VCHpresents Chamber: Haydn's Emperor and Tchaikovsky's Florence

HAYDN’S EMPEROR AND TCHAIKOVSKY’S FLORENCE

19 MAR 2021 - 2 APR 2021 WATCH THE STREAM ONLINE ON SISTIC LIVE

PROGRAMME Jeremy Lee, presenter HAYDN String Quartet in C major, Op. 76 No. 3 “Emperor” I. Allegro II. Poco adagio cantabile III. Minuet - Trio IV. Finale. Presto

22 mins

Xu Jue Yi, violin Chikako Sasaki, violin Wang Dandan, viola Guo Hao, cello TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70 I. Allegro con spirito II. Adagio cantabile e con moto III. Allegro moderato IV. Allegro vivace Chen Da Wei, violin Nikolai Koval, violin Janice Tsai, viola Marietta Ku, viola Yu Jing, cello Wang Zihao, cello

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35 mins

PROGRAMME NOTES FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN String Quartet in C major, Op. 76 No. 3 “Emperor” I. Allegro II. Poco adagio cantabile III. Minuet - Trio IV. Finale. Presto Haydn’s Opus 76 set of three string quartets (of which this is the third) were composed in 1797 or 98, but the story behind this particular work actually begins much earlier. In the early 1790s Haydn spent time in London and at some point on his travels heard the new English national anthem, ‘God Save the King’. He liked the idea of a national anthem so much he thought Austria should have its own – so he wrote one. His anthem was a setting of the words ‘Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser’ (God save Emperor Francis) and it was such a success it went on to be the Austrian anthem for over a century.

Haydn himself clearly had a soft spot for his melody because it’s the theme for a set of variations that make up the second movement of this string quartet, written several years later, and giving the piece its nickname.

The first movement is an example of Haydn’s lively counterpoint and cheerful musical countenance. The chirpy strings are interrupted just before the recapitulation by a folk dance, complete with the viola and cello masquerading as a hurdy-gurdy.

Haydn’s much-loved ‘God Save Emperor Francis’ melody opens the second movement and in fact remains broadly unchanged throughout the set of variations. If you recognise the tune, it’s because Haydn’s melody is today the national anthem of Germany (though the words have been changed). The theme is passed between the instruments while the variations occur in the accompaniments.

A delightful minuet and trio make up the third movement, while the fourth movement is surprisingly stormy – looking ahead to the music of Beethoven and Schubert.

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70 I. Allegro con spirito II. Adagio cantabile e con moto III. Allegro moderato IV. Allegro vivace On seeing the title of this work, a listener might be forgiven for expecting a musical picture-postcard of the Italian city of Florence, complete with Italian folk songs and the bells of the campaniles. But, Tchaikovsky’s string sextet has an unmistakeably Russian sound-world.

Souvenir de Florence is, as the music journalist Stephen Johnson put it, ‘a memory Florence created by a Russian much-inclined to homesickness’. The one musical link with the city is that Tchaikovsky came up with one of the work’s principal themes while visiting Florence in 1889, while working on his opera The Queen of Spades.

The work’s opening is bracing – as if the listener has walked into a performance that started a few moments ago. The opening theme is also noticeably orchestral before Tchaikovsky turns to a more recognisable chamber musicmode (in fact some musicologists have questioned whether this sextet is really orchestral music in disguise!).

Tuscan sunshine breaks through as the second movement begins and it’s here Tchaikovsky shows off his Florenceinspired melody with a soaring belcanto-inspired violin solo.

Following this is a central section which the composer described in a letter: ‘The central section of this adagio, probably written molto piu mosso (I don’t remember exactly) should be played with an improbable pppp; this should be just discernible, like summer lightning.’

In the two final movements the remembered-image of Florence recedes and is replaced with distinctly Russian melodies and rhythms. The darker tone of the third movement is interrupted by a sprightly trio, while the finale opens with a whirling dance rhythm and – astonishingly – only becomes more frantic from there, finally reaching the manic dynamic marking ‘ffff’.

Notes by Elizabeth Davis

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.

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