Ravinia 2022, Issue 1

while staying at St. Wolfgang in the Tyrol. The composer approached the string quartet medium with some trepidation. To Scalero, Barber wrote on August 5, “I have started a string quartet: but how difficult it is! It seems to me that because we have so assiduously forced our personalities on Music—on Mu- sic, who never asked for them!—we have lost elegance; and if we cannot recapture elegance, the quartet form has escaped us forever.” Barber hoped the Curtis Quartet, then tour- ing Europe, would give the premiere. Howev- er, their schedule could not accommodate a detour to Rome, and he ultimately extended that honor to the Pro Arte Quartet, who in- troduced the work at the Villa Aurelia on De- cember 14. The composer felt quite satisfied with the aggressively romantic opening sona- ta movement and the compelling Adagio (which he described as a “knockout”), but the sonata-rondo finale proved unconvincing. The Molto adagio soon acquired an indepen- dent musical existence in the composer’s own 1938 orchestration. Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the premieres of this newly titled Adagio for Strings as well as Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra during a live radio broadcast on November 5, 1938. The Adagio for Strings of- fered a seven-minute emotional respite for the nationwide audience suffering through the depths of the Great Depression and for its conductor, who recently had fled the spread of fascism in Italy and Germany and the in- evitability of war. In the decades since, the Adagio for Strings has provided a contemplative accompani- ment to communal moments of mourning (the deaths of Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John Fitzgerald Kennedy), ter- rorism (the September 11, 2001, attacks and the Orlando nightclub shooting), and turmoil (Vietnam War battle scenes in the film Pla- toon and memorials to victims of COVID-19). Several other arrangements of the Molto ada- gio exist: chorus ( Agnus Dei by Barber), organ (William Strickland), clarinet choir (Lucien Samuel Barber Cailliet), woodwind ensemble (John O’Reil- ly), and even uptempo dance/electronica in- terpretations by DJs William Orbit, Tiësto, and Ferry Corsten, among others. JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, op. 51, no. 1 Brahms found the string quartet a daunting combination of contrapuntal clarity, motivic integration, and large-scale tonal structure. Perhaps partly in jest, he confessed that 20 quartets were begun and abandoned before he completed his first two, those of op. 51, which evolved over an eight-year period be- tween 1865 and 1873. He composed the Quar- tet No. 3 in B minor, op. 67, in 1875, but it had no successor. Great caution accompanied the final evolu- tion of the op. 51 quartets. Despite the per- sistent entreaties of his publisher Simrock, Brahms refused to release the works prema- turely: “Unfortunately, I must ask for still more patience from you. … Mozart took a great deal of trouble to compose six beautiful quartets [for Haydn], so we will do our best to turn out a couple that will be at least pass- able.” Several private readings of the quartets resulted in further refinements. The first pub- lic performances were given at the end of 1873: No. 2 on October 18, and No. 1 on De- cember 11. Brahms dedicated the set to his friend Theodor Billroth, a surgeon and ama- teur musician. Although both op. 51 quartets are in mi- nor keys, two distinct musical personalities unfold. The first (C minor) is a compact, weighty work influenced by the late quartets of Beethoven. Extreme motivic development governs each movement and unifies the quar- tet as a whole. By contrast, the second quartet (A minor) rejects overly somber expression in favor of a more effusive quality. The first movement of Quartet No. 1 is an Allegro in C minor. A consequential motive appears in the first violin, one that returns Johannes Brahms transformed in the other movements. In fact, the rising arpeggio of the E-flat-major second theme subtly resembles this violin motive. Adventurous harmonies in the development build tension that ultimately is relieved by the return of the main themes in C minor. Brahms called the A-flat major second move- ment a Romanze , perhaps recognizing the prevailing lyricism and aria-like A–B–A form. The third movement functions as the scherzo, although without the typical urgen- cy. Its trio offers a gently animated section in triple meter. The Allegro represents the motivic and har- monic summation of the quartet. The first theme’s melodic shape is derived from the germinal motive in the first movement; the contrasting theme also bears a kinship to earlier material. The conclusion contains an obvious reference to the first notes of the quartet. FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797–1828) String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 Schubert wrote a melancholy letter to his friend Leopold Kupelwieser, who had depart- ed Vienna for a stay in Rome, on March 31, 1824. Despite the success of his songs, the composer was in a virtual state of despair. The “reading parties” organized among his friends for plays and poetry had come to an abrupt end, as several members of the close circle left Vienna. Ill health constantly afflict- ed Schubert himself. Furthermore, two more of his operas failed to gain favor with the public. Yet, Schubert continued to compose. To Kupelwieser, he outlined his recent activi- ties: “I have done very little song-writing, but tried my hand at several instrumental things, for I have composed two quartets for violins, viola, and cello, and an octet, and want to write another string quartet. On the whole I want to prepare myself like this for a grand symphony.” The aforementioned quartets were those in A minor, D. 804, and D minor, D. 810, both composed in 1824. Two years passed before Schubert completed the third quartet—the G major, D. 887—intended as a preparato- ry exercise before the composition of his “grand symphony,” the one now known as the “Great” C major. Schubert dated the G-major quartet between June 20 and June 30, 1828, although some scholars have suggested a starting date two years earlier. This work was published some 23 years after his death, when A. Diabelli & Co. issued it as op. 161. The premiere of its first movement took place at a concert of Schubert’s compositions on March 26, 1828—the first and only public event the composer ever organized. A concert announcement in the Theaterzeitung lists the “first movement from a new string quartet, performed by Herren Professor Böhm, Holz, Weiss, and Linke.” Not until December 8, 1850, was the complete work given by the Jo- seph Hellmesberger Quartet at the Vienna Musikverein. Schubert commenced this his final quartet with a sonata-form Allegro molto moderato whose dense chords begin in G major before changing to G minor, establishing a mod- al conflict that continues throughout the work. The initial theme’s characteristic dotted rhythms first appear in the violin, accompa- nied by tremolos in the lower strings. A sec- ond appearance of this theme begins with an octave leap, an important element later in the movement. After a brief pause, a syncopated secondary melody enters. Development pri- marily emphasizes the first theme’s dotted rhythms and octave leap. Schubert’s thick opening sonorities signal the beginning of the recapitulation, although modalities are reversed (minor, then major). Both main themes reappear and eventually gravitate to- ward G major. A brief coda alludes to the ma- jor/minor conflict, with G major prevailing at the end. The Andante un poco moto is a five-part ron- do. Its expressive minor-key refrain begins in the cello and then moves to the violin. Only one contrasting theme appears, a melody that begins quietly before assuming a dramatic vi- tality. In the ensuing Scherzo , a lively B-minor tune alternates with a lighter, bucolic trio. The quartet culminates in a sonata-rondo move- ment, whose continuous 6/8 meter recalls the saltarello , a popular Italian folk dance. Schubert displayed great textural imagination in his varied instrumental combinations and enormous creativity in the expansion and de- velopment of his two primary themes. –Program notes © 2022 Todd E. Sullivan Franz Schubert by Wilhelm August Rieder (1875) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 41