BMS 3 2 2


The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2

1 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 1

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BAS YORK ARTUR PIZARRO (piano) Friday, 18 February 1994 Programme: 50p Presented by the British Music Society of York in association with the Department of Music

2 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 2

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BAS YORK SOCIETY NEWS Tonight's Music If you are interested in seeing what the music being played this evening looks like on paper, copies will be available (if I remember to bring them) at the Members' Desk during the interval. Advance Booking The Committee is making advance booking for our concerts slightly easier. During tonight's interval tickets for the final recital of our 73rd Season will be on sale at the Members' Desk in the foyer. The concert takes place on Thursday 17 March and features the violinist Michael D'Arcy: for full details, see under Forthcoming Concerts at the end of this book. Future Programmes Is there an artist or group you would like to have perform for the BMS? Is there a favourite work or works you would like to hear at a BMS concert? The Programme Secretaries are always open to suggestions. Tell a committee member (they should all be wearing badges), or come to the Members' Desk. Registered Charity No.700302

3 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 3

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK 73rd Season Friday, 18 February 1994 Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall ARTUR PIZARRO Sonata in F, K.533/494 (piano) Sonata in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata) INTERVAL Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat, Op.61 8 Pieces for piano, Op.76 For the sake of others in the audience, please turn off all alarms on watches, calculators etc. before the concert starts, and use a handkerchief when coughing. Mozart Beethoven Chopin Brahms

4 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 4

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
ARTUR PIZARRO UM Artur Pizarro was born in Portugal and began his piano studies at the age of five with the distinguished Portuguese pianist and teacher Sequeira Costa, first in Lisbon and later at the University of Kansas. He also studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Lisbon. Mr Pizarro made his London debut in 1989 at the Wigmore Hall and went on to play twice with the London Mozart Players in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It was after those performances that Jane Glover described him as "surely one of the most promising pianists of his generation. He has a remarkable technique, and brings to it great interpretative sensitivity". In September 1990 Mr Pizarro won first prize in the Harveys Leeds International Piano Competition and in the November of the following year gave a memorable recital for the BMS. We have managed to persuade him back this year to play some of the greatest works of piano literature. PROGRAMME NOTES Sonata in F major, K.533/494 Allegro Andante Rondo: Allegretto Wolfgang Amadé Mozart (1756 - 1791) The Köchel number reflects this Sonata's history. Ludwig van Köchel studied law, but practised minerology, bringing the forensic and taxonomic skills he acquired in these disciplines to the compilation of his famous 1862 catalogue of Mozart's music the first ever to include all the known works of a single composer. Köchel arranged the music chronologically, dates in Mozart's own hand forming the framework against which he set undated works according to stylistic or other evidence. It was a remarkable achievement, and Köchel's numbers are still used today, though some adjustments have had to be made to his chronology in the light of more recent discoveries.

5 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 5

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
The F major Sonata began as a Rondo for piano, which Mozart wrote as an independent piece in 1786. It had distinguished neighbours: K.491 C minor Piano Concerto (No.24), dated 24 March K.492 The marriage of Figaro, dated 29 April K.493 Piano Quartet in E flat, dated 3 June K.494 "A little Rondo for solo piano", dated 10 June K.495 Horn Concerto in E flat (No.4), dated 26 June K.496 Piano Trio in G, dated 8 July K.497 Piano Duet Sonata in F, dated 1 August K.498 Kegelstatt Trio (piano, clarinet and viola), dated 5 August String Quartet in D, dated 19 August K.499 Not bad for six months' work well, not quite, Figaro had been begun a bit earlier, between K.478 and K.479. A year and a half later, Mozart returned to the "little" Rondo. He revised it and turned it into a piano sonata by writing an Allegro and Andante to go in front of it. The new movements, dated 3 January 1788, occupy No.533 in Köchel's catalogue. This was a relatively fallow period for Mozart. After the strain of the world premiere of Don Giovanni (Prague, 29 October 1787) the only work of any stature he composed before the three last symphonies of the summer of 1788 was the D major Piano Concerto, K.535 (No.26, known as the Coronation), dated 24 February 1788. The new composite F major Piano Sonata was published by Hoffmeister of Vienna in 1788. The first movement is full of the sort of contrapuntal byplay that had hitherto been more a feature of Mozart's quartet writing. The slow movement contains some of his most daring harmonic experi- ments, but the finale is a return to the more carefree days of 1786, when Mozart was basking in the huge success of Figaro's first performance (Vienna, 1 May). Sonata in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata) Allegro assai Andante con moto - Allegro ma non troppo Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) The Appassionata Sonata was composed in 1804 and 1805, in the midst of a period of astonishing creativity. Between 1803 and 1806 Beethoven produced, in addition to the first two versions of the opera Leonora/

6 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 6

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Fidelio, the Waldstein Piano Sonata (Op.53), Piano Sonata in F (Op.54), Eroica Symphony (Op.55), Triple Concerto (Op.56), Appassionata Piano Sonata (Op.57), Fourth Piano Concerto (Op.58), Razumovsky Quartets (Op.59), Fourth Symphony (Op.60) and Violin Concerto (Op.61). Op.57 was published in Vienna in February 1807 by a firm rejoicing in the title Bureau des Arts et d'Industrie. The nickname "Appassionata" is not authentic: it first appeared on a piano duet arrangement of the work published in Hamburg in 1838. But the name is not inappropriate to the passionate nature of much of the music, written in what may have been Beethoven's "stormiest" key, F minor, the key of the Egmont Overture and the Op.95 String Quartet not to mention, fittingly, the storm movement of the Pastoral Symphony. We know from "sources close to" the composer (amongst them Czerny) that Beethoven thought Op.57 his greatest piano sonata, an opinion he held at least up to the time of the Hammerklavier Sonata (Op.106, 1817-8), and that he liked to play it more than any other. The first movement derives much of its tension and power from its wild contrasts and sheer unpredictability of temperament. After the argument apparently dies down at the end, a fiery coda presses the speed and excitement onwards, until the music eventually burns itself out. The slow movement is a set of variations on a rather more sober theme in the more restful key of D flat major. The variations themselves are elegant and decorative rather than, as often with Beethoven, probing. But this is precisely what is needed between two such highly charged movements. The finale follows without a break. The law of diminishing returns prevents Beethoven's repeating the first movement's approach. Instead, he allows the tension to grow cumulatively, finally releasing it in a shattering Presto coda. INTERVAL Coffee and drinks are available in the foyer. Coffee is 50p a cup: to find it, go past the bar on to the landing and turn to the left. 1 1

7 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 7

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
D Do visit the Members' Desk if you are interested in the music for tonight's concert, in tickets for the next concert or in becoming a Patron or Benefactor of the BMS. We can be found in the foyer at the opposite end to the bar, to your left as you leave the auditorium. Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat, Op.61 Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) Chopin's output was dominated by the piano, and his music for the instrument seldom strays outside a handful of forms - ballades, nocturnes, sonatas, studies, waltzes and so on. Two of them are quintessentially Polish, the mazurka and the polonaise. The mazurka was a traditional Polish country dance (often sung as well as danced) which Chopin was responsible for bringing into the concert hall, his 60 or so examples often containing some of his most intimate music. The Polonaise, on the other hand, already had a long history in the concert hall. Bach had used the form (the Polacca in the First Branden-- burg Concerto is one) as well as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, amongst others. There is evidence that it originated as courtly aristocratic dance, and this would account for the magisterial style Chopin often adopted in his polonaises. There is a wealth of patriotic feeling in the famous Military Polonaise (A major, Op.40/1), the epic F sharp minor (Op.44) and the heroic A flat (Op.53). For all the aristocratic bearing of such music, Chopin was himself quite an ordinary homely person - as comes across in his letters to his family back home in Warsaw. Here's a taste from a letter dated "Paris, 12 December 1845": I've told you about Chenonceaux, now about Paris. Gavary sends best greetings to Ludw. and Jedrz. (he sends her Massillon, his own work); likewise the Franchommes. I dined at both houses before Mme S. arrived, and we talked a lot about you both. I'm already starting on my treadmill. Today I've given only one lesson, to Mme Rothschild, and have excused myself from two, as I had other work. My new mazurkas have come out in Berlin at Stern's, so Ita don't know whether they will get as far as you you in Warsaw generally getting your music from Leipzig. They are not dedicated to anyone. Now I'd like to finish my cello sonata, barcarolle and foll

8 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 8

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Liszt something else I don't know what to call; but I doubt whether I'll have the time, as the rush is beginning. I have received many enquiries whether I will give a concert, but I doubt I will. has arrived from the provinces, where he's been giving concerts; I found his card in the house. Meyerbeer is here, too. I was to have gone today to a soirée at Leo's to see him, but we're going to the Opéra, to the new ballet (new for Mme S.), Le diable à quatre, in which the costumes are ours. Now I'm writing to you after the ballet, on Saturday morning. Nothing is changed at the Opéra; it's just as it was when you were there. As yet we have seen nothing else; neither the Italian theatre where they do Verdi, nor Mme Dorval in the new drama Marie Jeanne, which is said to be one of her best parts. The "something else I don't know what to call" is most probably the Polonaise-Fantaisie, completed in the summer of 1846 and published in Paris and Leipzig that November as Op.61. It's no wonder Chopin had difficulty finding a title for it. Like many of his late works it is structurally experimental, a work with no precedent to help shape it, only Chopin's improviser's instincts. From the questing introduction (whose harmonic web would remain unequalled for a generation) and the clear polonaise idea this gives on to, through many contrasting episodes to the final apotheosis, Chopin creates a discursive, developmental, seamless whole. 8 Pieces for piano, Op.76 Johannes Brahms (1833 1897) Capriccio in F sharp minor: Un poco agitato Capriccio in B minor: Allegretto non troppo buda Intermezzo in A flat: Grazioso Intermezzo in B flat: Allegretto grazioso Capriccio in C sharp minor: Agitato, ma non troppo presto Intermezzo in A: Andante con moto Intermezzo in A minor: Moderato semplice Capriccio in C: Grazioso ed un poco vivace The piano was Brahms's own instrument, and music for it straddles his composing career: his output reached Op.122, the first and last works for solo piano being Op.1 and Op.119. The music for solo piano, however, went through two distinct phases. In the first we find Brahms the young lion or perhaps that should be "eagle", which is how the Schumanns saw

9 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 9

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
the 20-year-old Brahms when he turned up on their doorstep in Düsseldorf. The works are predominantly large-scale the three sonatas and the variation sets, including the Handel Variations and the Paganini set, whose appearance in 1866 marked the close of this first phase. Then came something of a gap, until the second phase opened with the publication of Acht Klavierstücke as Op.76 in March 1879. It was characterised by a smaller, much more intimate scale. After Op.76 came the two Rhapsodies, Op.79 (1880) and another 12-year gap until the four sets of pieces, Opp.116-119 of 1892/3. Nearly all the pieces in these sets Brahms calls by one of two titles: capriccio for the faster pieces, intermezzo for the slower. The eight pieces of Op.76 were published in two books. The first book consists of a restless Capriccio in F sharp minor, a quirky, gipsy-style Capriccio in B minor, a teasingly graceful Intermezzo in A flat and a more straight-forwardly lyrical Intermezzo in B flat. Book II opens with the tense and intense Capriccio in C sharp minor, followed by the sweet and simple Intermezzo in A, the gentle, wistful Intermezzo in A minor and finally the Capriccio in C major. This last is a complex and subtle piece, requiring musicianship of the first order. Brahms was so worried about including it in the set that he asked Clara Schumann whether she didn't agree he should leave it out. Fortunately she replied in a letter of 7 November 1878 that the C major was a great favourite of hers, and so Brahms left it in. Programme notes by David Mather Floral decorations by Sue Bedford.

10 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 10

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS The final concert in the 73rd Season of the British Music Society, presented in association with the Department of Music at the University, takes place as usual in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall. § Thursday, 17 March 1994 at 8 p.m. MICHAEL D'ARCY (violin) NIGEL HUTCHISON (piano) Sonata in G, Op.30/3 Sonata No.3 Sonata in D, Op.94a Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Op.28 Also in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall at 8.00: § Wednesday, 23 February 1994 NASH ENSEMBLE Piano Quintets by Dvořák and Franck Beethoven Delius Prokofiev Saint-Saëns § Wednesday, 2 March 30 STRONG The University big band playing repertory from the 1930s to the present

11 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 11

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY President Dr Francis Jackson Vice-Presidents Joan Whitworth Jim Briggs Rosalind Richards Chairman: Barbara Fox Vice-chairman: Derek Sutton Hon. Treasurer: Albert Ainsworth Hon. Asst. Treasurer: John Petrie Hon. Secretary: Nigel Dick Hon. Programme Secretary: Brian & Rosalind Richards NFMS Representative: Dr Richard Crossley Hon. Auditor: Derek Winterbottom Members of the Committee: Sue Bedford, Margherita Biller, Andrew Carter, Stephanie Kershaw, Peter Marsden and Dick Stanley BENEFACTORS AND PATRONS The BMS manages to maintain the high standard of its concerts largely through the generosity of its Benefactors and patrons. Without their covenanted gifts to the Society, we could not hope to balance our books. Our Benefactors(§) and Patrons are as follows: Mr A. Ainsworth Mrs P. J. Armours Mr R. A. Bellingham Mr & Mrs J. Briggs Mrs M. Danby-Smiths Mr C. G. M. Gardner Mr A. D. Hitchcocks Dr F. A. Jackson Mr J. C. Josling Mrs F. Andrews Dr D. M. Bearpark Mr & Mrs D. A. C. Blunt Dr R. J. S. Crossley Mr N. J. Dick§ Mr D. P. Griffiths Mr G. Hutchinsons Mrs E. S. Johnsons Professor R. Lawton§

12 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 12

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Mr R. P. Lorrimans Mrs A. M. Morcom§ Mr & Mrs K. M. Nonhebel§ Miss H. C. Randall Mr B. Richards§ Mr L. W. Robinsons Mrs D. G. Roebuck Mrs I. G. Sargent Mr J. B. Schofield§ Mrs E. Sessions Dr & Mrs G.A.C. Summers§ Dr M. J. Thomsons Mr J. I. Watson Mr & Mrs A. Wright Mr P. W. Millers T Mr G. C. Morcomg If you would like to become a Benefactor or Patron, or have any queries, recommendations, criticisms or even praise, please come and see us at the Members Desk and make your feelings known. 滚术 Yorkshire & Humberside ARTS Mr D. A. Sutton Mr O. S. Tomlinsons Miss L. J. Whitworth Mrs H. B. Wright In addition to the generosity of our Benefactors and Patrons, the activities of the BMS are supported by grants from Yorkshire and Humberside Arts. O NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC SOCIETIES NFMS INSTITUTE GORTHWICK SMS 3/2/2 (1) OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH ☆ Compiled by David Mather and published by the British Music Society of York. Reproduced by WrightDesign of Easingwold.

13 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 13

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
B'S YORK STEVEN ISSERLIS MELVYN TAN (cello and fortepiano) Friday, 28 October 1994 Programme: 50p Presented by the British Music Society of York in association with the Department of Music

14 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 14

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BAS YORK NOTICE BOARD Advance ticket sales At every concert of the 1994/1995 scason single tickets for the following concert will be available at the Members Desk in the foyer during the interval. This follows a successful try-out at the end of last season. As at the first concert of last season, anyone with a single ticket for tonight's concert who would like to convert it to a subscription for the whole season may do so at the Members Desk at the interval on payment of the balance. Emma Johnson concert (25 November) Eagle-eyed subscribers will have noticed that Emma's accompanist is given as Gordon Back in the brochure and Julius Drake on the back of the season ticket. The brochure's Gordon Back is correct: it was to have been Julius Drake, but scheduling difficulties forced the substitution which came too late to be noted on the season tickets. Nossek Quartet concert (January 1995) Please note that the Nossek Quartet's concert is on Thursday, 12 January, as on the tickets. The brochure's date is incorrect. Raymond Fox Bursary The NFMS is to hold a fund-raising concert for the Bursary it established in memory of BMS stalwart Raymond Fox. Details of performer and programme will follow later, but if you want to make a note for your diary, the concert will take place on 17 May 1995 at St John's, Smith Square, London. Brochure This season's brochure, designed by John Hastie, has a very different look from those of previous years. What do you think of it? If you have strong views one way or the other, please tell a committee member. They should all be wearing their badges and they do want to hear from you.

15 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 15

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK 74th Season Friday, 28 October 1994 Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall STEVEN ISSERLIS 'cello MELVYN TAN fortepiano Cello Sonata No.1 in Bb major, Op.45 Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor, Op.38 INTERVAL Variations concertantes, Op.17 Cello Sonata No.2 in D major, Op.58 Mendelssohn before the concert starts, and use a handkerchief when coughing. Brahms Mendelssohn For the sake of others in the audience, please turn off all alarms on watches, calculators etc. Mendelssohn

16 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 16

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
STEVEN ISSERLIS & MELVYN TAN Steven Isserlis is now internationally recognised as one of the finest cellists of his generation; he has given audiences all over the world a new insight into the whole repertory of the instrument, from baroque to contemporary. In 1993 he was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist of the Year Award for "performances with a quality of commitment that linger in the memory, and for an unfailing gift for communicating the meaning of the music to the audience". Melvyn Tan was born in Singapore and gave his first concert at the age of five. At 12 he was invited by Yehudi Menuhin to study at the Menuhin School in Surrey, where his teachers included Vlado Perlemuter and Nadia Boulanger. Since 1980 Melvyn Tan has devoted himself exclusively to the harpsichord and fortepiano, his repertory extending as far forward as Chopin, Schumann and Brahms. Steven Isserlis and Melvyn Tan have recorded all the Mendelssohn works in tonight's programme for BMG Classics. The CD is due for release this December with the number 09026 62553-2. If you don't want to pay shop prices, you can get the CD post free from The Music Group, West Haddon, NN6 7AA (tel/fax 0788 510 693) at £10.98 (pounds below list price). PROGRAMME NOTES Cello Sonata No.1 in Bb major, Op.45 Allegro vivace Andante Allegro assai Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847) The repertory for cello and piano effectively begins with Beethoven's five sonatas plus variation sets: earlier works were originally either not for cello or not for piano. The only prominent 19th-century composers to take up this challenge with more than a one-off piece were Mendelssohn, Brahms and, surprisingly, Chopin. The Mendelssohn family was awash with culture, talent and money. 0

17 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 17

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was one of the leading philosophers of the Enlightenment; father Abraham co-founded the family banking business. Of the children, the older sister Fanny had musical gifts to match her brother Felix' (six of the 24 Songs published as Mendelssohn's Opp.8 & 9 were in fact by Fanny), while the younger brother Paul showed talent as a cellist, but followed his father into the world of finance. (It says much for his choice that Paul outlived his siblings by decades, dying in 1874.) Felix wrote several works for cello and piano: two sonatas, the Variations concertantes and a couple of smaller pieces. Of these, the Variations and the First Sonata (at least) were composed with Paul in mind. The First Cello Sonata is dated 13 October 1838. Mendelssohn had been at Leipzig for three years as conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts. In March 1837 he had married the 20-year-old Cécile Jeanrenaud, and their first child, Karl Wolfgang Paul, was born on 7 February 1838. Cécile was quite ill, but gradually got better. In June Mendelssohn conducted at the Lower Rhine Festival at Cologne, then went to the family home in Berlin, a happy time when the family had its first chance to meet Cécile and the new baby. They fled from Berlin in September, when there was an outbreak of measles, but it was too late: Felix broke out in spots when they got back to Leipzig and had to miss conducting engagements. These minor domestic dramas make little impact on the Cello Sonata, with its predominantly sunny first movement, wistful Andante and Finale by turns lyrical and energetic. Mendelssohn is often criticised in these sonatas for too often overwhelm- ing the cello line with torrents of notes for the piano: we shall see, or rather hear, whether the charge is justified when the music is played with the clearer, less massive sound of a contemporary piano. Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor, Op.38 Allegro non troppo Allegretto quasi menuetto Allegro Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Brahms had a particular love of lower sonorities: the Second Serenade for orchestra does without violins altogether, and he wrote his two cello-rich

18 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 18

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
string sextets before producing a string quartet he was prepared to see in print. So it is fitting that the first of his seven duo sonatas should be for cello and piano. The chronology of the Sonata is a little hard to establish, since Brahms could often be secretive or downright misleading about work in progress. It seems, however, that it was composed between 1862 and 1865, alongside several other works: the Piano Quintet (Op.34), Paganini Variations (Op.35), Second String Sextet (Op.36), Waltzes for piano duet (Op.39) and Horn Trio (Op.40) - even the First Symphony (Op.68) which was not to see the light of day for another dozen years. This was the period when Brahms was making the move from his native Hamburg to Vienna, where he found the atmosphere freer, with more chances to make his mark as a musician. It was, after all, the capital of the German-speaking musical world. The Cello Sonata is dedicated to a Dr Josef Gänsbacher, a keen cellist. Once, when he was playing the work through with Brahms, he found himself drowned out: Brahms was a forthright player, and despite the elegiac and almost reticent tone of much of the Sonata, there are nevertheless passages of blood-and-thunder, especially in the finale. At one such Gänsbacher complained "I can't hear myself", to which Brahms naturally and characteristically replied "Aren't you lucky?" The Sonata has three movements. There were originally four, with an Adagio placed second, but Brahms evidently felt the balance and contrast of the work as a whole was better without it. The first movement contains some of Brahms' simplest and most eloquent writing. The A minor Minuet, with its hesitant mood, frames a melancholy, slightly mysterious Trio in F# minor. The powerful finale begins as a fugue and keeps returning to fugato style, dropping it for the contrasting episodes. The main subject seems to have been consciously modelled on Contrapunctus XIII from Bach's Art of Fugue, though Brahms may also have had in mind Beethoven's last cello sonata (D major, Op.102 No.2 Bernard Gregor-Smith played it at the beginning of our 1992/3 season), where the last movement is a fully- worked-out fugue. as sa

19 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 19

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
) INTERVAL Coffee and drinks are available in the foyer. Coffee is 50p a cup: to find it, go past the bar on to the landing and turn to the left. Tickets for the next BMS concert (for details, see Forthcoming Concerts at the end of this book) are now on sale at the Members Desk. This can be found in the foyer at the opposite end to the bar, to your left as you leave the auditorium. Anyone with a single ticket for tonight's concert who would like to convert it to a subscription for the whole season may do so at the Members Desk. For example, those with an £8.00 ticket for tonight need pay only the balance of £19.50 for a £27.50 season ticket. If you are interested in becoming a Patron or Benefactor of the BMS, or have any queries about the Society, come and see us at the Members Desk. Variations concertantes, Op.17 Mendelssohn The Variations concertantes, written for brother Paul, was the earliest of Mendelssohn's works for cello and piano: the autograph is dated 30 and January 1839, making him still 19 at the time of its composition Paul only 14. Mendelssohn, though, was only chronologically young: he already had an impressive list of compositions, including the spectacular Octet (1825) and the Midsummer Night's Dream overture (1826). Here he In 1827 Mendelssohn's translation of a Latin comedy by Terence had been published, gaining him a place at the University of Berlin. wandered a little away from music, attending Hegel's lectures on aesthetics as well as courses on geography and the French Revolution. But 1828 also saw the composition of the overture Becalmed Sea and Prosperous Voyage together with a couple of occasional cantatas. Shortly after completing the Variations concertantes, and just after his 20th birthday, Mendelssohn conducted the famous revival of Bach's St

20 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 20

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Matthew Passion in Leipzig, after which he set out with his diplomat friend Karl Klingemann for a tour of Britain: he was feted in London and also visited Scotland, sowing the seeds of the Scottish works which germinated over the next few years. The theme of the Variations has a conventional pattern: it is in two halves, each given first by the piano alone, then by cello with piano accompaniment. But where Mozart or Beethoven, say, would have continued this pattern of two repeated halves in each of the variations the young Mendelssohn is more impatient and does away with the repeat except in the fastest variations. After the theme come eight numbered variations. The first three treat the theme to increasingly quick figurations. Var.4 is a typically ficry Allegro con fuoco for the piano with a few cello interjections. Var.5 is more of a conversation between the instruments, and probably modelled on a passage from Beethoven's variations on Bei Männern for the same combination of instruments. Var.6 is slightly calmer, but Var.7 is a Presto ed agitato in the minor key. The so-called "Var.8" is simply the theme, without repeats, in the piano: the tune is unchanged, but there is some slightly different harmony. It gives on to an extended coda. Cello Sonata No.2 in D major, Op.58 Allegro assai vivace Allegretto scherzando Adagio Molto allegro e vivace Mendelssohn Mendelssohn's Second Cello Sonata dates from 1843. This period of Mendelssohn's life was slightly overshadowed by the death of his mother (December 1842), which for a while stopped him composing: fortunately he could occupy himself with a revision of his Goethe cantata Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Then there was the Leipzig Conservatory, inaugurated in April 1843 with Mendelssohn as director. There was a good deal of organisational work to do with the curriculum and staff (which included Schumann); but possibly even more bothersome to Mendelssohn was the renegotiation of his Berlin duties, with all the possibilities which that presented of offending the new kir 18 MON the M Se SON eff im on spe exa Th OD SON has Con Ove of Pro

21 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 21

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
200 ave Ons TO n f T king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. 1843 was the year that saw the production in Potsdam of Shakespeare's A midsummer night's dream with Mendelssohn's 1826 Overture plus his new 1842 incidental music which include the celebrated Wedding March and Scherzo. the almost as famous Mendelssohn may have had brother Paul in mind when he composed the Second Sonata, but the work is dedicated to another amateur cellist, Count Mateusz Wielhorski. Wielhorski and his composer brother Michal were the sons of a Polish diplomat at the Russian court. They themselves were effectively Russians and were very active as patrons of music, as important for the development of Russian musical culture in the first half of the century as the Rubinstein brothers were to be in the second. Mateusz was also a military man, fighting in the war of 1812 and retiring only in 1826, with the rank of colonel. Unlike its companion, the Second Cello Sonata is in four movements. The first, with its sunny disposition and bouncing rhythms has been likened to that of the Italian Symphony. The second is another Mendelssohn speciality, the light-footed scherzo, though, unlike so many earlier examples, it is a gentle Allegretto, not a Presto. It The slow third movement is perhaps the most radical of the four. opens with a chorale-like melody on the piano in huge arpeggiated chords, The cello then some with as many as ten notes spanning four octaves. has freer, recitative-like music, following which these two ideas are combined. At the end the piano has a short crack at the recitative idea, over a cello pedal. The finale begins after the barest of pauses, a typically fiery Allegro, full of notes right up to its barnstorming finish. Programme notes by David Mather Floral decorations by Sue Bedford.

22 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 22

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS The next concerts in the 74th Season of the British Music Society, presented in association with the Department of Music at the University, are as follows. They take place in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, beginning at 8.00 pm. § Friday, 25 November 1994 EMMA JOIINSON GORDON BACK Gavotte 3 Romances, Op.94 Grand duo concertant, J.204 Clarinet Sonata 3 Preludes Fantasy on Verdi's Rigoletto § Thursday, 15 December 1994 (clarinet) (piano) ANTHONY HEWITT (piano) NFMS/Esso Young Artist Rameau (arr. Ettlinger) Schumann § Wednesday, 9 November 1994 Music by Haydn, Beethoven (Sonata, Op.109), Schumann, Liszt and Chopin (4 Ballades) Also in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall at 8.00: CITY WAITES Weber Poulenc Gershwin Bassi Popular music of 16th & 17th century England

23 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 23

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
3 BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY President Dr Francis Jackson Vice-Presidents Joan Whitworth Jim Briggs Rosalind Richards Chairman: Barbara Fox Vice-chairman: Derek Sutton Hon. Treasurer: Albert Ainsworth Hon. Asst. Treasurer: John Petrie Hon. Secretary: Nigel Dick Hon. Publicity Secretary: Stephanie Kershaw Hon. Programme Secretary: Brian & Rosalind Richards NFMS Representative: Dr Richard Crossley Hon. Auditor: Derek Winterbottom Members of the Committee: Andrew Carter, Amanda Crawley, Lesley & David Mather BENEFACTORS AND PATRONS The BMS manages to maintain the high standard of its concerts largely through the generosity of its Benefactors and patrons. Without their covenanted gifts to the Society, we could not hope to balance our books. Our Benefactors(§) and Patrons are as follows: Mr A. Ainsworths Mrs P. J. Armour Mr R. A. Bellingham Mr & Mrs J. Briggs& Mrs M. Danby-Smiths Mr C. G. M. Gardner Mr G. Hutchinsons Mrs E. S. Johnson§ Mrs F. Andrews Dr D. M. Bearparks Mr & Mrs D. A. C. Blunt Dr R. J. S. Crossley Mr N. J. Dicks Mr A. D. Hitchcock§ Dr F. A. Jackson Mr J. C. Josling

24 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 24

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Professor R. Lawtong Mr P. W. Millers Mr G. C. Morcom§ Mr L. W. Robinsons Mrs I. G. Sargent Mr & Mrs N. Sexton Dr G.A.C. Summers§ Mr O. S. Tomlinsons Mr J. I. Watson Mr R. Wilkinson§ Mrs H. B. Wright If would like to become a Benefactor or Patron, or have any queries, you recommendations, criticisms or even praise, please come and see us at the Members Desk and make your feelings known. Mr R. P. Lorrimans Mrs A. M. Morcom§ Mr B. Richards§ Mrs D. G. Roebuck Mr J. B. Schofield§ Mrs D.C. Summers§ Mr D. A. Sutton Dr M. J. Turner§ Miss L. J. Whitworth Mr & Mrs A. Wright In addition to the generosity of our Benefactors and Patrons, the activities of the BMS are supported by grants from Yorkshire and Humberside Arts. The Society also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Royal Bank of Scotland. AR Yorkshire & Humberside ARTS Registered Charity No.700302 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC SOCIETIES NEMS INSTITUTE BORTHWICK *(SMS 3/2/2 (2) OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH Compiled by David Mather and published by the British Music Society of York. Reproduced by Wright Design of Easingwold.

25 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 25

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
B'S YORK EMMA JOHNSON GORDON BACK (clarinet and piano) Friday, 25 November 1994 Programme: 50p Presented by the British Music Society of York in association with the Department of Music

26 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 26

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Advance ticket sales BAS YORK NOTICE BOARD Throughout the 1994/1995 season single tickets for the next concert will be available at the Members Desk in the foyer during the interval. This follows a successful try-out at the end of last season. During tonight's interval tickets will be available for the concert by Anthony Hewitt on 15 December. Nossek Quartet concert (January 1995) Please note that the Nossek Quartet's concert is on Thursday, 12 January, as on the tickets. The brochure's date is incorrect. Your views Raymond Fox Bursary The NFMS is to hold a fund-raising concert for the Bursary it established in memory of BMS stalwart Raymond Fox. Details of performer and programme will follow later, but if you want to make a note for your diary, the concert will take place on 17 May 1995 at St John's, Smith Square, London. The BMS is a society run for the benefit of its members by a committee elected from those members. If there is something you think we should be doing, or should not be doing, don't keep it to yourself; please tell a committee member. They should all be wearing their badges and they do want to hear from you.

27 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 27

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Gavotte BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK 74th Season Clarinet Sonata Friday, 25 November 1994 Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall 3 Romances, Op.94 Grand duo concertant, J.204 3 Preludes EMMA JOHNSON clarinet GORDON BACK piano Fantasy on Verdi's Rigoletto INTERVAL Rameau (arr. Ettlinger) Schumann For the sake of others in the audience, please turn off all alarms on watches, calculators etc. before the concert starts, and use a handkerchief when coughing. Weber Gershwin (arr. Cohn) Poulenc Bassi

28 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 28

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
EMMA JOHNSON and GORDON BACK Emma Johnson was born in London and began to study the clarinet at the age of nine. In 1984 she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition, followed by the bronze award at the European Young Musician Competition televised throughout Europe. She is one of the very few woodwind players to have made an international career as a soloist, regularly appearing in the USA, the Far East and throughout Europe. Indeed, she is just back from her third tour of Japan and the Far East. Emma Johnson plays on a Peter Eaton clarinet. Gordon Back was born in Wales and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and then in Italy with Guido Agosti and Sergio Lorenzi. He joined the staff of the Guildhall School of Music in London in 1974, becoming head of the Accompaniment and Chamber Music Department six years later. He is in international demand as an accompanist, both in recitals and in international competitions, such as the famous Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Along with Julius Drake, he is a frequent recital partner of Emma Johnson and has made several recordings with her. Emma Johnson records exclusively for ASV, for whom she has recorded many of the works on tonight's programme: Weber Duo on Emma Johnson plays Weber (CD DCA 747) Poulenc Sonata on La clarinette française (CD DCA 621) Gershwin Preludes/Rigoletto Fantasy on Encores (CD DCA 800) The first two with Gordon Back, the last with Julius Drake All these recordings are also available on cassette: for the numbers simply replace the CD of the above prefixes with ZC. If you don't want to pay shop prices, ASV CDs can be obtained for £10.98 post free (pounds below list price) from The Music Group, West Iaddon, NN6 7AA (tel/fax 0788 510 693).

29 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 29

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
PROGRAMME NOTES Gavotte with 5 doubles Jean Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764) arr. ETTLINGER "The search for pre-classical music of high artistic value is a permanent problem for the clarinettist" wrote Yona Ettlinger in the preface to his 11-movement Suite for clarinet and piano arranged from harpsichord pieces by Jean Philippe Rameau. Rameau, a close contemporary of Bach, Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, is famous in three principal areas of music: keyboard picces, opera and theory (in particular, the study of harmony). His early career was as an organist, but it is for the harpsichord (clavecin in French) that his keyboard works are written. Rameau published four collections of harpsichord pieces, only moving into the field of opera after the third of them had appeared. It is from this third set, the most ambitious of the four, that the Gavotte is taken, the Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin published in Paris in 1728 or thereabouts. In its original version, the Gavotte, in A minor, is followed by six doubles (variations) and may well have been influenced by the Air and Variations in Handel's D minor Harpsichord Suite published in London in 1720.. Mr Ettlinger, an Israeli clarinettist and celebrated teacher, has transposed the Gavotte down into G minor and omitted the grandiose sixth double whose figuration would be hard to transcribe for clarinet to make a more fitting ending than the fifth. 3 Romances, Op.94 Nicht schnell Einfach innig Nicht schnell Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856) Over the last couple of BMS seasons these notes have had many oppor- tunities to remark on Schumann's astonishing outflow of creativity

30 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 30

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
between the years 1840 and 1843. But on someone so neurotic, such pressure was bound to take its toll. A concert tour of Russia with Clara in the opening months of 1844 (he felt it to be a waste of his time), professional disappointments, and then the difficulties encountered in writing music for Goethe's Faust all sapped his nervous energy and led to a serious breakdown at the end of August 1844. A few weeks later the Schumanns retreated from Leipzig to the comparative musical backwater of Dresden, which became their new home in December. Schumann Schumann's recovery was slow, and his creativity dropped off alarmingly. Two things above all helped his revival. The first was an opera project, based on Hebbel's play about the life of St Geneviève Genoveva; the second was the choral society Schumann formed, the Verein für Chor- gesang, which met for the first time on 5 January 1848. finished the opera in August 1848, and this ushered in a new, richly creative period. Many of the works, naturally enough, were for chorus, but there were also the Conzertstück for four horns and orchestra, the Introduction and Allegro appassionato for piano and orchestra, and several chamber works, including a staple of the clarinet repertory, the Op.73 Fantasy Pieces. The three Romances, Op.94 belong to the end of this creative rush, to the middle weeks of December 1849. It should be remembered that 1848/9 was also a time of grave political unrest in Europe. When the barricades went up in the streets of Dresden in May 1849, Schumann fled with his children and heavily pregnant wife to nearby Maxen. He strongly sympathised with the rebels, but refused to be active; unlike Wagner (then a comparatively unknown figure working as second conductor at Dresden Opera) who was forced to flee to Paris. The Op.94 Romances were originally composed for oboe and piano, though, as often with wind chamber music at this time, it was published with alternatives for violin or clarinet and piano. The three Romances are marked: not fast; simply, with deep, genuine feeling; not fast. Grand duo concertant, J.204 Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826) Allegro con fuoco Andante con moto Rondo: Allegro The clarinet as an instrument has a long and not uncomplicated history.

31 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 31

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
It is held to have become distinct from its forebears at the end of the 17th century, but it really came of age in the second half of the 18th century. The innovative and influential Mannheim Orchestra numbered clarinets amongst its woodwind section from the 1750s onwards, but it is only the later symphonies of Haydn (1732-1809) and Mozart (1756 - 1791) that had parts for the instrument. The first great symphonist who could take them for granted in his orchestra was Beethoven (1770-1827). Music was written or adapted for the clarinet almost as soon as it existed, of course, but the first "great" composers to write music that made a feature of the instrument were Mozart (who wrote a concerto, a quintet and the Kegelstatt Trio) and Weber (with two concertos and a concertino, a quintet, this Duo and a couple of other pieces plus one for clarinet and piano). now lost Mozart and Weber, incidentally, were related by marriage: Mozart's wife Constanza, was Weber's first cousin. Weber, however, was a child of his father's second marriage and a generation younger: he was only four when Mozart died. Both men were inspired by particular performers Mozart by Anton Stadler, Weber by Heinrich Baermann. It was Baermann's playing of the Clarinet Concertino and Concertos that went a long way to establishing Weber's reputation as a composer in the 1810s. Weber became director of the German Theatre in Prague, the theatre Mozart had written Don Giovanni for some 26 years earlier. Weber needed great energy and organisation, not to mention a thick skin, to get the Theatre out of the doldrums, but he achieved it. This was a difficult time for him, made worse by his protracted and frustrating courtship of the singer Caroline Brandt: he proposed early in 1814, but they were not betrothed until late in 1816 or married until 4 November 1817. To these years belongs the Grand duo concertant. Weber began it in Munich in the summer of 1815. He was on leave from then Theatre and had parted from Caroline on poor terms, though they wrote to each other warmly enough. He returned to Prague, but work on the Grand duo concertant and the cantata Kampf und Sieg had so re-convinced him of his powers as a composer that at Easter 1816 he tendered his resignation from the Theatre with effect from the autumn. And so it was in Berlin at the end of 1816 that Weber completed the Grand duo concertant, alongside two piano sonatas (the Ab and D minor).

32 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 32

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
The Grand duo concertant was the last of Weber's extant clarinet pieces and the only one not specifically written for Baermann. (For pedants, the lost works of 1815 were for a visiting clarinet virtuoso Simon Hermstedt.) The "Grand" of the title was a booster word frequently added to pieces of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and referring to increased sig- nificance rather than anything to do with size. "Duo" in this context is synonymous with "sonata", except that it implies equal importance for the two instruments - an important consideration in an age that could print Beethoven's Op.30 Violin Sonatas as "sonatas for the piano with violin accompaniment". "Concertant" is a more complex word: it was used (eg. in the quatuor concertant) to indicate a piece where each performer's contribution is of equal importance, but it was also used (eg. by Weber's contemporary Spohr) to mean the opposite, a work where the spotlight is definitely on one instrument in other words, a work in concerto-style. Weber almost certainly intended the former meaning here, though he would not have been unaware of the sense of "display" that lingers round the word "concertant"; or indeed that Beethoven's virtuoso Kreutzer Sonata was described on its title page as a "sonata for piano and violin obbligato written in a very concertante style almost like a concerto". The Duo's three movements are far more straightforward for listeners than for the performers: the first movement, in E flat, a typical mix of drama and lyricism; the C minor slow movement dark and passionate by turns; and the final E flat Rondo playful and light-hearted, but bristling with difficulties enough for two concertos. INTERVAL Coffee and drinks are available in the foyer. Coffee is 50p a cup: to find it, go past the bar on to the landing and turn to the left. Tickets for Anthony Hewitt's piano recital on Thursday 15 December (for programme details, see Forthcoming Concerts at the end of this book) are now on sale at the Members Desk. This can be found in the foyer at the opposite end to the bar, to your left as you leave the auditorium. If you are interested in becoming a Patron or Benefactor of the BMS, or have any queries about the Society, come and see us at the Members Desk.

33 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 33

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
) ) 1 } Sonata for clarinet and piano Allegro tristamente: Allegretto Très calme Romanza: Très calme Allegro con fuoco: Très animé Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963) Tempo allegretto Wind players have good reason to be grateful to Francis Poulenc, who contributed more fine and effective music to their repertories than virtually any other 20th-century figure. The earlier music includes: a Sonata for 2 clarinets (1918); Sonata for clarinet and bassoon (1922); Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano (1926); and the famous Sextet for piano and wind quintet, which the Aeolian Ensemble played for us last December. But his crowning glory was the series of three sonatas he wrote in what were his last years: the Flute Sonata of 1956 and the Clarinet Sonata and Oboe Sonata, both composed in 1962. Unfortunately for bassoonists, Poulenc died before he got round to their sonata: we know from his friends that he was planning one. Friends were particularly important to the gregarious Poulenc, so much so that he entitled his autobiography Moi et mes amis [= me and my friends]. The three woodwind sonatas are all dedicated to friends who died in the 1950s: the Flute Sonata to the American patroness Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, the Oboe Sonata to Sergey Prokofiev and the Clarinet Sonata to Arthur Honegger. This accounts for the way the sonatas frequently dip into melancholy. Honegger (1892-1955) and Poulenc were fellow members of Les six back in the 1920s: the notion of "Les six" was more a marvel- lous publicity device, but the composers in question were never in any sense a school or even a close-knit group, except maybe for a couple of years, though Poulenc remained friends with several of the "members", particularly Auric and Honegger. The Clarinet Sonata contains a little joke at the expense of people like me, a joke to do with movement nomenclature. In music, movements or picces are called by the titles given by the composers, which are Most customarily printed in the centre of the page, above the music. movements and many pieces, though, don't have titles as such, in which case they are often referred to by their tempo marking, the words printed immediately above the first bar(s) of the music as an indication of how (in particular how quickly) the music goes. A bit like poetry: some poems have titles (Ode to a nightingale); others are just known by their first lines (Do not go gentle into that good night). So with music: a movement

34 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 34

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
that is not Prelude or Scherzo, Elegy or Intermezzo is called by its tempo marking Allegro vivace, say, or Adagio. Poulenc's joke is that the titles of the outer movements are phrased exactly like tempo markings they are indications of how to play the music and yet they are slightly at odds with the actual tempo markings. So, the first movement has the title Allegro tristamente [= fast with sadness] while the tempo marking at the beginning is plain Allegretto [= fastish]. Similarly, the finale which is entitled Allegro con fuoco [= fast, with fire] has the tempo marking Très animé [= very animated]. Despite its abrupt opening, the first movement is predominently melan- choly, even its jollier moments tinged with sadness. By contrast, the placid central section is tinged with grief that borders on the plangent. The Allegretto music returns, but as a pale shadow of its former self. After the clarinet introduction, the Romanza is almost an extension of the central part of the first movement, even sharing its tempo marking - Très calme, Its main idea is a melody of unusual beauty and a Mozartean (Poulenc was a big fan) simplicity. The finale is fast and furious, full of Poulenc's mordant wit and the lightning changes of mood that are so characteristic of him, from the funster of the opening to the sophisticated Parisian boulevardier of the movement's lyrical heart. 3 Preludes Allegro ben ritmato e deciso Andante con moto e poco rubato Allegro ben ritmato e deciso George Gershwin (1898 - 1937) George Gershwin came to music in relatively late childhood. He was a typical streetwise kid from an immigrant Russian-Jewish family in the lower east side of Manhattan. It was not until 1910 that the family bought an upright piano, ostensibly for George's older brother and later lyricist Ira (1896 - 1985). George quickly outstripped not only Ira but also the neighbourhood piano teacher and was soon having lessons with Charles Hambitzer, who introduced him to the music of Chopin, Liszt and even Debussy. Gershwin also had some lessons in theory, at various times

35 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 35

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
throughout his life, but was never at home in this area and, indeed, could never read music at all quickly. The piano figured large in his output. He wrote at the piano and was a renowned improviser: at parties it was easy to get him to play the piano and virtually impossible to get him to stop. His first job as a teenager was as a song-plugger for the Tin Pan Alley publisher Remick, playing Remick-published songs to potential customers. Under this influence he began to write his own songs, some of which wound up in Broadway shows. His first big hit was Swanee in 1919: the 1920 recording by Al Jolson sold hundreds of thousands of copies. The band leader Paul Whitemean's desire to bring musical respectability to jazz led to the commission that became Rhapsody in Blue, after which Gershwin wrote several works for the concert hall alongside his Broadway musicals. This "serious" output culminated in what many regard as his masterwork, the opera Porgy and Bess. The three Preludes for piano belong to 1926, two years after Rhapsody in Blue and a year after the [Piano] Concerto in F. 1926 was also the year which saw the musical Oh, Kay!, which includes the songs Do, do, do and Someone to watch over me: the lyrics were by Ira and Howard Dietz, and the book was written by, of all people, PG. Wodehouse. When Gershwin gave the first performance of the Preludes (4 December 1926, Hotel Roosevelt, New York) there were actually five in all, but two were suppressed before publication. The first Prelude is in Bb major, the same key as Rhapsody in Blue, though it belongs more to the world of the Concerto in F. As does the second Prelude, in F sharp major, which could almost have been extracted bodily from the Concerto's slow movement. The last Prelude, in E flat minor, is the most ambitious of the three: it is also closer in spirit to one of the piano elaborations of his famous songs (an album of 15 of these was brought out in 1932). The transcription for clarinet and piano is by J. Cohn. Fantasy on themes from Verdi's 'Rigoletto' Luigi Bassi (1833-1871) In the late 18th and 19th centuries, one type of piece most often found on

36 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 36

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
the programmes of travelling virtuosi was the "fantasy" or "variations" on an operatic hit of the day. Such pieces were designed to show off both the technique and the compositional skill of the performer. Originally such things were often done extempore Beethoven and Liszt were both famous for this but the written form came to predominate: there are many examples by Mozart and Beethoven before the form reached its apogee in the great operatic fantasies of Liszt for the piano. The 20th century has seen a dccline of this type of display vehicle, with the signal exception of jazz, where the technique flourishes as never before. Luigi Bassi's Fantasy is based on themes from Verdi's opera Rigoletto, which was first produced in Milan in 1851. It uses several of the opera's hits, including the celebrated Quartet and the aria Caro nome, but ignores what many would see as the work's most famous number, the Duke's Act III aria La donna è mobile. Even so, the Fantasy gives the clarinettist every opportunity to display her command of the instrument. Programme notes by David Mather Floral decorations by Sue Bedford. TI pr ar be lu Als Wo

37 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 37

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS The next concerts in the 74th Season of the British Music Society, presented in association with the Department of Music at the University, are as follows. They take place in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, beginning at 8.00 pm. § Thursday, 15 December 1994 ANTHONY HEWITT (piano) NFMS/Esso Young Artist Fantasy in C major, Hob.XVII:4 Piano Sonata in E major, Op.109 Abegg Variations, Op.1 Mephisto Waltz No.1 4 Ballades § Thursday, 12 January 1995 Also in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall at 8.00: NOSSEK STRING QUARTET Quartets by Mozart, Janacek (No.1) and Schubert (A minor) § Wednesday, 7 December 1994 Haydn Beethoven Schumann UNIVERSITY ORCHESTRA Liszt Chopin Works by Britten, Saint-Saëns and Brahms (Symphony No.4)

38 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 38

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY of YORK OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY President Dr Francis Jackson Vice-Presidents Joan Whitworth Jim Briggs Rosalind Richards Chairman: Barbara Fox Vice-chairman: Derek Sutton Hon. Treasurer: Albert Ainsworth Hon. Asst. Treasurer: John Petrie Hon. Secretary: Nigel Dick Hon. Publicity Secretary: Stephanie Kershaw Hon. Programme Secretary: Brian & Rosalind Richards NFMS Representative: Dr Richard Crossley Hon. Auditor: Derek Winterbottom Members of the Committee: Andrew Carter, Amanda Crawley, Lesley & David Mather BENEFACTORS AND PATRONS The BMS manages to maintain the high standard of its concerts largely through the generosity of its Benefactors and patrons. Without their covenanted gifts to the Society, we could not hope to balance our books. Our Benefactors(8) and Patrons are as follows: Mr A. Ainsworth§ Mrs P. J. Armour Mr R. A. Bellingham Mr & Mrs J. Briggs Mrs M. Danby-Smiths Mr C. G. M. Gardner Mr G. Hutchinsons Mrs E. S. Johnsong Mrs F. Andrews§ Dr D. M. Bearparks Mr & Mrs D. A. C. Blunt Dr R. J. S. Crossley Mr N. J. Dicks Mr A. D. Hitchcocks Dr F. A. Jackson Mr J. C. Josling

39 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 39

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
Professor R. Lawtong Mr P. W. Millers Mr G. C. Morcoms Mr L. W. Robinsons Mrs I. G. Sargent Mr & Mrs N. Sexton Dr G.A.C. Summers Mr O. S. Tomlinsons Mr J. I. Watson Mr R. Wilkinsons Mrs H. B. Wright If you would like to become a Benefactor or Patron, or have any queries, recommendations, criticisms or even praise, please come and see us at the Members Desk and make your feelings known. Mr R. P. Lorrimang Mrs A. M. Morcom§ Mr B. Richards§ Mrs D. G. Roebuck Mr J. B. Schofields Mrs D.C. Summers Mr D. A. Sutton Dr M. J. Turner§ Miss L. J. Whitworth Mr & Mrs A. Wright In addition to the generosity of our Benefactors and Patrons, the activities of the BMS are supported by grants from Yorkshire and Humberside Arts. The Society also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Royal Bank of Scotland. | Yorkshire & Humberside ARTS Registered Charity No.700302 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC SOCIETIES NEMS Compiled by David Mather and published by the British Music Society of York. Reproduced by Wright Design of Easingwold.

40 The British Music Society of York, BMS 3 2 2, Page 40

▲back to top
Ocr'd Text:
INSTITUTE SORTHWICK BMS 3/2/2 (3) OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH