St. Lawrence String Quartet Program

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Chamber Music / USA ArtPower presents

St.Lawrence String Quartet May 13, 2022 at 8 pm Dept. of Music's Conrad Prebys Concert Hall Geoff Nuttall, violin Owen Dalby, violin Lesley Robertson, viola Christopher Costanza, cello

Program A selection of dance music for string quartet INTERMISSION César Franck (1822–1890) String Quartet in D Major Poco lento; Allegro; Poco lento Scherzo: Vivace Larghetto Finale: Allegro molto

Thank You

Sponsors: Christopher and Pat Weil of the Weil Family Foundation Chamber Music

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About the Program String Quartet in D Major César Franck Born December 10, 1822, Liege Died November 8, 1890, Paris The String Quartet in D Major was virtually César Franck’s final composition: it was premiered in April 1890, only seven months before his death. This quartet is a big work in every sense: it spans about forty minutes, its sonority often verges on the symphonic, and it demands four virtuoso performers. It is also an extremely subtle piece of music, and while the quartet is seldom heard today, it in many ways represents the culmination of Franck’s late composing style. Its premiere was a personal triumph for its mildmannered composer: that performance—at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique in Paris—produced endless waves of applause, leading the startled Franck to exclaim: “Well, the public is actually beginning to understand me.”

Late in his career, Franck became interested in deriving an entire work from one seminal theme. This was a concept he borrowed from his good friend Franz Liszt, who called it “the transformation of themes” (and Liszt appears to have borrowed it in turn from Franz Schubert, whose “Wanderer” Fantasy is a perfect example). Over the final decade of the 1880's, Franck composed such works as the Piano Quintet, Symphony in D Minor, and Violin Sonata using this approach, and in 1889 he set out to write a string quartet. That was a daunting prospect, and Franck worked long and hard on this quartet, first studying the quartets of Beethoven at length and then writing and endlessly revising the first movement of his own quartet.

The String Quartet in D Major opens with a powerful slow introduction that presents what Franck’s student Vincent d’Indy called “the mother theme” of the entire quartet.

Over huge chords from the other three instruments, the first violin lays out that theme, which Franck marks both fortissimo and molto appassionato e sostenuto. That theme, which leaps across huge intervals and is already full of chromatic tension, will reappear in a variety of forms throughout the quartet, sometime shouted out by all four instruments and sometimes subtly presented as a background figure. There are other themes, of course, but that “mother theme” will give shape and character to much of the quartet.

After this powerful introduction, the movement leaps ahead at the Allegro, and suddenly Franck has moved into D minor for the exposition. Here and throughout the quartet, Franck’s writing spills over with energy: harmonies are intensely chromatic, rhythms are syncopated, and he makes use of such “orchestral” techniques as tremolo and doublestroked eighth-notes that can bring a slashing and unexpected energy to the music. The development of the first movement is based on a fugue, introduced by the viola and based on the quartet’s seminal theme, and at the end, a long, slow coda derived from the introductory theme leads to an unexpectedly restrained cadence.

After so formidable an opening movement, the Scherzo takes us into a different world entirely. Franck sets a tempo of Vivace, mutes the instruments, and writes a spooky, skittering movement full of pauses, searing trills, and pizzicatos; the “mother theme” is heard in the background of the trio section. Franck reportedly wrote this Scherzo in ten 4

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days, and how this movement—so ghostly and fun and fast—has escaped becoming a popular encore piece for string quartets remains a mystery.

The Larghetto moves into B major and begins gently: Franck’s marking is dolce, molto cantabile. But from this quiet beginning—based on the seminal theme—the movement builds to a huge climax marked appassionato before falling away to the quiet close.

At the beginning of the final movement, Franck borrows a page from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: after a violent introduction, he goes back and reviews a theme from each of the first three movements before plunging into new directions. This is an extremely dramatic movement, and along the way listeners will make out further recalls and extensions of themes from those earlier movements. A final, gentle recall of the “mother theme” leads to a resounding close on unison D’s.

—Notes by Eric Bromberger

About the Artist “A sound that has just about everything one wants from a quartet, most notably precision, warmth and an electricity that conveys the excitement of playing whatever is on their stands at the moment.”—New York Times “Modern,” “dramatic,” “superb,” “wickedly attentive,” “with a hint of rock 'n roll energy” are just a few ways critics describe the musical phenomenon that is the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ). The Quartet is renowned for the intensity of its performances, its breadth of repertoire, and its commitment to concert experiences that are at once intellectually exciting and emotionally alive.

Established in Toronto in 1989, SLSQ quickly earned acclaim at top international chamber music competitions and was soon playing hundreds of concerts per year worldwide. It established an ongoing residency at Spoleto Festival USA, made prizewinning recordings for EMI of music by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Golijov, earning two Grammy nominations and a host of other prizes before being appointed ensemble-inresidence at Stanford University in 1998.

At Stanford, SLSQ is at the forefront of intellectual life on campus. It directs the music department's chamber music program, and frequently collaborates with other departments including the Schools of Law, Medicine, Business and Education. The Quartet frequently performs at Stanford Live, hosts an annual chamber music seminar attracting musicians from all over the world, and runs the Emerging String Quartet Program through which they mentor the next generation of young chamber musicians.

The Quartet is especially dedicated to the music of Haydn, recording his groundbreaking set of six Op. 20 quartets for a free, universal release online as well as for purchase on compact disc and high quality vinyl. According to the New Yorker, "...no other North American quartet plays the music of Haydn with more intelligence, expressivity, and force..."

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SLSQ is thrilled to announce a new creation and a unique collaborative venture for the 2021–22 season: an octet for strings by the renowned composer Osvaldo Golijov. The new work offers presenters an opportunity to foster an unusual collaboration and connection between the St. Lawrence and four locally based “solo" string players (two violins, viola, cello), who may in fact be soloists, orchestral section leaders, or exceptionally talented conservatory or university students. In Golijov’s own words, the work will "explore the dimensions opened by combining an organism with its own breathing and metabolism, like a string quartet, (especially one that is "mature" as SLSQ) together with four individual players that come to orbit, interact, and disrupt this organism.”

In recent years, the St. Lawrence has collaborated with Michael Tilson Thomas and the SF Symphony, Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic and Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony in John Adams's Absolute Jest for string quartet and orchestra.

Fiercely committed to collaboration with living composers, SLSQ's fruitful partnership with Adams, Golijov, Jonathan Berger, and many others has yielded some of the finest additions to contemporary quartet literature.

Geoff Nuttall (violin) and Lesley Robertson (viola) met as students while studying music in their native Canada and in 1989 founded the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Christopher Costanza (cello) joined the ensemble in 2003 after performing for many years with the Chicago String Quartet. Owen Dalby (violin) is a founding member of Decoda, the Affiliate Ensemble of Carnegie Hall. He joined the SLSQ in 2015.

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ARTPOWER DONORS 2021–22 CATALYST ($20,000+)

Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley Bobbie and Jon Gilbert Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation Patricia and Christopher Weil of The Weil Family Foundation

CREATOR ($10,000–19,999)

Bjorn Bjerede and Josephine Kiernan Phyllis and Daniel Epstein George Clement Perkins Endowment Marilyn and Charles Perrin

ADVOCATE ($2,500–9,999)

Joan J. Bernstein ArtPower Student Engagement Endowment Fund Maureen and C. Peter Brown Anne Marie Pleska and Luc Cayet In Memory of Jennifer A. Dennis Martha and Edward Dennis Ronald and Wynnona Goldman Hamburger Chamber Music Series Endowment Fund Jack Lampl Eva and Doug Richman Ruth S. Stern ArtPower Student Engagement Fund

GUARDIAN ($1,000–2,499)

Marilyn J. Colby Renita Greenberg and Jim Allison Edward and Arlene Pelavin Sharon Perkowski Robert and Lauren Resnik Edith and Paul Sanchez Kim Signoret-Paar Barbara and Sam Takahashi

CONTRIBUTOR ($500–999) Janice P. Alper Constance Beardsley Teresa and Sam Buss Janice and Nelson Byrne Natalee C. Ellars Turea Erwin Nora Jaffe Harry M. Mattheny Phyllis and Edward Mirsky Marilies Schoepflin

SPARK ($250–499)

Linda C. Allen K. Andrew Achterkirchen Mary L. Beebe Paulyne Becerra Jennifer and Barry Greenberg Barbara and Rodney Orth Carol Plantamura James and Kathleen Stiven

YORK SOCIETY

Donors who make provisions for ArtPower in their estate Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch Judith Bachner and Eric Lasley Ruth Stern Kathryn Sturch

FOUNDATION/CORPORATE SPONSORS CORPORATE SPONSORS

The Parker Foundation National Performance Network New England Foundation for the Arts

ARTPOWER STAFF DONORS Carolena Deutsch-Garcia Jordan Peimer Kathryn Sturch

POWERPLAYERS

PowerPlayers are an exceptional group of donors that have made a three year commitment to support ArtPower.

Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch Joan Bernstein Marilyn Colby Martha and Ed Dennis Phyllis and Daniel Epstein Elaine Galinson Bobbie and Jon Gilbert Renita Greenberg and Jim Alison Eric Lasley and Judith Bachner Sharon Perkowski Kim Signoret-Paar Paul and Edith H. Sanchez Pat Weil and Christopher Weil A portion of funding for ArtPower is provided by the UC San Diego Student Services Fee Committee.

Donor list and PowerPlayer list reflecting gifts and pledges allocated for February 1, 2021 through March 27, 2022.

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ARTPOWER STAFF

Joanna Christian, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications Carolena Deutsch-Garcia, Associate Director of Development Jennifer Mancano, Events & Performing Arts Business Manager Jordan Peimer, Executive Director Kathryn Sturch, Production Manager

STUDENT STAFF

Ashley Asadi '23, Junior Arts Org Assistant Karen Avila '24, Usher Olivia Bryan '22, Senior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Valen Chang '22, Usher Cameron Chen '22, Junior Arts Org Assistant Caleb Foley '23, Usher Katrina Graziano '25, Usher Julie Han '22, Junior Arts Org Assistant Avery Hom '22, Senior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Issac Ing '24, Usher Mandy Lai '25, Junior Arts Org Assistant Kaitlin Lee '24, Usher Julie Li '25, Junior Arts Org Assistant Emmalias '24, Production Assistant Jocelyn Obregon-Padilla '23, Usher Ashley Moon '22, Junior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Calvin Naraghi '22, Production Assistant Tracy Nguyen '23, Junior Arts Org Assistant Rachel Paner '24, Junior Arts Org Assistant Sierra Plys '23, Usher Yeji Shin '22, Junior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Musa Turner '24, Usher Hasmineh Sinani '22, Production Assistant Hao Wang '24, Junior Arts Org Assistant Xiaoxuan (Andrina) Zhang '24, Usher

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