressive storytelling in Romantic-era music.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Sonata in F Major for Violin and Piano, K. 376

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. From an early life as a child prodigy to the very end of his life, he amazed audiences and fellow composers alike.  His work displayed many new creative elements in the prominent music of the Classical Period. The vast volume of works (in the Köchel catalogue created in 1862) extends from an early minuet for keyboard composed at age 5-6 to beyond 600 works in basically all forms of musical performance.

The Sonata in F Major, K. 376 is the second of a set of six sonatas composed in 1781 in Mozart’s new home in Vienna. In many ways, this selection is the least flamboyant of the set. A sense of calm and relaxation prevails in much of its opening movement, marked by a wealth of thematic material. The middle movement unfolds in leisurely fashion and is based on a single theme, heard under various guises. The Rondo finale displays considerable charm and elegance throughout, and its main theme is allowed to effortlessly fade away at the close.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Piano

Claude Debussy was a French composer and is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his orchestral as well as his chamber works are among the most well-known and most often-performed works from that period.  Born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement, Debussy showed enough musical talent to be admitted at the age of ten to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. It took many years to develop his mature style, and he was nearly 40 when he achieved international fame in 1902 with the only opera he completed, Pelleas et Melisande. 

The Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Piano was written in 1917 and was Debussy’s last completed composition. Struggling with his terminal bout with cancer and having to deal with the devastation in Europe during the first World War, he wrote to his publisher: “I only wrote this sonata to be rid of the thing, spurred on by my dear publisher. This sonata will be interesting from a documentary point of view and as an example of what may be produced by a sick man in time of war.” Yet this brief, three-movement work, with all of its steadily-shifting moods, breaks free into a transcendent world of vibrant rhythm, shimmering color and nostalgia. At moments, there are hints of “Gypsy” fiddling, perhaps influenced by the violinist Béla Radics, whom Debussy heard in a Budapest nightclub. Overall, the Violin Sonata has the atmosphere of a quietly autumnal farewell work.

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano in B Major, Op. 8

Johannes Brahms was a most important German composer and prominent pianist of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, he began composing in his youth and began performing on tours in early adulthood, often premiering his own works.  His style was considered relatively more conservative than that of other composers of the day which included Richard Wagner.  He was quite famous during his lifetime and his output is voluminous and wide-ranging in his choice of medium.

The Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 was completed in 1854 when Brahms was just 20 years old, and it is one of his earliest masterworks. Thirty-five years later, in 1889, Brahms heavily revised the score, creating a tighter, more mature version. Today, the revised 1889 version is the one universally performed and recorded. It provides a fascinating bridge between Brahms’s exuberant youth and his seasoned mastery, retaining the passionate melodies of the original while streamlining its structural redundancies. 

Program notes by Larry Reed