Ravinia 2023 Issue 1

TODD ROSENBERG (OSORIO) variations display a more Romantic explora- tion of emotional extremes, both introspec- tive and extroverted. e nal variation leads to a magni cent four-voice fugue. /UDWI* 9AN %EET+O9EN ɠ Piano Sonata No. in E major, op. An upsurge of creativity in spawned the last three entries in Beethoven’s celebrated se- ries of piano sonatas. Soon a er earning a legal victory in the custody battle for his neph- ew Karl, the composer promised quick deliv- ery of three new sonatas to the Berlin publish- er Adolf Martin Schlesinger in a letter dated April . Beethoven had stalled midway through the Missa solemnis and needed ready cash, as reported by his secretary, Anton Felix Schindler. Already, he had taken the drastic step of securing loans from two publishers “notorious for their ruthlessness towards those who seek help in this way.” e proud musician also hoped to refute persistent ru- mors in Vienna that he had become a lunatic unable to compose anything new. (His stone-deafness, though, could not be denied!) Beethoven spent the summer “gathering and storing up ideas” at Mödling. Back in Vienna, the rst sonata (E major, op. ) took nal form by year’s end. However, severe bouts of jaundice delayed the other two sonatas, extending their completion dates to Decem- ber , (A- at major, op. ) and Janu- ary , (Cminor, op. ). In themeantime, Beethoven negotiated separate publication agreements with di erent rms in France, Germany, Austria, and England, thus ensur- ing the largest possible income. With ultimate self-interest, the composer pronounced these technically and intellectually complex works as “really not very di cult.” e rst edition by Parisian printer Maurice Schlesinger, son of the Berlin publisher, was fraught with er- rors. Beethoven spilled large quantities of ink correcting erroneous passages for later editions. Archduke Rudolph—Beethoven’s Ludwig van Beethoven by August von Kloeber (1818) piano and composition pupil and patron— received the dedication of op. , although the London edition was inscribed to Antonie Brentano, who some scholars suggest was the composer’s “Immortal Beloved.” Beethoven dedicated op. to Maximil- iane Brentano, the -year-old daughter of his close acquaintances, Franz and Antonie. Warm memories of the Brentanos spilled over in a letter to Maximiliane: “ is is what is now addressed to you and what recalls you to me as you were in your childhood years, so equally your beloved parents, your admirable and gi ed mother, your father lled with tru- ly good and noble qualities, and ever mindful of his children. …While I am thinking of the excellent qualities of your parents, there are no doubts in my mind that you have been striving to emulate these noble people and are progressing daily—My memories of a noble family can never fade, may your memories of me be frequent and good.” e Piano Sonata in E major, op. , begins with a highly condensed sonata movement. A preludial opening, rapid and succinct, contrasts greatly with the slower expressive fantasy bearing the second theme. Beetho- ven develops his rst theme then restates the principal ideas in E major. Quickly, the mode changes to minor for the Prestissimo , which contributes a scherzo-like quality. e nal movement is a theme with six variations. An uncommon lyrical beauty su uses the orig- inal melody, which Beethoven described as Gesangvoll, mit innigster Emp ndung (lyri- cal, with deepest feeling). e rst variation retains the expressive quality of the theme, while proceeding in a new melodic direction. Variations nos. and employ contrapuntal textures. e nal variation restores the sim- plicity of the original theme, although with a lengthy diversion. e sonata closes “very peacefully, quasi-religious.” Piano Sonata No. in C minor, op. When Beethoven submitted his nal sonata to Schlesinger, the publisher was perplexed by its two-movement structure. Perhaps the copyist had forgotten to send the third movement, he reasoned. Schindler claimed that Beethoven admitted not having “time to write a third movement, and had therefore simply expanded the second.” is explana- tion seems highly improbable, since the per- fectionist composer never had qualms about missing publisher’s deadlines in order to re- ne a new work. e true answer why op. remained in two movements, and why it be- came the composer’s last piano sonata, may rest in a compositional conundrum. Beetho- ven’s late style concentrated heavily on fugue and variation techniques, the very methods employed in op. . However, it became ap- parent in this work that the piano—or may- be the human hand—was becoming inade- quate for delineating the multiple strands of melodic lament woven into his mature mu- sical textures. Beethoven forced techniques initially well suited to the keyboard (especial- ly the fugue) beyond the limitations of their original medium. e composer must have recognized this predicament, for he aban- doned the piano sonata genre and composed only one more signi cant keyboard work, the Diabelli Variations. e Piano Sonata No. in C minor, op. , opens with a majestic slow introduction lled with harmonic and rhythmic tension. An extended bass tremolo leads to the more rapid main portion, a blazing combination of sonata form and fugue. Beethoven begins his initial theme like a fugue subject—an isolated melodic fragment, then a complete theme presentation building rhythmic mo- tion into a steady outpouring of th-notes. is melody migrates throughout the texture, although not always in strict fugue. A second theme leaps between extreme high and low registers. Beethoven occasionally interrupts the motion with slower phrases. Develop- ment begins with a bold triple-octave state- ment of the rst theme, followed immediately by a fugue. e restoration of the two main themes follows shortly therea er, and a fanta- sy-like coda concludes. Beethoven’s second movement is a set of ve variations on an original C-major Arietta melody. An anonymous Allgemeine Musi- kalische Zeitung reviewer criticized the vari- ation technique demonstrated in this piece: “ e devices that the composer has seen t to employ for the development of his beau- tiful material are so artificial that we find them quite unworthy of his great genius. In his use of this musical technique, he is like a painter who uses a miniature brush and a single color to execute a whole altar piece.” Admittedly, Beethoven did not produce the polychromatic variations apparently sought by the Leipzig writer. Instead, his approach concentrated on a subtler theme transforma- tion and an overall accumulation of rhythmic impulse. Twice, in the fourth variation and in the nal measures, Beethoven interrupted the rhythmic motion to isolate the theme’s dis- tinctive dotted rhythm and downward leap. e movement—and the composer’s cycle of piano sonatas—closes with a tranquil C-ma- jor chord. –Program notes © Todd E. Sullivan JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO Jorge Federico Osorio began piano studies in his native Mexico at age with his mother, Luz María Puente, and later attended music conservatories in Mexico, Paris, and Moscow, under such teachers as Bernard Flavigny, Mo- nique Haas, and Jacob Milstein. His mentors also include Nadia Reisenberg and Wilhelm Kemp , and he is now a faculty member of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Osorio’s numerous honors include the Medalla Bellas Artes, the highest honor given by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts, as well as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Gina Bachauer Award. Concert tours have taken him to Europe, Asia, and the Americas with such ensembles as Chi- cago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras; the Israel, Warsaw, and Royal Philharmonics; the state orchestras of Moscow, France, and Mexico; and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra. Os- orio’s Ravinia highlights include playing all ve of Beethoven’s piano concertos over two nights in , and he has also performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the Newport and Grant Park Festivals, among others. Also making regular recital appearances across North America, he has recently performed in Los Angeles, Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, Mex- ico City, and Xalapa with overseas engage- ments recently including Aix en Provence, San José (Costa Rica), and Rio de Janeiro. As a chamber musician, Osorio has performed in a trio with violinist Mayumi Fujikawa and cellist Richard Markson; has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Ani Kava an, Elmar Oliveira, Henryk Szeryng, and the Paci ca and Mos- cow Quartets; and was previously artistic director of Mexico’s Brahms Chamber Music Festival. A proli c recording artist, he earned praise from Gramophone for a solo Brahms disc and has also been featured playing con- certos by Beethoven, Brahms, Chávez, Ponce, Ravel, and Rodrigo, among many others. His many albums on Cedille, EMI, Naxos, and other labels have established him as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Hispanic piano music. Jorge Federico Osorio made his Ravinia debut in and tonight makes his th appearance at the festival. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JUNE 6 – JULY 2, 2023 I