st BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND 1953 1954 FOURTH RECITAL under the auspices THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST VIENNA PHILHARMONIA ope: Ano ang at aw Jasoos boxes va to vo QUARTET GUSTAV SWOBODA, Violin SIEGFRIED RUMPOLD, Violin AUGUST PIORO, Viola RICHARD HARAND, 'Cello The Sir William Whitla Hall Queen's University, Belfast FRIDAY, JANUARY 29th 1954 AL on s du gran

Quartet in C Major, K.465 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Introduction: Allegro Andante cantabille Minuetto Allegro molto This is the last of the six quartets written by Mozart in 1782, the year of his marriage, and dedicated to Haydn. It is unusual, for a string quartet, in having its first movement preceded by a slow introduction; even Haydn, who was so fond of this device in his symphonies, resorts to it only once in his numerous quartets. It is this slow introduction that caused a stir that has not yet died down; the experts of his day decided that, if Mozart intended what was written in the score, and some actually returned the parts to the printers to have them corrected, then Mozart was wrong. It is easy to call those who were disturbed by what they called the "false relations" merely pedants; the nick-name attached to this quartet "The Dissonance" remains to warn us of too hasty judgment. It will be a salutary thought for us to recall that each of the three quartets to be played at this evening's concert was in its day "modern music" in the sense of having caused bewilderment or incomprehension at its first appearance. Zoltan Kodály (1882- Quartet in D Major, Opus 10 Allegro Andante Allegro giocoso Kodály was, with Bartok, the leading exponent of the new Hungarian music. This work, the second of his two quartets, was composed in 1918. Its prevailing mood is one of melancholy and mysticism. Characteristic of the scoring of the quartet is the frequent grouping of two of the instruments together to perform a common function, often pitted against the other two. In the opening movement the theme brings in the four instruments in turn and develops into a lament. The second theme is given out by the first violin and 'cello, the viola providing a background of muffled trills. Shortly afterwards a melancholy,

but more peaceful theme makes its appearance on the first violin accompanied by a pathetic call-motif on the viola. In the Andante the theme, marked quasi recitativo, is given out by the first violin to the accompaniment of sustained chords. It then transfers to the 'cello. After a passage of broken conversation between all the instruments we have a bright and significant dance motif on muted second violin with pizzicato accompaniment. This soon breaks off and leads us back to the opening material. The third movement enters without a break. It is an elaborate interweaving of dance rhythm and lament, with strange drone accompaniments sometimes heard. It finishes with a furious accelerando. INTERVAL Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Andante con moto leading to Allegro vivace Andante con moto quasi allegretto Minuetto grazioso Allegro molto The three quarters of Op. 59 were dedicated to the Russian Ambassador in Vienna, Count Razumovsky, a picturesque figure who may even have been a son of Catherine the Great; his father, originally a peasant, was certainly a prominent figure in the long queue of her lovers. Beethoven is said to have been asked by his patron to introduce Russian folk tunes into these works; such tunes have been identified in the first two quartets, but research has failed to identify one in this quartet. Om the appearance of the works, many considered them a joke and they were generally regarded as practically unplayable. Fifty years later a society was formed in Paris for the study and performance of Beethoven's quartets and brought them into current repertoire. Beethoven obviously owed something in writing this work to Mozart's quartet in C Major with which this concert began. It too has a slow introduction and there is a direct quotation in the first movement of a figure much used in the first movement of the Mozart. The last movement, the first of the fugal last movements which Beethoven grew to favour, opens without a break from the third movement, the theme being announced by the solo viola.

Next Concert- FRIDAY, 25th FEBRUARY, 1954 ROBERT MASTERS PIANOFORTE QUARTET Fauré: Quartet in G Minor, Op. 15 Mozart: Quartet in E Flat, K.493 Brahms: Quartet in A Major, Op. 26 N.B. A lecture on the works to be played at this concert will be given in the BOARD ROOM, CHURCH HOUSE (Assembly Buildings, entrance Main Door, Gt. Victoria Street), on MONDAY, 22nd FEBRUARY, at 7.45 p.m., by Dr. Havelock Nelson. DORMAN & SONS, LTD., BELFAST,