BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND 1967 1968 FOURTH RECITAL under the auspices of THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST THE TEL-AVIV STRING QUARTET HAIM TAUB Violin MENAHEM BREUER Violin DANIEL BENYAMINI Viola UZI WIESEL Violoncello SIR WILLIAM WHITLA HALL Queen's University, Belfast SATURDAY, 27th JANUARY, 1968 at 7.45 p.m.

Quartet No. 21 in D major, K.575 Allegretto Andante Wolgang Amadeus Mozart (1759-1791) Menuetto allegretto Finale: allegro (1789). This is one of a set known as the Prussian quartets, as they were dedicated to the King of Prussia, Frederick William II. He was an amateur cellist of pretensions and it would have been un- seemly for Mozart to write works that did not give the royal per- former a chance to show what he could do. However it would have been unthinkable to write a virtuoso part for the cello leaving the other instruments to an accompaniment, so Mozart surmounted the difficulty by making all the parts of virtuoso standing, as many of the amateur groups who were the first ex- ponents of these quartets found to their cost. Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Allegro con brio Allegretto ma non troppo Allegro assai vivace ma serioso Larghetto - allegretto agitato allegro - (1810). After the three Rasoumovsky quartets, written about 1806, Beethoven wrote that in E flat, Op. 74 (1809) and this one and then left an interval of fourteen years before the first of the great series of late quartets. Logic would seem to suggest that these five middle quartets all belong to his middle period, but the F minor refuses to fit comfortably into such a scheme. It is no longer, like its fellows in date, a quartet that explores the possibilities of the medium to the full and gives the composer's genius full scope to develop; this is a work that is bursting at the seams. Its con- cision, its energy and its vitality lead one to think it should be a work of light-hearted gaiety, but, for all its liveliness, it is more than lively. Beethoven felt the need to warn us of this and insisted that it was a quartetto serioso. It is not a middle-period work except in date; it stands at the threshold of the last great master- pieces. INTERVAL

Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 Bartók Béla (1881-1945) Lento Allegretto Allegro vivace (1908). The first quartet is a work written before Bartók reached his full maturity and nine years were to elapse before he wrote another; unlike its successors though it may be, it is a very fine work. The opening movement is in ABA form; the A portions are contrapuntal, the B section opens with a prominent viola out- burst over a strong cello rythm, the first violin soon joining in with a mysterious quiet melody. The second movement goes on without a break after the first. Both the first and second move- ments are in sonata form, with motives common to all the move- ments. The last is nearest in spirit to later Bartók because of its debt to Magyar folk music. In what key is the work? Mosco Carner says "The key of the First Quartet is A minor, though its opening suggests something like F minor". Malcolm Rayment says, speaking of the first two quartets "They are sometimes spoken of as being in A minor, but with Bartók, who uses all the notes of the chromatic scale so freely, it is often impossible to speak of either major or minor; however, in both these quarters a better case can be made for the major then the minor key". So it would seem to be up to you. The instruments used by the members of the quartet are as follows: Mr. Taub -Pressenda, dated 1823 Mr. Breuer -Pressenda, dated 1838 Mr. Benyamini-Unknown Hungarian maker, end of 19th century Mr. Wiesel -Testore, dated 1740

NEXT CONCERTS: Friday, February 16th PAUL TORTELIER, Cello MARIA DE LA PAU, Pianoforte Sonata No. 2 in D major Bach Sonata Arpeggione Schubert Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op 99 Brahms Friday, March 1st THE HEUTLING STRING QUARTET Quartet in B major, Op 76 No. 4 Quartet No. 6 (1945) Quartet in minor, Op 29 Saturday, May 4th TERESA BERGANZA, Mezzo-Soprano Haydn Hindemith Schubert FELIX LAVILLA, Pianoforte Lamento di Cassandra Cavalli Quel sguardo sdegnosetto Monteverdi Morte di Santa Ursula Scarlatti Stizzoso, mio stizzoso Pergolesi Arianna a Naxos Haydn Con amores la mia madre Amchieta A la casa, sus a casa Gabriel Alma sintamos Esteve Tonadillas (Seven songs) Granados Cantares; Saeta; Farruca Turina