The first half of this concert features the extraordinary ensemble of 2 violins, viola, and cello that we now all know to be the standard configuration of a string quartet. Although earlier composers had written music for this particular combination of instruments, it was Franz Joseph Haydn who came to be known as the “father” of the string quartet. In his lifetime he produced 68 individual works for the group.
Most string players discover Haydn string quartets through a collection that was curated and published in 1918 by the C.F. Peters Company: the 30 Celebrated String Quartets. Their goal was to leverage the avid amateur chamber music market by providing an affordable must-have addition to players’ libraries. This collection is still in print today and has been reprinted by other publishers over the years, always keeping the same 30 works.
The quartet we are performing, opus 50 #2, is one that didn’t make the Peters edition cut in 1918.
After many years of service in the Esterhazy court under a contract that stipulated that all of his compositions were the property of the Esterhazy family, Haydn was able to renegotiate in 1779. The new terms allowed him to publish his own manuscripts. In February 1784 he accepted a commission from the Vienna publisher Artaria to produce a set of six string quartets. He expected to start on them by April and complete them by July of that year. Instead, he got another commission for a set of six symphonies from French nobleman Count D’Ogny for the Orchestra of the ‘Olympic’ (Masonic) Lodge. Haydn composed these works throughout 1785 and into 1786. They came to be known as his ‘Paris’ symphonies. In 1786 a request came from the bishop of Cádiz, Spain for a series of symphonic movements to intersperse with readings of the seven last words of Christ at the annual Good Friday service in the Cathedral of Cádiz.
He finished those in 1786 and immediately created an arrangement of the work for string quartet. Only then did he return to the shelved set of string quartets in April 1787.
Work on these six quartets progressed steadily, and he completed them in August 1787. Before delivering the promised works to Artaria, Haydn sent a copy of the manuscript to London to publisher William Forster, who printed and released the set in England unaware of the arrangement with Artaria. Artaria received the manuscript in September and only then heard about the British publication. Although irritated, the publisher went ahead with releasing the Artaria edition.
Haydn had sent a copy of his scores of the ‘Paris’ symphonies to King Wilhelm Frederich of Prussia, who loved them and sent the composer an expensive gold ring in acknowledgement. Haydn wanted to respond by dedicating his set of quartets to the King. Before he even finished composing them, he wrote to Artaria saying, “I can think of no better and more fitting way to show my thankfulness to His Majesty (and also in the eyes of the whole world) than by dedicating these six Quartets to him…” Hence these pieces came to be known as the “Prussian” Quartets.
Haydn’s detour into working on the ‘Seven Last Words’ and the subsequent arrangement for string quartet clearly influenced the opus 50 quartets. Compared to his set of quartets written in 1781, these pieces show a new, almost vocal, manner in the melodic lines and give expanded roles to the viola and, especially, the cello. You can also hear how Haydn has fully embraced the philosophical ideal advanced by the writer Johann von Goethe of “Sturm und Drang” (Storm and Stress) in art. There is a new approach to building tension melodically and providing release with contrasting material evident here.
The first movement of the quartet, opus 50 #2, is in the unusual meter of three-quarter time and marked Vivace – quick and lively. This indication is deceptive, as Haydn keeps changing the pace of the music. Entire three-beat bars feel like slow steady pulses in the opening stately melody only to shift into fast-driven beats as the music shifts to producing fireworks. This interplay between the first violin and the cello is especially fun.
The second movement feels like a mini opera. The second violin starts the drama before the first violin takes over an extended voice-like aria. The cello has a magnificent moment that drives the theatrics. The second violin and viola are often paired, taking part in conversational interplay with the main melody
The Minuet and Trio are sharply contrasted; the former stately in bearing while the latter is a lighthearted romp. The toe-tapping drive in the Trio seems to invite dancing until Haydn derails the whole operation with an unexpected pause and false restart.
The Finale, another Vivace, starts with a theme that makes you expect what would be typical for a work of this era—a Rondo—a catchy melody that keeps popping back up between melodic excursions. Haydn doesn’t do that. He writes in a style that would be more reminiscent of an opening movement. He includes contrasting melodies and a development section based on the ‘not-a-rondo’ theme to build excitement before circling back to the original theme.
We jump forward 230 years for our next piece. In the intervening years the string quartet became a vehicle for the lush romanticism of Brahms, was utilized for excursions into 12-tone serialism by Schoenberg, served the minimalism explored by Philip Glass, and accommodated many other approaches to sharing experience through sound. Derrick Skye’s work American Mirror continues this tradition. Below is his description of his piece provided on his website where, in stark contrast to the publishing industry of Haydn’s time, you can click a link to purchase the music. He writes:
“American Mirror reflects on the coming together of cultures in our society, which consists of many generations and descendants of refugees, immigrants, and enslaved people, and how intercultural collaborations are essential to the well-being of American society. Melodically, the piece draws from West African, North African, and Eastern European vocal techniques and ornamentations, in addition to modal scales. Underneath these melodies, American Mirror uses open harmonies commonly found in Appalachian folk music, and also includes drones, an accompaniment practice found in many musical cultures. American Mirror is written in two parts.”
Part I asks for the audience and/or quartet members to sing drones in two sections. This singing symbolizes the support we could give to one another, encouraging every individual to reach their full potential.
Rhythmically, Part II uses clapping as an accompaniment, continuing a tradition practiced in many cultures around the world. Part II uses rhythmic structures found in Hindustani (North Indian) classical music such as tihais (rhythmic cadences played three times where the last note of the third time resolves to beat one of the cycle) and dumdhar chakradhar tihais (a longer rhythmic cadence that may include tihais, played three times where the last note of the third time resolves to beat one and there is a rest between each repetition). Part II also uses an eight-beat cycle called adi tala, found in Carnatic (South Indian) classical music.
The final work on the program, Robert Schumann’s Violin sonata no. 1 in a minor, opus 105, is a work now acknowledged as a violin masterpiece but one about which Schumann himself initially expressed reservations. He’d written it very quickly in just five days between the 12th and 16th of September, 1851. At the time, Schumann was serving as the municipal music director of Düsseldorf and wrestling with managing the infighting and attendance problems of the large chorus and orchestra under his direction. He was not well suited to this role and, out of sheer frustration, began to form smaller chamber ensembles from selected players and singers. His compositional output became focused on chamber music.
In September 1851, pianist Clara Schumann, Robert’s wife, noted, “Robert has composed a new sonata for piano and violin, but I have not yet become acquainted with it as it is presently with the copyist”. A month later Clara and violinist Wilhelm Josef von Wasielewski gave the first performance at a private concert. Clara said of that performance, “We played it and felt … moved by the highly elegiac first movement and the lovely second movement, only the third … more obstinate movement wasn’t quite ready to come off”. That opinion changed when Clara gave the official public premier in Leipzig in March 1852 with violinist Ferdinand David. She was delighted with David’s interpretation of the gnarly 3rd movement and credited the collaboration with making its true character clear to her.
There is great tension in this music. It moves seamlessly between drive and tender vulnerability. The first movement has a feverish passion, rolling easily in a two-beat 6/8 time and occasionally piling three beats on top in syncopation. The second movement begins as a simple song; a little introduction and then the main verse. This is followed by a despairing melody that drifts back to the opening tune. Next comes a joyous and energetic section which, in turn, slips back to the original song, gently concluding the movement. The final movement that Clara Schumann found so problematic at first begins as a driving perpetual motion. After many twists and turns, Schumann reintroduces the music of the opening movement like a dim ghost of the past before the dramatic conclusion.