Ravinia 2024 Issue 2

the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) sold to Louisiana slave owners Henry Johnson and Jesse Batey in 1838 to fund George- town College (now University). The Library of Congress hosted its virtual premiere on Novem- ber 5, 2021, a performance featuring Hub New Music, spoken word/hip-hop artist Marco Pavé, trumpeter MK Zulu, and Simon playing piano. These artists later released a recording on Decca that was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Simon garnered further acclaim as a recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, “the high- est honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, recognizing extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians,” which comes with a $50,000 prize. He became Composer-in-Residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2021–22. His initial three-year contract was recently extended through the 2026–27 season. So far, this residency has involved 19 perfor- mances of Simon’s compositions and a live re- cording of four orchestral scores by the National Symphony Orchestra and music director Gia- nandrea Noseda, scheduled for digital release beginning on January 26, 2025. In Fall 2024, Si- mon will commence a three-year appointment as the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Simon created where two or three are gathered (2017) for violin and cello on a commission from the Peabody Essex Museum with the support of the Asia/America New Music Institute (AAN- MI). “I often heard the bible scripture, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name I will be in the midst’ (Matthew 18:20) in my family’s small church where the attendance often was just my parents and my siblings. We would meet on every day of the week for choir rehearsal, bible study, or regular worship service. Some- how, hearing that scripture meant that there was a much larger purpose to being present in the small gathering. In this piece, the imitate pair- ing of violin and cello join together in setting a meditative, solemn character. I imagine two people singing and moaning together in a cer- emonious manner. This earnest state gradually transforms in the second movement to a jovial, energetic state ending with a climactic ending.” This music later appeared as the fifth movement, “Remember Me,” of Requiem for the Enslaved . ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856) Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 47 Franz Brendel—who purchased the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik from Robert Schumann in 1844—viewed Mendelssohn and Schumann as antipodes, composers of opposite temper- aments. “Mendelssohn animates traditional forms, infusing them with his individuality; on the basis of tradition, he addresses new tasks. Schumann, on the other hand, emerges from his inwardness; he moves away from the fantastic humor and indulgence in fantasy of his earlier works and comes closer to an objective style and expression.” This “objective style” bore deliciously satisfying fruit in three successive annual compositional cycles: songs (1840), orchestral works (1841), and chamber music (1842). With every passing year, Schumann expanded beyond the narrow keyboard confines of his earlier period into ter- ritory already traversed by Mendelssohn. Com- parisons between these two Romantic musicians naturally arose from their close proximity. Schumann reached Leipzig in 1828 to enter law school at the university, a course of study aban- doned in favor of music. Mendelssohn arrived seven years later as conductor of the Gewand- haus Orchestra. Their association hovered be- tween respect and friendship. When Mendels- sohn opened the Leipzig Conservatory in 1843, he engaged Schumann to teach piano, composi- tion, and score-reading. The Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 47, provid- ed another point of sustained contact with Men- delssohn and his family. Based on the strength of this work and its chamber predecessor (the Piano Quintet, op. 44), Mendelssohn grew in his admiration for Schumann’s music. The pi- ano quartet received its premiere with Clara Schumann as pianist on December 8, 1844, at a Gewandhaus recital presented with full support of the music director. This event marked the Schumanns’ farewell concert in Leipzig before their move to Dresden. The quartet and quintet were featured works on an 1847 concert tour to Berlin, where Clara and Robert first met Men- delssohn’s sister Fanny Hensel. The Schumanns entertained thoughts of moving to Berlin, but the unexpected death of Fanny on May 14 shattered these plans. Felix died in Leipzig the following November 4, and Robert served as a pallbearer at his funeral. Robert Schumann by Auguste Hüssener after a lost painting by Joseph Matthäus Aigner (1844) Schumann dedicated the piano quartet to Rus- sian cellist, former military officer, and arts pa- tron Count Matvei Wielhorski. (Mendelssohn also dedicated his Cello Sonata No. 2 in Dmajor, op. 58, to Wielhorski.) The piano quartet begins with a solemn introduction bearing fragmen- tary melodic material that gains importance in the ensuing Allegro ma non troppo . The full en- semble forcefully states the first theme, which continues with streaming piano figuration. A lyrical cello phrase completes this portion of the movement. Emphatic ascending scales characterize the secondary theme. Develop- ment begins with a reprise of the introductory material, then continues with elaboration of the first theme. The recapitulation proceeds along typical lines. Another slow section leads to a cel- lo-dominated coda. The agitated Scherzo introduces toccata-like eighth-note motion. Two distinct trios pro- vide much-appreciated rhythmic contrast. The Andante cantabile lapses into a salon style, highlighting the cello’s capacity for long tenor lines. A simple chordal piano accompaniment provides support, and the violin echoes several melodic phrases. The centrally located theme in- troduces an even more affective idea. Schumann required the cello to tune its C string down to B-flat for the reprise of the opening melody. The Finale erupts with a wild fugue, then progress- es through other contrapuntal treatments of a motive derived from the three opening chords. Placid lyricism returns in the secondary theme, a melodic quality sustained throughout much of the development. Schumann achieves cy- clic unity with fragmentary allusions to earlier movements. –Program notes © 2024 Todd E. Sullivan RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 1 – JULY 21, 2024 62