BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY OF NORTHERN IRELAND Price 1970-1971 SECOND RECITAL under the auspices of THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST RALPH KIRSHBAUM (VIOLONCELLO) ERNEST LUSH (PIANO) SIR WILLIAM WHITLA HALL Queen's University, Belfast t THURSDAY, 5TH NOVEMBER, 1970 : : 1/-

Sonata in A major, Op.69 Allegro ma non tante Scherze Adagio cantabile/Allegro vivace Beethoven This Sonata is the third of Beethoven's five sonatas for cello and piano. It was written in 1818. Beethoven's writing for piano and strings was an advance on what had gone before, his sonatas for violin and piane, and cello and piano, being true 'Duos' where the instruments were equal partners. But the piano of the early 19th century was a less resonant instrument than we are accustomed to now and one of Beethoven's biog- raphers has suggested that the composer felt "the sostenute and cantabile" powers of the cell. were so much greater than those of the piano that it was wise to keep to quick and moderate-paced movements in these works so as to "avoid exposure of the piane's short-lived notes". The first Allegro in Sonata No.3 is in sonata form; the Scherze has a tricky, syncopated rhythm in 3/4 and the short Adagio leads into an invigorating final Allegro. PAR Schumann Fantasiestlicke, Op.63 These three pieces, written in 1849, were originally for clarinet and piane. They were part of a series of experimental works which Schu- mann wrote with the idea of showing off the person- alities of various instruments. The first is marked "tenderly and expressively", the second "lively and lightly" and the third "quick, and with fire". PAR Sonata Debussy This Sonata was written in 1915. It was the first of six which Debussy planned to write for various combinations of instruments, but he completed only three. In his book on Debussy, Edward Lockspeiser writes of the composer's preoccupation with Harlequin, "the Divine Fool"....."a symbol of the difficulties and nostalgia of the modern artist". He quotes from another source that "the ethereally pathetic cell, Sonata" was to have been called "Pierrot faché avec la lune". (Pierrot on bad terms with the moon?)

The first movement is called "Prologue". It is short and the writing for both instruments is very characteristic of Debussy, for example the piano noves in blocks of chords which are sometimes broken up into rhythmic patterns. Lockspeiser says of this movement "a ghostly rumbling in the short passage marked 'agitato provides a dramatic interruption and the celle, accompanied only by a few hollow chords, calmly restates its moving message, lingering finally upon the eerie harmony of an open fifth". The second movement is a Serenade. The cello, by means of pizzicato and portando effects amazingly imitates the guitar, mandoline, flute, and even tambourine! The Finale begins fast. It is in 2/4, the beat being marked "léger et nerveux". There is a folk song flavour at the start which is interrupted at a passage marked "lento con morbidezza". Lockspeiser says: "Harlequin is at last unmasked and the artist is faced with the desolation of his solitude". PAR INTERVAL Sonata for solo cello, Op. 25 No.3 (1923) Hindemith The only movement with a time signature is the third, and it has the ambiguous 3/2, 6/4. The other move- ments tend to vary between 3/4 and 4/4, and this gives the work a free rhythmic structure. All 5 movements are short (the whole sonata lasts hardly 10 minutes), and all except the first are in what is really simple ternary form (ABA). The first has a development of that form which we can sym- bolise ABABA. There is throughout an insistence on the interval of the 5th both harmonic and melodic. I. lively, well accented, with firm bow-strokes. A spreading first subject. The second subject (bar 8) has a Spanish flavour to its rhythm - notice the perfect 5ths. The movement ends on low G. II. Moderately fast, unhurried, very gentle throughout. A lyrical movement with a Baa-baa black sheep kind of second subject (or theme, perhaps a better word.) It ends on open C and G.

III. Slow These The opening theme is wide-stretching, and the middle section (marked "peaceful") has flowing quaver triplets. Last chord, again C G. final chords, it begins to appear, are important signposts to the balance of the formal structure of the whole work. IV. lively beat (crotchet), without expression and always pianissimo There's hardly time for expression anyhow, it's I over so soon. The opening 9 bars end - A flat, B flat, G, (resting for a minim on G), and at the end he exploits the A flat- B flat for a few bars' coda before he drops to rest on the G. V. Moderately fast, very sharply marked (crotchet) beats Military kinds of themes. The end of the piece sharpens the low C, gives us the fifth (with G) diminished, and ends on C sharp with a ringing pizzicato. EWJB Senata, Op.40 (1934) Shostakovich Moderate Moderato con meto Largo Allegrette This Sonata is straightforward in style, based on classical sonata form, and unambiguously tonal. The first movement begins in D minor and moves to B major for its second subject. The writing is reminiscent of Brahms in style and texture (particularly in the piano part). The recapitulation is condensed, with the second subject coming first. The second movement is an extrovert scherzo. There are two main subjects, the second of these introduced by florid arpeggies on the celle harmonics. Harmonics, beloved by string players who have taken so long to learn to play them in tune, are usually a great bore to the rest of us, but this passage is innocuous, not to say pleasant. The Large is an extended song for the cello, with a brief reference at the end to the opening bars, and the finale is a perky piece with a Mozartian first subject and opportunities for both players to display technical skill. EWJB