VCHpresents Chamber: By Romantic Hand

BY ROMANTIC HAND 3 & 4 SEP 2021, 7:30PM VICTORIA CONCERT HALL

PROGRAMME BEETHOVEN Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni

10 mins

Jin Ta, flute Li Xin, clarinet Christoph Wichert, bassoon

MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 I. Adagio – Allegro vivace II. Adagio non lento III. Intermezzo. Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto IV. Presto – Adagio non lento

30 mins

Jin Li, violin Zhao Tian, violin Gu Bing Jie, viola Guo Hao, cello

BRAHMS Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 I. Allegro energico II. Presto non assai III. Andante grazioso IV. Allegro molto

21 mins

Chikako Sasaki, violin Ng Pei-Sian, cello (The HEAD Foundation Chair) Abigail Sin, piano

CONCERT DURATION: approximately 1 hour 15 mins (with no intermission)

PROGRAMME NOTES LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827) Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni Towering geniuses such as Beethoven are often thought of as only writing the most challenging music, for the best players with nothing less than technical perfection to perform adequately. However, just as any instrumentalist will tell you that it is teaching that pays the bulk of their bills, composers often rely on commissions for their livelihood, but it takes real talent to write attractive music for amateurs.

Upon his arrival in Vienna in 1794, Beethoven found a growing amateur music scene, and he composed this trio for the unusual combination of two oboes and cor anglais. The theme is from Mozart’s aria ‘La ci darem la mano’ from Don Giovanni, and this set of variations represents Beethoven at his most carefree, making a significant contribution to the genre of popular opera melodies arranged for amateur ensembles.

The theme is presented politely, but the second variation gives the cor anglais plenty of triplets, followed by a gentle andante, and then an ornate fourth variation to test the control of the players. The fifth variation gives the oboe a flurry of notes in an exercise of breath control, then the sixth variation goes into the minor key, letting the melancholic cor anglais shine. The seventh offers some respite with

its clever tweaks on Mozart’s melody, while the eighth flows smoothly like an elegant carriage ride down a Viennese street. A coda follows, with a fugue that feels anything but academic. The three instruments then slow down from their dance to fade gracefully and thoughtfully.

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809 - 1847) String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 Feeling death coming on, the Roman emperor Vespasian said ‘dear me, I think I am becoming a god’. Beethoven nearing death was practically a god in musical circles, worshipped, and revered. But where there are gods, there will be atheists – with Rossini in fashion, some younger composers dismissed the late quartets (Op. 132) of Beethoven as the ravings of a cranky, deaf old man, sick both in body and spirit.

Mendelssohn was not among them, and he studied Beethoven’s output intensely, so when Beethoven died in 1827, the same year the quartets were published, Mendelssohn must have been much affected. The 18-year-old Mendelssohn had fallen in love that same year, writing the music and words to a song Frage (“Question”), published as Op. 9 No. 1.

A few months later, he wrote the String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, and themes from the song suffuse the entire work.

The slow introduction, surging primary themes, poignant melodies, tonal effects, and even the key point to the strong influence of Beethoven’s Op. 132.

The opening Adagio – Allegro vivace starts with a slow introduction, giving way to the minor key, and the volatile burning music gives plenty of excitement, rapidly changing direction, colour, and dynamics. The second movement is an Adagio non lento in F major in ABA form. The A section gives us a melody, like a hymn in wistful and fading autumn light, while the B section ups the tension, giving us a polyphonic fugal wave of sound wherein the instruments cross into each other’s registers, the individual melodies weaving harmonies as they happen.

The third movement is an Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto – Allegro di molto. The allegretto gives us a subdued procession with pizzicato accompaniment, while the allegro di molto brings us fire and movement. Both themes come together in the coda for some moments of delicate poetry.

The Presto finale beings with the lower strings playing tremolo while the solo violin sings above, like a tense operatic scene. References to earlier themes and two short fugues follow, before the violin recitative returns, leading us into the recapitulation. Mendelssohn gives us again the first movement’s A major opening, leading us safely back home.

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833 - 1897) Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 The Swiss mountain resort of Hofstatten and the quiet surroundings of Lake Thun were where Brahms spent the summer

of 1886, churning out the intense C minor Piano Trio, Op. 101.

Brahms gives us no introductory pleasantries, throwing us into battle where the Allegro energico bombards us immediately with the sweeping main theme. This main theme comes in two parts, the upper voice with a lyrical line and the bass with a rising scale, like a pincer movement. The bass and upper voice take turns exchanging material, driving the music along, even the second subject, which gives us some breathing room, is based on the rising scale. In a continuously evolving passage, the development flows directly into the recapitulation, concluding with a lengthy coda.

Brahms takes a rhythmic motif from the first movement and turns it into primary material for the Presto non assai. The music is spectrally hypnotic and ticks away with muted strings, and the passage of time barely noticeable until it ends. The third movement, even though like a lullaby, gives us a feeling of unsettledness, with the unusual feeling of seven beats to the bar (five in the middle section). Piano and strings alternate, even in the quicker middle section.

The finale is in sonata form, staying rhythmically intense, and focusing unrelieved in the minor key until the coda finally appears, and the major appears as the violin turns the main subject into broad, generous melodic lines. As dramatically as it began, the work ends – Brahms has said his piece.

Notes by Edward C. Yong

SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Founded in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan citystate. Our Chief Conductor is Hans Graf.

While the SSO performs frequently at the Esplanade Concert Hall, for a more intimate experience, we return to the place of our beginnings, the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) – the home of the SSO. The VCH is host to our popular Children’s, Family and biannual free Lunchtime Concerts as well as our VCHpresents chamber series.

HANS GRAF Chief Conductor

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