Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

the graduation ceremony, accompanied by the conservatory orchestra and Tcherepnin. Other performances vied for his time in the spring of 1914. Prokofiev fulfilled several con- ducting obligations, including a student produc- tion of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro , Beetho- ven’s Symphony No. 7, scenes from Verdi’s Aïda , and a classmate’s composition at graduation. He also premiered several of his own new works on a February 5, 1914, recital at the conservatory: the Piano Sonata No. 2 in D minor, op. 14; select movements from the Ten Pieces for Piano, op. 12; and the Ballade in C minor, op. 15, for cello and piano, which he had completed two years earlier. Prokofiev’s collaborator in the Ballade was ac- claimed cellist Evsei Beloúsov (1882–1945). A second-prize winner in the 1911 Moscow cello competition, Beloúsov toured internationally beginning in 1922, including performances in the United States. He eventually settled in New York City, taught at the Institute of Musical Arts (predecessor of The Juilliard School) and the Y.M.H.A. Music School (“92nd Street Y”), premiered several new cello compositions, and recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Com- pany. Prokofiev drew on his earlier sketchbooks for the opening of the Ballade: its three-measure introduction—whose bounding chords are rem- iniscent of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major, op. 23 (one of his repertoire pieces)—and the first five measures of the main theme, which originated in the youthful Violin Sonata in C minor. From that point onward, as Prokofiev described in his autobiography, “I went in for great complexity.” JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, op. 108 (Transcribed for cello and piano) Brahms composed his final violin sonata over three successive summers (1886–88) at his sea- sonal quarters at Hofstetten. Chamber composi- tions flowed freely from his pen during this peri- od—the Cello Sonata No. 2, the Piano Trio No. 3, and the Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3. His Violin Sonata No. 3 received its first hearing at a private gathering in November 1888. Clara Schumann, a longtime friend of Brahms who was unfortu- nately unable to participate due to a neuralgic condition in her arm, wrote a glowing letter to the composer: “I enjoyed your sonata last night (Elise and Koning played it to me). There was one shadow to mar my joy—I could not play it myself. What a wonderfully beautiful thing you have once more given us!”The first public perfor- mance took place in Budapest on December 21, 1888, with the composer accompanying Hungar- ian violinist Jenő Hubay. Brahms dedicated the published score to Hans von Bülow, conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra. The Third Violin Sonata is both more broadly conceived and more tightly wrought than its two predecessors. While the earlier sonatas have three movements, Brahms constructed his new sonata in four magnificent parts. His friend and musical confidante, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, recognized the skillful integra- tion of expression and musical substance throughout the score: “What delights me so in this sonata is its wonderful unity. The four movements are so unmistakably members of one family. One purpose dominates them, one color scheme embraces them all; yet their vital- ity finds expression in such various ways.” The Allegro begins with a hushed, sotto voce vi- olin theme in minor. An expressive contrasting melody in major begins in the piano, then is assumed by the violin. Development is focused exclusively on the first theme, with an insistent pedal point in the bass register of the piano. A diminuendo leads to the return of both themes, in minor and major respectively. The coda’s mu- sic is derived from the opening theme. Lyrical qualities of the violin are highlighted in the Adagio . Its initial theme occupies a narrow range in the violin’s low register. An ascending line culminates momentarily in loud multiple stops, which gently drift downward and fade away. The second theme returns to a higher reg- ister, where the violin remains for the return of the first theme. Multiple-stops signal the move- ment’s concluding section. Brahms’s third movement conveys the character of an intermezzo, a form occasionally employed during the 19th century in place of the scherzo. Most thematic material is derived from the in- terval of the third. The minor-key theme under- goes a series of character transformations. The sonata-form finale contrasts the minor theme’s extroverted writing with a chorale tune played by the piano. The violin contributes a syncopat- ed line to the development. Both main themes return in varied form. The coda sustains an agi- tated quality through the end. –Program notes © 2024 Todd E. Sullivan Johannes Brahms ZLATOMIR FUNG Cellist Zlatomir Fung burst onto the scene as the first American in four decades—and young- est musician ever—to win first prize at the In- ternational Tchaikovsky Cello Competition. During the 2024–25 season, he gives recitals in New York City, Boston, and Saint Louis, and tours the complete Bach Cello Suites. As a con- certo soloist, the 25-year-old joins the London, Rochester, and San Antonio Philharmonics and the Barcelona (Spain), Billings, and Evergreen (Taiwan), Symphonies, in addition to engage- ments in France, Poland, Romania, Korea, Ja- pan, China, and Italy. In January 2025, Signum Records releases Fung’s debut album, a collec- tion of opera adaptations for cello and piano, including his own fantasy on Janáček’s Jenůfa as well as premieres of Marshall Estrin’s Fantasia Carmén and a transcription of Rossini’s William Tell by 19th-century composer François-George Hainl. Fung was the Royal Philharmonic’s Art- ist-in-Residence for the 2023–24 season, appear- ing at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK with the orchestra. Other highlights include debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Cleve- land Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic, as well as the Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, Utah, Roch- ester, and Kansas City Symphonies, plus his re- cital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2021. Fung has also been featured at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, and the As- pen, Grant Park, Bravo! Vail, Verbier, Dresden, Janáček, and Tsinandali Festivals. A champion of contemporary repertoire, Fung premiered Katherine Balch’s whisper concerto with the Dallas Symphony in 2023, then gave the UK premiere this February with the BBC Philhar- monic. He has also highlighted music by Unsuk Chin and Anna Clyne. With the WXQR Artist Propulsion Lab in 2023, he wrote and performed the radio play The Elves and the Cello Maker . A 2016 US Presidential Scholar for the Arts, Fung received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in 2022 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020, and this year Fung joins the cello faculty at his alma mater, The Juilliard School. Zlatomir Fung was a Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow in 2016 and 2017, then returned to Ravinia in 2018 for the spring Musicians from RSMI tour. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 79 MARCOBORGGREVE(FUNG)