Ravinia 2019, Issue 2, Week 4

7:30 PM THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2019 MARTIN THEATRE MIRIAM FRIED, violin PAMELA FRANK, violin KIM KASHKASHIAN, viola PAUL BISS, viola MARCY ROSEN, cello GILBERT KALISH, piano BEETHOVEN String Trio No. 5 Allegro con spirito Adagio con espressione Scherzo: Allegro molto e vivace Finale: Presto Miriam Fried; Paul Biss; Marcy Rosen JOHN HARBISON Piano Quintet * Overtura Capriccio Intermezzo Burletta Elegia Miriam Fried; Pamela Frank; Kim Kashkashian; Marcy Rosen; Gilbert Kalish –Intermission– BRAHMS String Quintet No. 2 Allegro non troppo, ma con brio Adagio Un poco Allegretto Vivace ma non troppo presto Pamela Frank; Miriam Fried; Kim Kashkashian; Paul Biss; Marcy Rosen * First performance at Ravinia Tonight’s program is performed in memory of Dr. and Mrs. John W. Coutts . LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) String Trio No. 5 in C minor, op. 9, no. 3 The music-loving Count Johann Georg von Browne-Camus moved to Vienna at an oppor- tune time in the 1790s, when a dynamic young man named Ludwig van Beethoven rose to prominence as a pianist and composer. Browne- Camus, a Russian army officer, spent his wealth recklessly, eventually squandering the total sum. Beethoven profited from this lavish spending, both in terms of monetary support for his com- positions and periodic gifts. Beethoven dedi- cated several compositions to the count and his wife. A florid expression of gratitude accompa- nied the three string trios published as op. 9: “It would give the author much satisfaction to pres- ent to the first Maecenas of his Muse the best of his works.” Few would disagree that this spend- thrift “Maecenas,” or patron, received some of Beethoven’s most mature creations to date. Beethoven offered remarkably complex musical expression in op. 9, no. 3, a temperament com- mon in his C-minor works (the “Pathétique” Sonata and the Fifth Symphony, among others). The opening melodic gesture—a “modal” uni- son passage containing two half steps separated by an augmented second—establishes a solemn atmosphere. A more lyrical vein overtakes the second theme, which Beethoven alternates among the three strings (violin, viola, then cel- lo). A syncopated short–long rhythm gains im- portance as the movement progresses. Rhyth- mic intensity generated by this simple device propels the music toward the final cadence. The Adagio con espressione captures the light el- egance of courtly dance with its short melodic phrases ending in detached pitches. Although the degree of embellishment steadily increases, this effortless grace never disappears. Beethoven unveils a witty aspect of C minor in the Scherzo ’s sparse texture and off-beat accents. The central portion turns to a simple dance theme in C major, then the C-minor scherzo returns. An astounding musical phenomenon occurs in the Finale . Most thematic material contains a tinge Miniature of Ludwig van Beethoven by Christian Horneman (1803) RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 24 – JUNE 30, 2019 90