Waikanae Music Society

PROGRAMME

FELIX THE QUARTET

SUNDAY 1 May AT 2.30PM,
WAIKANAE MEMORIAL HALL

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)
STRING QUARTET IN G MAJOR, Opus 77, No 1
Alleegro moderato
Adagio
Menuetto: Presto
Finale: Presto
Joseph Haydn often said that it was not until he had been in England that he became famous in Germany. Onhis two trips to England he was feted everywhere he went and was honoured by the Royal family. However, in 1795 he decided it was time to return to Vienna, where he found that he was now considered to be the greatest living composer. The quartets of Opus 76 (written about 1797) and Opus 77 (1799) reveal his new assurance and the vast experience of nearly 40 years of quartet writing.
Several disparate elements come together in this G major quartet. Many of Haydn's themes are derived from folk song - here the opening theme with its military lilt is thought to be based on the bosako, an old Hungarian recuiting song. The second movement, beautifully polished, is profundly personal and speaks from the heart. The lively minuet harks back to folk influence and is famous for having the highest note in the standard quartet repertoire. The finale is a kolo, a playful Croatian round dance from Haydn's youth. This movement is a display piece for eaach of the players.

ALFRED SCHNITTKE (1934-1998)
STRING QUARTET No.3 (1983)
Adagio
Agitato
Pesante
Alfred Schnittke, although one of the leading Soviet composers of his generation, only received recognition outside Eastern Europe later in life. This third quartet was commissioned by the Mannheim Society for New Music and is typical of Schnittke's prediction for incorporating past styles within a musical language of the present. Accordingly, the quartet begins with three direct quotations: a cadential set-phrase from a Stabat Mater by Orlando di Lasso, the main theme of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, and a sequence of four notes - D Eb C B - the musical signature of Shostakovich (a homage by Schnittke to his "late great colleague and compatriot").
These three themes are extensively developed in the first movement. The second movement, described as having "the flavour of a nineteenth century waltz", introduces a theme which constantly circles around itself and is often heard in canon. The Lasso quotation returns at important junctures throughout the work and an epilogue containing material from previous movements leads to a conclusion in which the music dies away.

INTERVAL

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
STRING QUARTET IN E MINOR, Opus 44, No 2
Allegro assai appassionato
Scherzo, Allegro di molto
Andante-attacca
Presto agitato
Although the E minor quartet was published as the second of the three Opus 44 quartets, it was actually the first to be composed, during the composer's honeymoon in Freiburg in 1837. Mendelssohn was familiar with Beethoven's late quartets and sought to emulate the creative spirit and vision of Beethoven, retaining meanwhile his own idiomatic string writing and smooth lyrical style.
The first movement is strongly reminiscent of the violin concerto (also in E minor and begun in the same year 1837). Contrasted with the two main themes are extended episodes of semi-quaver figuration. The brief Scherzo fairly hums with energy - the agile, dancing melodies and comlpex fugal passages reveal Mendelssohn at his most sparkling and playful. The Andante brings to mind the lyrical pianism of the Songs Without Words, with its elegantly shaped melodies arching over a rippling accompaniment and sonorous bass line. In the Finale, the two contrasted themes are interwoven with dazzling dexterity, a broad range of string quartet textures in a movement of enormous momentum and character.

FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) STRING QUARTET IN G MAJOR, Opus 77, No 1 Alleegro moderato Adagio Menuetto: Presto Finale: Presto	Joseph Haydn often said that it was not until he had been in England that he became famous in Germany. Onhis two trips to England he was feted everywhere he went and was honoured by the Royal family. However, in 1795 he decided it was time to return to Vienna, where he found that he was now considered to be the greatest living composer. The quartets of Opus 76 (written about 1797) and Opus 77 (1799) reveal his new assurance and the vast experience of nearly 40 years of quartet writing. Several disparate elements come together in this G major quartet. Many of Haydn's themes are derived from folk song - here the opening theme with its military lilt is thought to be based on the bosako, an old Hungarian recuiting song. The second movement, beautifully polished, is profundly personal and speaks from the heart. The lively minuet harks back to folk influence and is famous for having the highest note in the standard quartet repertoire. The finale is a kolo, a playful Croatian round dance from Haydn's youth. This movement is a display piece for eaach of the players.
ALFRED SCHNITTKE (1934-1998) STRING QUARTET No.3 (1983) Adagio Agitato Pesante	Alfred Schnittke, although one of the leading Soviet composers of his generation, only received recognition outside Eastern Europe later in life. This third quartet was commissioned by the Mannheim Society for New Music and is typical of Schnittke's prediction for incorporating past styles within a musical language of the present. Accordingly, the quartet begins with three direct quotations: a cadential set-phrase from a Stabat Mater by Orlando di Lasso, the main theme of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, and a sequence of four notes - D Eb C B - the musical signature of Shostakovich (a homage by Schnittke to his "late great colleague and compatriot"). These three themes are extensively developed in the first movement. The second movement, described as having "the flavour of a nineteenth century waltz", introduces a theme which constantly circles around itself and is often heard in canon. The Lasso quotation returns at important junctures throughout the work and an epilogue containing material from previous movements leads to a conclusion in which the music dies away.
	INTERVAL
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) STRING QUARTET IN E MINOR, Opus 44, No 2 Allegro assai appassionato Scherzo, Allegro di molto Andante-attacca Presto agitato	Although the E minor quartet was published as the second of the three Opus 44 quartets, it was actually the first to be composed, during the composer's honeymoon in Freiburg in 1837. Mendelssohn was familiar with Beethoven's late quartets and sought to emulate the creative spirit and vision of Beethoven, retaining meanwhile his own idiomatic string writing and smooth lyrical style. The first movement is strongly reminiscent of the violin concerto (also in E minor and begun in the same year 1837). Contrasted with the two main themes are extended episodes of semi-quaver figuration. The brief Scherzo fairly hums with energy - the agile, dancing melodies and comlpex fugal passages reveal Mendelssohn at his most sparkling and playful. The Andante brings to mind the lyrical pianism of the Songs Without Words, with its elegantly shaped melodies arching over a rippling accompaniment and sonorous bass line. In the Finale, the two contrasted themes are interwoven with dazzling dexterity, a broad range of string quartet textures in a movement of enormous momentum and character.