Ravinia 2023 Issue 3

BENNETT GORDON HALL 7:30 PM THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2023 Expressive Friedom A TRIBUTE TO MIRIAM FRIED ARIEL QUARTET # GERSHON GERCHIKOV, violin ALEXANDRA KAZOVSKY, violin JAN GRÜNING, viola AMIT EVEN-TOV , cello AYANO NINOMIYA, violin # KAREN OUZOUNIAN, cello # HENRY KRAMER, piano # HAYDN Piano Trio No. 29 in E-flat major, H. XV:30 Allegro moderato Andante con moto [ attacca ] Presto RAVEL Piano Trio Modéré Pantoum: Assez vif Passacaille: Très large Final: Animé Ayano Ninomiya, Karen Ouzounian, Henry Kramer –Intermission– SCHUBERT String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887 Allegro molto moderato Andante un poco moto Scherzo: Allegro vivace Allegro assai Ariel Quartet # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) Piano Trio No. 29 in E-flat major, H. XV:30 Many remember Haydn’s two London visits (1791–92 and 1794–95) for the dozen magnif- icent symphonies produced for Johann Peter Salomon’s concert series. However, this grand Austrian master produced an equally import- ant and plentiful group of piano trios with English connections. Ten or more “sonatas for piano with an accompaniment for the violin and violoncello” clustered around these trips and generally reflected unique English tastes. The piano trio assumed importance as Haydn’s private medium of expression, as the string quartet made its way into public con- certs. “Private” partly implied amateur do- mestic performance, often by women musi- cians. Haydn’s dedications corroborated this notion: all were to female acquaintances. As musicologist Mary Hunter has noted, private genres also allowed greater improvisational opportunities than public forms. Despite their private focus, the piano trios contained numerous stylistic allusions to the more pub- lic symphonic and string quartet worlds. Haydn composed the Piano Trio No. 29 in E-flat major, H. XV:30, between April and November 1796 after returning to Vienna. As such, it represented the direct successor to his last set of three piano trios composed for Lon- don (H. XV:27–29) and drew Haydn’s magnif- icent output for piano, violin, and cello to its conclusion. The Viennese publisher Artaria issued the E-flat-major trio individually in 1797. A review of the Breitkopf & Härtel edi- tion that appeared one year later praised this broad-scaled work’s sophistication “intended for fine connoisseurs of art and appreciators of a thorough compositional design” ( Allge- meine musikalische Zeitung , June 1799). The Allegro moderato unfolds at a casual, expansive pace while constructing close me- lodic relationships among the themes. Instru- mental writing transcends the “piano plus two accompanying instruments” description: the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung reviewer Joseph Haydn by Ludwig Guttenbrunn (ca.1770) observed that the violin is “indispensable be- cause in the first and last pieces it contains little solos.” Haydn creates a dark, proto-Ro- mantic cousin of the minuet in the Andante con moto , retaining the characteristic triple meter (although notated in 3/8 instead of 3/4) and large-scale ternary form yet modifying its essential character through tonal ambiguity and irregular phrase lengths (4+6 measures in the opening section). This movement con- tinues without break into the Presto , another relative of the minuet that avoids any possible frivolity through its turbulent middle section in E-flat minor. MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937) Piano Trio Ravel completed his only piano trio—just his fourth chamber composition, after the violin sonata, string quartet, and the Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet, and string quartet—in 1914 under threatening circum- stances. France had been drawn violently and unwillingly into World War I. A fervent patri- ot, Ravel rushed to finish his trio’s finale in order to devote full energy to the war effort. By the end of August, the composer had met his musical goal, but the soldier within him remained frustrated. Months later, Ravel wrote to Florent Schmitt from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, “As for me, I remain here, alas, and seethe with anger. I hurried to finish my trio so that I could join up. But they have found me too light by two kilograms.” The diminutive musician also failed to meet the minimum height requirement. After sev- eral more unsuccessful attempts to enlist, he was permitted to become an army truck driver. The piano trio received its first perfor- mance on a Red Cross benefit concert at the Salle Gaveau on January 28, 1915, featuring pianist Alfredo Casella, violinist Gabriel Wil- laume, and cellist Louis Feuillard. The Modéré transforms melodic ideas from an abandoned piano concerto, preliminari- ly entitled Zaspiak bat (Seven [Provinces] Maurice Ravel RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 17 – JULY 30, 2023 28