Ravinia 2023 Issue 1

MARTIN THEATRE 7:30 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2023 CALIDORE STRING QUARTET JEFFREY MYERS, violin RYAN MEEHAN, violin JEREMY BERRY, viola ESTELLE CHOI, cello BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. Allegro con brio Adagio ma non troppo Scherzo: Allegro La malinconia: Adagio—Allegretto BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. (“Harp”) Poco Adagio—Allegro Adagio ma non troppo Presto [ attacca ] Allegretto con variazione – – BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. Assai sostenuto—Allegro Allegro ma non tanto Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart: Molto adagio—Andante Alla Marcia, assai vivace [ attacca ] Più allegro—Allegro appassionato /UDWI* 9AN %EET+O9EN ɠ String Quartet No. in B- at major, op. , no. Beethoven composed his rst string quartets (the six quartets of op. ) between and , a relatively late debut in this tradition- al chamber music genre. ese quartets were published in two volumes, each containing three pieces, in June and October of by the Viennese rm of T. Mollo. e published sequence di ers from the order of composi- tion, although there is considerable disagree- ment over the original chronology. On June , , Beethoven presented a manuscript copy of the Quartet No. as a farewell gi to his friend Karl Amenda, who was leaving Vienna, with a personal note overflowing in brotherly affection: “Dear Amenda! Accept this quartet as a small token of my friendship, as o en as you play it re- member our days together and, at the same time, how tenderly kind-hearted to you was and ever will be your true and warm friend Ludwig van Beethoven.” Nonetheless, the printed score contains a dedication to Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz ( – ), the Vienna-based Bohemian aristocrat to whom Beethoven also dedicated the Sym- phonies Nos. , , and ; the “Triple” Concer- to; and the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte . ese early quartets, which demonstrate a con dent handling of the string resources, are firmly rooted in the Classical quartet tradition of Mozart and, more particularly, Haydn. Beethoven also admired the string works by Emanuel Aloys Förster ( – ), which may have been an additional in uence. e dramatic, extroverted character found in abundance in Beethoven’s later compositions is noticeably lacking in this set. e Quartet in B- at major, op. , no. , be- gins in a Classical musical mode and ends transformed into something startlingly Ro- mantic. Beethoven’s Allegro con brio demon- strates an economical handling of sonata-alle- gro form. ough he introduces two thematic ideas—the standard number—his rst theme contains such an abundance of melody that development is solely focused on that music. e Adagio ma non troppo conveys a casual spirit, except in the central minor-key section. In the Scherzo , cross-rhythms and rapid dy- namic changes help sustain a high energy level. Beethoven composed a lengthy slow intro- duction to the nal movement, which he en- titled La malinconia (Melancholy). Such de- scriptive titles in his music are relatively rare at this early date; they occur with greater fre- quency in his “late period.” Performers are in- structed in the score to treat this piece “with greatest delicacy.” e melancholy introduc- tion continues directly into a carefree rondo. e composer emphasized this banal juxta- position of themes by inserting fragments of La malinconia twice within the rondo. String Quartet No. in E- at major, op. (“Harp”) A er completing his three op. string quar- tets (together known as the “Razumovsky”), Beethoven hoped to compile another collec- tion for two violins, viola, and cello, begin- ning with the Quartet in E- at major, op. . His plan inexplicably failed to materialize. Never again did Beethoven issue multiple string quartets under a single opus number. An explanation, however, is not di cult to discover. Quite simply, Austrian society and Beethoven’s personal and professional place in it had changed irreversibly. Ludwig van Beethoven by Isidor Neugass (1806), a portrait ordered by Prince Carl von Lichnowsky Napoleon’s invasion eroded any sense of equilibrium and security lingering from the Enlightenment era. Although formal peace returned to Vienna and the Austro-Hungar- ian empire a er the armistice with France on October , , Beethoven never com- pletely recovered from Bonaparte’s betrayal of principle and the nancial hardships of the French occupation. His letters, including a November dispatch to Breitkopf & Härtel, began to seethe with cynicism: “What do you say to this dead peace? I no longer expect to see any stability in this age. e only certainty we can rely on is blind chance.” In this context, the Classical aspects of the Quartet No. in E-flat major, composed at about this same time in , must have struck the composer as disconnected from the times in retrospect. Its movements em- ploy neatly balanced formal structures, the thematic character remains within a narrow expressive range, and certain e ects are obvi- ously intended for popular appeal. However, the politics of the moment seemed far more tumultuous and uncertain. Beethoven re- sponded to this new reality in his subsequent string quartet, the dark and driven op. (“Serioso”), composed not long a er op. but withheld from publication until . Beethoven’s frequent use of pizzicato arpeggios in the rst movement of op. likely accounts for its uno cial nickname—the “Harp.” is compact opening movement grows from a few motives first heard in the Poco Adagio introduction: a downward leap followed by an immediate reversing of melodic direction, and a series of eighth-notes rising in stepwise motion. In the Allegro these fragments evolve into a rst-violin melody and second-violin countermelody. Pizzicatos usher in the sec- ondary theme, which contains several new motivic ideas, such as running th-notes and a short–short–short–long rhythm famil- iar from Beethoven’s other “heroic period” works (the Fi h Symphony comes to mind). Development arcs from motivic expansion to a lengthy “harp” passage, followed by the reca- pitulation and a sizeable coda. e Adagio ma non troppo is an incomparable essay in song-like lyricism. Each time the vi- olin plays its opening theme, more elaborate embellishment is added. Contrasting melo- dies appear between these variations. The rst episode makes a particularly memorable impression with its excursions into minor. Beethoven uses a “double trio” design in his Presto . e scherzo-like violin theme resumes the “heroic” rhythm, while the trio contains contrapuntal writing. is movement pro- ceeds directly into the nale. Unprecedented in Beethoven’s string quartet output is this concluding theme-and-variation movement. ough tempo never changes signi cantly, contrast is achieved through the alternation of energetic (odd-numbered) and lyrical (even-numbered) variations. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE