Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

PETRA TIIHONEN (KUUSISTO); ANTTI JOHANSSON (KUUSISTOS & FRIED) leaps of a perfect fifth followed immediately by rapid dotted rhythms. Similar leaps appear at the onset of the minor-key theme, which modulates to C-flat major (a major third low- er) within a few measures. A greatly expand- ed version of the opening theme reaffirms the original key of E-flat major. The Andantino ed innocentemente introduc- es a tender melody, subdued and simple in design. Its unconventional key of B major— an enharmonic major third below the first movement’s key—mirrors the earlier modu- lation to C-flat major (C-flat = B). A brief pia- no flourish ( Eingang ) connects to the Finale , a rollicking German dance in triple meter. ANTON WEBERN (1883–1945) Langsamer Satz Webern composed this “slow movement” for string quartet in 1905, a very active year in his young career. Doctoral studies in musicology at the University of Vienna under Guido Ad- ler, begun in the fall of 1902, were drawing to a close. He completed a PhD dissertation on the music of Renaissance composer Heinrich Isaac in 1906. Webern also remained very ac- tive as a performer, studying cello and piano at the university and singing in the local Wag- ner Academic Society chorus. More vital to his future plans as a composer, Webern had begun private lessons with Arnold Schoen- berg. Over the years, their association blos- somed from a formal student-teacher rela- tionship (1904–8) to collegiality, mutual respect, and friendship. Early compositional exercises for Schoenberg focused on chamber forms, including two complete string quartets and several isolated movements for the same ensemble. Webern might have planned his Langsamer Satz for a larger work, though no confirming evidence survives. Hans Moldenhauer, the composer’s biographer, uncovered this score while rum- maging through the Webern family archives at Mittersill in 1959 and 1961. The manuscript currently resides in theMoldenhauer Archive, part of which is housed at Northwestern Anton Webern University. Webern’s Langsamer Satz received its belated premiere on May 27, 1962, in Seat- tle, when the University of Washington String Quartet performed this movement at the First International Webern Festival. JAAKKO KUUSISTO (1974–2022) String Quartet No. 1, op. 1 Jaakko Kuusisto led a rich, multifaceted ca- reer, excelling as a violinist, conductor, and composer before succumbing to a brain tu- mor on February 23, 2022. The extraordinary Kuusisto family of musicians in Finland in- cluded grandfather Taneli (composer, church musician, critic, and educator; 1905–88), fa- ther Ilkka (composer known primarily for his operas, conductor, and administrator; b. 1933), and brother Pekka (violinist, conductor, and composer; b. 1976). Jaakko studied violin with Géza Szilvay at East Helsinki Music College before entering the Sibelius Academy, where his development as a violinist continued un- der Tuomas Haapanen. He also studied com- position with Eero Hämeenniemi. Jaakko earned first prize in the Kuopio Violin Competition (1989) and came in fourth place in the Sibelius Violin Competition (1990). Not long after, the Kuusisto family moved to the United States so that the brothers could study violin with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at Indiana University. Jaakko continued to enjoy success in violin competitions, winning third prize in the Carl Nielsen Internation- al Violin Competition (1992), progressing to the semifinal round in the Queen Elisabeth Competition (1993), and receiving fourth- place laureate honors in the Indianapolis Vi- olin Competition (1994). The following year, he participated as a violinist in the Ravinia Steans Music Institute (RSMI). Back on the competition circuit, Jaakko reached the finals of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1997. Kuusisto became concertmaster of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 1999 at the invitation of music director Osmo Vänskä, holding that position until 2012. After stepping in as a last-minute substitute conductor with the Jaakko Kuusisto Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 2002, Kuusisto increasingly focused his time and effort on operatic and orchestral conducting. He served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra (2005–9), Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra (from 2018 un- til his death), and Artistic Partner to the Oulu Symphony Orchestra (to have begun in 2022), and he regularly conducted at the Finnish National Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festi- val. In addition, Kuusisto held the position of Artistic Director of the Tuusulanjärvi Cham- ber Music Festival (1999–2006) and Oulu Music Festival (2013–21). Kuusisto created an impressive catalog of approximately 40 compositions. As an ex- perienced performer, he brought firsthand understanding of the interplay between so- loist and orchestra in his concertos for bas- soon, cello, piano, trumpet, and violin. He produced several orchestral compositions, including two symphonies (Kuusisto com- pleted the second shortly before his death), and a cantata for baritone and orchestra. The stage works included four operas: the chil- dren’s operas The Princess and the Wild Swans (2002) and The Canine Kalevala (2003), the biographical opera To Life! portraying the life of composer Oskar Merikanto, and the post–World War II opera Ice (2019) based on the bestselling novel by Ulla-Lena Lundberg about a young Lutheran pastor and his fami- ly living on a remote island. Kuusisto’s pieces for chamber ensembles include a piano trio, a fantasy for flute, clarinet, and piano, several works for violin and piano, and three num- bered string quartets in addition to Play III , op. 21. The Ravinia Festival commissioned Play II , op. 16—a one-movement piano quar- tet dedicated to Miriam Fried—in 2006. An ensemble hat year’s RSMI fellows gave the world premiere at Ravinia on July 15, 2006; an alumni ensemble later performed the compo- sition on its 2007 national tour. String Quartet no. 1, op. 1, Kuusisto’s first mature composition, was written and first performed in 1992. Members of the RSMI faculty offer the quartet this afternoon in memory of a beloved musician and friend, Jaakko Kuusisto. Miriam Fried with protégé brothers Pekka (left) and Jaakko (right) Kuusisto JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) String Sextet No. 2 in G major, op. 36 In his second sextet for two violins, two vio- las, and two cellos, Brahms memorialized the most serious and final romantic relationship of his life. The up-and-coming Romantic pi- anist, conductor, and composer met Agathe von Siebold (1835–1909), the daughter of a University of Göttingen medical professor, during a summer vacation in 1858. Immedi- ately smitten by her black-haired beauty and pleasant singing voice, Brahms composed several songs in the folk style and numerous vocal duets for “Gathe,” the byproducts of their growing amorous attachment. After his contract with the princely court at Detmold expired on New Year’s Day 1859, Brahms rushed to Göttingen for a reunion with his beloved. Many close friends anxious- ly awaited formal news of their engagement. Brahms already had consented to wearing an engagement ring. However, no announce- ment came. Agathe many years later chroni- cled the unhappy ending to their relationship in her Errinerungen (Remembrances). “I love you! I must see you again! But I cannot wear fetters,” Brahms confessed. “Write to me, whether I am to come back, to take you in my arms, to kiss you, and tell you that I love you.” The two never met face-to-face again. Caught in the flush of nostalgia, Brahms’s thoughts again turned to Agathe in Septem- ber 1864 when he visited Göttingen and be- gan to inquire about her “house and garden at the city gate.” While in this city of so many bittersweet memories, he composed the first three movements of the String Sextet No. 2 in G major, op. 36. Brahms added the finale the following May while at Baden. The first performance took place in Boston on Octo- ber 11, 1866, at a concert of the Mendelssohn Quintette Club featuring violinists William Schultze and Carl Hamm, violists Thomas Ryan and Edward Heindl, and cellists Ru- dolph Hennig and Alexander Heindl. As a thematic reminiscence of his former sweetheart, Brahms crafted a motto based on Johannes Brahms (1866) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 29