Waikanae Music Society

PROGRAMME

THE AMICI ENSEMBLE

SUNDAY 2 April AT 2.30PM,
WAIKANAE MEMORIAL HALL

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Septet in E flat Major, Opus 65,
(piano, trumpet and strings)

Preambule
Menuet
Intermede
Gavotte et Finale
Born in Paris, Saint-Saëns was a prodigiously talented child, playing and composing at a very early age. He gave his first public piano recital at the age of 10, later studing organ and composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He was befriended and much influenced by Liszt, although in his music he rejected the earlier composer's tendency to extremes of emotion and technical brilliance.
The Opus 65 Septet was composed in 1881 at a time when Saint-Saens was much in demand internationally as a solo pianist and organist. Its instrumentation of string quartet plus piano, trumpet and double bass make it one of the most unusual combinations in the chamber music repertoire. Flying piano argpeggios open the first movement in which a noble fugato theme contrasts beautifully with a Schubertian second subject. The Menuet continues the noble mood in classic French style, with a contrasting Trio featuring soft trumpet and upper strings in unison. The Intermede, the emotional heart of this work, revisits the second theme of the opening movement, building to a powerful climax. The final movement starts as a playful Gavotte, then the fugato theme of the first movement reappears, bringing the work to an exciting conclusion.

Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904)
String Quintet in G Major, Opus 77 (with double bass)

Allegro con fuoco
Scherzo: Allegro vivace
Poco andante
Finale: Allegro assai
Dvorák wrote two string quintets, one with additional viola and this one with double bass. The work originally had five movements, but Dcorák removed the Intermezzo and published it seperately under the title Nocturno. The quintet can be counted amongst Dvorák's finest chamber works and contains all the composer's trademark compositional virtues: vibrant energy, gorgeous melodies and dancing rhythms.
The Quintet was completed around 1875 at a time when Dvorák's future as a composer was looking very positive. He had just received a grant from the imperial government of Vienna and had attracted the attention of Brahms. The hopeful period of his life is reflected in the exuberance of the music. The first movement overflows with contrasting ideas - one minute brooding, the next energetic and galloping. The dancing Scherzo is tinged with a typical Slavic melancholy. In contrast the Andante has a gentle rocking theme. The lighthearted Finale is jocular and vivaciously optimistic in mood.

INTERVAL

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Trout Quintet,
Opus 114
(violin, viola, cello, double bass & piano)

Allegro vivace
Andante
Scherzo: Presto
Tema con variazioni:Andantino
Finale: Allegro giusto
The Trout Quintet was written in 1819 during a summer excursion to Upper Austria with Johann Michael Vogl, one of the foremost operatic singers of the day. Vogl met Schubert in 1817 and was one of the first influential muscians to take a professional interest in the young composer's work, performing his songs and introducing him to other important contacts. The happiness of this period is expressed in the pure joy of the Trout Quintet, in which Schubert successfully blends the Viennese charm of his instrumental writing with his unique vocal lyricism.
The Quintet takes its name from a song that Schubert wrote two years earlier, the melody of which is used as the theme for a set of variations in the fourth movement. Unusual for a piano quintet is the inclusion of the double bass (in place of a second violin), which opens up a world of different tone colours. This is deservedly one of Schubert's most popular works.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) Septet in E flat Major, Opus 65, (piano, trumpet and strings) Preambule Menuet Intermede Gavotte et Finale	Born in Paris, Saint-Saëns was a prodigiously talented child, playing and composing at a very early age. He gave his first public piano recital at the age of 10, later studing organ and composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He was befriended and much influenced by Liszt, although in his music he rejected the earlier composer's tendency to extremes of emotion and technical brilliance. The Opus 65 Septet was composed in 1881 at a time when Saint-Saens was much in demand internationally as a solo pianist and organist. Its instrumentation of string quartet plus piano, trumpet and double bass make it one of the most unusual combinations in the chamber music repertoire. Flying piano argpeggios open the first movement in which a noble fugato theme contrasts beautifully with a Schubertian second subject. The Menuet continues the noble mood in classic French style, with a contrasting Trio featuring soft trumpet and upper strings in unison. The Intermede, the emotional heart of this work, revisits the second theme of the opening movement, building to a powerful climax. The final movement starts as a playful Gavotte, then the fugato theme of the first movement reappears, bringing the work to an exciting conclusion.
Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904) String Quintet in G Major, Opus 77 (with double bass) Allegro con fuoco Scherzo: Allegro vivace Poco andante Finale: Allegro assai	Dvorák wrote two string quintets, one with additional viola and this one with double bass. The work originally had five movements, but Dcorák removed the Intermezzo and published it seperately under the title Nocturno. The quintet can be counted amongst Dvorák's finest chamber works and contains all the composer's trademark compositional virtues: vibrant energy, gorgeous melodies and dancing rhythms. The Quintet was completed around 1875 at a time when Dvorák's future as a composer was looking very positive. He had just received a grant from the imperial government of Vienna and had attracted the attention of Brahms. The hopeful period of his life is reflected in the exuberance of the music. The first movement overflows with contrasting ideas - one minute brooding, the next energetic and galloping. The dancing Scherzo is tinged with a typical Slavic melancholy. In contrast the Andante has a gentle rocking theme. The lighthearted Finale is jocular and vivaciously optimistic in mood.
	INTERVAL
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Trout Quintet, Opus 114 (violin, viola, cello, double bass & piano) Allegro vivace Andante Scherzo: Presto Tema con variazioni:Andantino Finale: Allegro giusto	The Trout Quintet was written in 1819 during a summer excursion to Upper Austria with Johann Michael Vogl, one of the foremost operatic singers of the day. Vogl met Schubert in 1817 and was one of the first influential muscians to take a professional interest in the young composer's work, performing his songs and introducing him to other important contacts. The happiness of this period is expressed in the pure joy of the Trout Quintet, in which Schubert successfully blends the Viennese charm of his instrumental writing with his unique vocal lyricism. The Quintet takes its name from a song that Schubert wrote two years earlier, the melody of which is used as the theme for a set of variations in the fourth movement. Unusual for a piano quintet is the inclusion of the double bass (in place of a second violin), which opens up a world of different tone colours. This is deservedly one of Schubert's most popular works.