BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND 1963 1964 SIXTH RECITAL under the auspices of THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST ★ MAX ROSTAL VIOLIN COLIN HORSLEY PIANOFORTE SIR WILLIAM WHITLA HALL Queen's University, Belfast THURSDAY, 27th FEBRUARY, 1964 at 7.45 p.m.

Sonata in B flat, K 454 Sonatina Largo: allegro Andantino Rondo Allegretto The circumstances of the composition and first performance of this sonata bear a striking resemblance to those of the Beethoven sonata to be heard later in this programme. Mozart composed it in Vienna in 1784 for a very able violinist, Regina Strinassachi. The piano part was not written out in time for the concert; there was certainly no previous rehearsal and the violinist probably read her part at sight. It is one of the maturest of Mozart's sonatas for these two instruments. Sonata Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Moderato Lento Allegro Lennox Berkeley (1903- ) Lennox Berkeley did not take up the study of music till after he had left Oxford, when he studied in Paris under Nadia Boul- anger. After his style had formed he became known for a bright clear and often witty type of writing, as those who heard his sym- phony played earlier this season by the City of Belfast Orchestra will know. This sonatina dates from 1942. Claude-Achille Debussy (1862-1918) Allegro vivo Intermède (Fantasque et léger) Finale (Très animé) One of a group of six sonatas for various combinations of instruments published in 1916. INTERVAL

Sonata in A major, Op 47 Adagio sostenuto Andante con variazioni Finale Presto Beethoven wrote this sonata in 1803, the year of the Eroica Sym- phony, for the mulatto violinist George Bridgetower (1779-1860), whom he had met in Vienna. He must certainly have been a remarkable virtuoso, for he is known to have read his part at sight, Beethoven improvising much of the accompaniment. After a quarrel with him, however, the work was dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer (1776-1831), a French violinist and composer. From the opening adagio, given out by the violin, to the end of the first movement, the emotional and technical grandeur of the music shows plainly the hand of the composer of the Eroica. The varia- tions of the slow movement (four in number) explore the virtuoso possibilities of the two instruments to the full. The finale was originally intended for another sonata in A (Op 30): musically it does not live up to the other two movements, but its brilliant excitement brings the work to an end with magnificent effect. LAST CONCERT: Thursday, March 5: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) AEOLIAN STRING QUARTET Quartet in B flat major K 589 Quartet No. 5 Quartet in F major, Op 135 (Posthumous) Mozart Bartók Beethoven