YCAT presents… Bach to Kurtag with Charlotte
Spruit
International Concert Series 2024-25
Thursday, 24th October 2024
Picture Gallery, Founder’s Building with Charlotte Spruit Violin
EVENT PROGRAMME
J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750)
Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006
György Kurtág (b. 1926)
Signs, Games and Messages
1. Perpetuum Mobile (for Ágnes Varda)
3. Hommage á J.S.B.
9. Kromatikus feleseős
8. Calmo, sognando (Ștefan Romașcanu in memoriam)
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644 – 1704)
Passacaglia in G minor
Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931)
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 27 No. 2
Estimated finish time: 9 15pm
Please no flash photography or visual/audio recording throughout the event.
For news about our future events, please visit royalholloway.ac.uk/music/events
NOTES
J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750)
Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006
I. Preludio
II. Loure
III. Gavotte en Rondeau
IV. Menuets (I and II)
V. Bourrée
VI. Gigue
In theearly18th century, J.S. Bach wasemployed underDukeWilhelm Ernst as a chamber musician and organist,beforeleavingWeimarfor Cöhen and the court of Prince Leopald in 1717. It was during this post that he is believed to have composed a set of partitas and sonatas for solo violin. The last of theseworksistheViolinPartitaNo. 3inEmajor,consistingofaprelude andsixshortmovementsinspiredby Baroque dances. ‘Partita’ is the baroque term for a dance suite; however, rather than provide an accompaniment for dances, a partita is intended to showcase the characterofdancegenres.
Evenamongotherdancesuites,this Partita is somewhat extraordinary. Movements that were usually
included, such as the ‘Allemande’ , ‘Courante’ and ‘Sarabande’, have been replaced with the variable movements of a ‘Loure’ , ‘Gavotte’ , andtwo ‘Minuets’
The piece begins with a joyful ‘Preludio’ that makesgood useof a rapid string crossing technique called ‘bariolage’. Bach treasured this particular movement, later refashioning the music for two cantatas featuring organ and orchestra.
The ‘Loure’ is proud and stately, boasting a 6/4 metre with elegant chords set to a slower, leisurely tempo. Emphasis is placed on the first beat, and decorative trills proposeanairofroyalty.
Upon entering the ‘Gavotte en Rondeau’, the mood becomes noticeably jollier and more playful; minims and crotchets played as doublestopscontrastquickquavers, with lighter articulation sure to encouragesmiles.
Both ‘Minuets’ skip by in a frolicsome manner. They make use of simple rhythms to highlight momentsofharmonicchangewhen chords and double stops resonate clearly.
Finally, in the manner of a typical Partita, we end with a fast-paced ‘Gigue’ with bright and sparkling
notesthatmimicthequickfeetofa dancer. György Kurtág (b.1926)
Selection from Signs, Games and Messages
György Kurtág, a Hungarian composerandpianist,wassaidtobe a character of ‘fantastic inner concentration on tiny subtle gestures’byhisfriendGyörgyLigeti (recountedbyNigelSimeone).After escaping the Hungarian Revolution of1956,heattendedclassesinParis and discovered the works of Anton Webern. However, depression pushed him to seek out the help of psychoanalyst Marianne Stein, who gave him the tools needed to develop his uniquely concentrated attentiontodetail.
In the 1970s Kurtág began to compose a series of piano pieces named Signs, Games and Messages Thepiecesusedgraphicnotationon his scores, in order to encourage spontaneity and promote the exploration of sound, rather than thereadingofthesheetmusicnoteby-note. In the 1980s he began to compose short pieces for solo violin.
Some of his compositions are labelled as Duchampian ‘objets trouvés’, whereapre-existing, non-
art functioning item is elevated to the pedestal of artistry. It is named after French painter and sculptor Marcel Duchamp who composed a series of ready-mades, one of the most famous being Fountain: a porcelain urinal signed R. Mutt. Perpetuum mobile is an example of howKurtágadaptsthistheoryinhis work. He takes a single, mundane musical concept - the violin’s open strings - and uses it as the basis for an entire work. In performance, Perpetuum mobile uses the concept to create a bright, startling intense sound that cascades resonantly fromthebodyoftheviolin.
In Hommage à J. S. B., a haunting melody uses phrasing and articulationtoreferencemusicfrom the Baroque era. It is a play on J.S. Bach’s famous unaccompanied violin pieces, with disjunct melodic intervals subtly implying the textural element of counterpoint that is so common throughout Bach’swork.
In Kromatikus feleselős we hear an several techniques experimented withontheviolin. ‘Sulponticello’,or playing near/on the bridge, is used to produce a soul-stirring, poignant sound.Thebowisdroppedontothe strings to bring forth metallic crunches, and the open D string is usedasadroneoverahigh-pitched melody.
Inthefinalpiece- Calmo, sognando (Ștefan Romașcanu in memoriam)Kurtág has the performer calmly slideuptosimple,exposednotesin a distinctive expression of grief. Romașcanuwasagoodfriendofhis during his student days, and the composerhonourshismemorywith astylisedversionofaninstrumental folklamentation.
sonatas,Biberusesthetechniqueof ‘scordatura’ wherethestringsonthe violinaretunedinoppositiontothe conventions, meaning that no two sonatas have the strings tuned to thesamesetofnotes.
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644 – 1704)
Passacaglia in G minor
H. I. Franz von Biber was an outstanding Bohemian composer andviolinvirtuosofromtheBaroque era. Earlier in his career, Biber worked at the courts of Graz and Kroměříž, but from 1670 until the end of his life he was employed at the archbishop’s court in Salzburg. There he advanced to the rank of Kapellmeister and was eventually granted a title of nobility by the Emperor.
What made Biber such an outstanding composer was his technically challenging music. Biber’s Mystery (or Rosary) Sonatas (c. 1676) rank among the most demanding works in the Baroque violinrepertoire,andtothisdayhis experimentation with the instrument is unique. In these
The Mystery Sonatas arecomprised of fifteen pieces, as well as a concluding passacaglia for solo violin. Each sonata represents one ofthemysteriesoftherosaryandis, in the original manuscript, paired with an engraving illustrating an episode in the life of Jesus or Mary. The concluding ‘Passacaglia in G-minor’ is one of the earliest known pieces for solo violin, and depicts a guardian angel leading a child.
Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931)
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 27 No. 2
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was a Belgian violinist, conductor and composer. Ysaÿe’s violin playing was known for its virtuosity, expressiveness,andintensiveuseof vibrato.Despitehislonglife,Ysaÿe’s career as a soloist covered just a thirdofit.Histrainingwaslongand demanding, and he suffered increasingly from illnesses like
diabetes as a result of the First WorldWar. Hebegantofocusmore on conducting, another great musical gift of his. From 1918 to 1922, Ysaÿe took up the post of music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. After this he occupied himselfwithteaching and composition,aswellasoccasionally performing publicly, until his passingin1931.
In 1924, when Ysaÿe first heard Joseph Szigeti play Bach’s ‘Sonata forViolinNo.1inGminor’,hefound himself so inspired by the Baroque composer that he began to write a solo sonata in the same key. After the completion of his first sonata, Ysaÿe decided to compose five more, making six in total. He dedicatedallsixofthesesonatasto leading violinists of the day. These sonatas are among Ysaÿe’s most renownedcompositions.
‘Sonata No. 2 in A-minor’ was dedicatedtoYsaÿe’sfriend,Jacques Thibaud, who was also a great admirer of Bach. In fact, Thibaud usedtowarmupeverydaywiththe ‘Prelude’ from Bach’s ‘Partita in E major’. The title for the first movementofYsaÿe’ssecondsonata being ‘Obsession’ reveals Thibaud’s great infatuation with Bach. In this sonata we can hear an echo of the opening two bars of the Prelude of Bach’sE-majorpartita.
Ysaÿe himself said this about his SonataNo.2:
“...The transition between quiet nuances should be done powerfully (almost wildly). The tranquility in J.S. Bach's original writing will sound like it is transforming into the devil telling thewriterstorunawayfromhim...”
OUR PERFORMER
Born in the Netherlands in 2000, Charlotte Spruit wasawinneratthe 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust international auditions, and has previously been a prize winner at numerous international competitions. Charlotte won the first prize and audience prize and the Genuin Classics prize at the Leipzig International Johann SebastianBachCompetition,aswell as prizes at the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition, Concours International Arthur Grumiaux, Oskar Back Violin Competition and Anton Kersjes
Violin Prize in 2020. She was also selected as one of Classic FM’s ‘RisingStars’of2024.
Charlotte is a keen chamber musician and soloist, having performed at prominent locations such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. She has performed chamber works with acclaimed musicians including Janine Jansen, Rachel Podger, Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, and Christian Tetzlaff. Charlotte plays frequently at chamber music festivals across Europe, including the Chamber MusicConnectstheWorldfestivalat
Photo credit: Marco Borggreve
the Kronberg Academy and the MendelssohnonMullFestivalwhere sheperformedwiththeDoricString Quartet.
Asa concerto soloist, Charlottehas played with numerous orchestras, includingtheResidentieOrkestThe Hague, The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pauliner Barockensemble, and EnsembleEsperanza.
During the 2024/25 season Charlotte performs extensively throughout the UK including in concerts at Wigmore Hall and Brighton Dome, as well as in concerto with the Surrey Mozart Players playing the Brahms Violin Concerto. Highlights in mainland Europe include appearances at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Internationales Musikfestival Heidelberger Fruhling, following on from recent European performance highlights at the Rheingold Festival Wageningen, AVROTROS Vrijdagconcert in TivoliVredenburg UtrechtandBachfestMünster.
Charlotte also enjoys exploring different ways of bringing music to the audience, for example by bringingtogetherdifferentformsof art.Shehascollaboratedwithartist Jérémie Queyras, creating performances combining painting and music. Together they won the
first prize at the Goodmesh Concoursin2022.
She began her violin studies aged four with Coosje Wijzenbeek, culminatingwithherstudyingatthe GuildhallSchoolofMusicinLondon withDavidTakeno,followedbythe Royal Academy of Music with Ying Xue, where Charlotte recently completed her Master’s degree under Rachel Podger and Pavlo Beznosiuk.
Charlotte plays an 18th-century anonymous Italian violin, kindly on loan from the Dutch Musical InstrumentsFoundation.
Charlotte is also extremely grateful toTheStanleyPickerTrustfortheir supportduringhertimewithYCAT.
Founded in 1984, the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) supports the early careers of musicianssotheycangoontomove generations of audiences around theworldwiththeirtalent.
