THE BELFAST MUSIC SOCIETY ELEBRITY PPLEB ரா CONCERTS =1989-90 AT THE ELMWOOD HALL

the Orkney lalen Saturday 21 April 1990 MADELEINE MITCHELL KLAUS ZOLL Dances from 'The Two Fiddlers' da Metamorphoses op 48 Sonatina in G op 100 Programme Elegy Sonata in E minor op 82 violin piano Maxwell Davies Leighton Dvorak *** INTERVAL *** Finzi Elgar 1988) and

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1 Dances from 'The Two Fiddlers' Peter Maxwell Davies (b 1934) Two of Maxwell Davies' great loves are united in his two act opera of 1978, The Two Fiddlers; his interest in writing music for children and his love of the scenery and folk stories of the Orkney Islands where he has made his home. In the opera, two young fiddlers, Storm and Gavin, on their way home from playing at a wedding, are surrounded by trolls. Gavin runs off, but Storm follows them into their mound. The trolls are dancing a lugubrious dance, but their King asks Storm to play some livelier music on his fiddle. He is happy to oblige, performing a new dance he had made up for the wedding, and then a lively reel. As a reward for his playing, () the Troll King offers to grant Storm any wish. Knowing the struggles he and his fellow villagers have to survive, he asks that they might never have to work again. He returns home to find that in fact 21 years have passed, no one works any more, and all have grown fat and lazy, waited on by the trolls. Horrified, Storm takes up his violin and plays. Music breaks the spell. of some of the music This suite of dances consists played by Storm Kolson on stage. It was first performed in 1978 by the Fires of London. The version for violin and piano was made in 1988 and first performed in London by Madeleine Mitchell and Klaus Zoll in the Wigmore Hall. Metamorphoses op 48 Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) Kenneth Leighton was English born, but was in later years more associated with the musical life of Scotland

and especially of Edinburgh, where he was Reid Professor of music from 1970. This work was composed during 1965 and 1966 in response to a commission from Barnes Music Club, and the first performance was given in London in 1966 by Frances Mason and Ashley Lawrence. As the title implies, the music, though mostly continuous, is in the form of variations which grow out of the opening phrases on violin solo. The variations are also built up into three main movements, and a brief summary of these may be of help. Movement 1 (a) (b) (c) Movement 2 (a) (b) (c) (d) 2 A slow lyrical section in the manner of a passacaglia, building up to a faster rhythmical and dance-like middle section a return to the mood of the first section. (a) (b) Scherzo, in which the piano leads, and the violin adds pizzicato interjections a gentle trio section in the manner of a lullaby an inverted recapitulation of the scherzo to which are added further lyrical elements on the violin This culminates in the central climax to the work an allegro violente in which the mood is one of protest. - Movement 3 A mysterious variation for muted violin with drum-beats and harmonics on the piano a ghostly fugue which seeks reconciliation rather than culmination.

Sonatina in G, op 100 Allegro risoluto Larghetto Scherzo and trio Allegro 3 *** Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) In 1492, as every schoolboy knows, Columbus, having sailed the ocean blue, discovered America. Preparations were under way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of this event and Mrs Jeanette Thurber, wife of a million- aire New York grocer and philanthropist, founder of the National Conservatory of music, saw this as a great opportunity to attract a leading European musician to act as head of the Conservatory, and to encourage the creation of an American school of composition. Dvorak was her choice, and his salary the not inconsiderable sum of $15,000 a year. Dvorak did not particularly enjoy New York, but spent happy holidays at a Czech community in Iowa, where he composed his 'American' string quartet and the E flat string quintet. The third of the trilogy of chamber works he composed in America was this sonatina, written for two of his children to play, and dedicated to all six of them. One of his most attractive and enduring compositions, it was completed on December 3rd, 1893. The theme of the slow movement came to him while on a visit to the Minnehaha falls in Minnesota and, for want of a piece of paper, was written down on his shirt cuff. Interval * * *

4 Elegy Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) This Elegy (or lament for the dead) was written in 1940. It is not dedicated to anyone in particular, and was originally intended to be the slow movement of a violin sonata. The other movements were never com- pleted, however, and the work stands on its own. Sonata in E minor, op 82 Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Allegro Romance (Andante) Allegro non troppo Although Elgar had composed much chamber music in his youth, little of it was published in his lifetime apart from some unpretentious salon pieces. It is perhaps surprising, then, that his three major chamber works were all written within a year, late in his life. Apart from the cello concerto they were the last major works he composed. All three - the sonata, string quartet and piano quintet - are retrospective, as if the old com- poser were looking back fondly at the sort of music he had once written (and played as a violinist in an amateur orchestra). The concerto, by comparison, reveals Elgar still looking forward. To help Elgar recover from poor health and the depression he had felt throughout the war, his wife discovered a charming cottage, Brinkwells, in Sussex, and here Elgar composed the three works. The sonata was begun in mid-August 1918 and completed in less than a month. The violin part was written for, and with the technical guidance of, his friend W.H. Reed, leader of

5 the L.S.O. Elgar described the first movement as 'bold and vigorous', the slow movement as 'a fantastic curious movement with a very expressive middle section; a melody for the violin - they say it is as good or better than anything I have done in the expressive way' and the finale as 'very broad and soothing'. TONIGHT'S ARTISTS CONFORE OFICE 10q x10850 MADELEINE MITCHELL One of the few British violinists to have received international acclaim as a soloist, Madeleine Mitchell has given concerto performances, recitals, broadcasts and master classes throughout Europe and the USA. hom As a scholar at the Royal College of Music she won the Tagore Gold Medal for the most distinguished student, playing for Her Majesty the Queen Mother. In 1979 bude Madeleine made her first TV appearance for BBC1. Fulbright and ITT scholarships enabled her to attend the Eastman and Juilliard Schools in the USA, where from 1979 to 1981 she was taught by Dorothy DeLay, Donald Weilerstein and Sylvia Rosenberg, later becoming her assistant. She gained a Master's Degree in violin performance. Madeleine Mitchell has won several British and international competitions and has given many London recitals, including those awarded by the Park Lane Group, Kirckman Concert Society and Worshipful Company of Musicians. As a soloist and chamber musician she has given broadcasts and played at many international festivals and venues including Aspen, Bath, Belfast, Dvorak-Czechoslovakia, St. Magnus, Toronto, the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Madeleine was the violinist

6 in the Fires of London and several composers have written solo works for her. Madeleine has given concerto performances to great acclaim with several orchestras and has toured as soloist with the London Festival Orchestra, Wurttemberg and Munich chamber orchestras and the Czech Orchestra of Karlsbad. She has been invited to give the Spanish premiere of the concerto by Maxwell Davies. She recently performed Beethoven, Bruch and Bach concertos on a major European tour and will shortly be recording 'The Lark Ascending' in Eastern Europe. 940 asin) One of Germany's most outstanding pianists, Klaus Zoll made his debut at the age of twelve in Frankfurt, where he began his studies. He received private tuition from Wilhelm Backhaus before moving to London to continue his studies at the Royal Academy of Music. He won the German Chamber Music competition and the 1969 Inter- national London Competition Festival. In 1974 Klaus Zoll was invited to represent Germany at the International Glasgow Arts Festival and he has also appeared at Salzburg, Schwetzingen and the Istanbul Festivals. He has performed at most major music centres in Europe, giving concertos with among others, the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonia, Stuttgart Philharmonic, London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of St. John's Smith Square. Klaus Zoll's repertoire includes the complete piano works of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt and he has given the first European performance of several contemporary concertos. His recordings will soon include Rachmaninov concertos, and his collaborations with other artists such as Rita Streich, Siegfried Behrend and Yossi Zivoni KLAUS ZOLL

7 have included a duo with John Ogdon at the Alsfel Festival, featured on German national television - one of his many broadcasts. Future concerts include European tours with the Academy of London and Munich Chamber Orchestra. NEXT RECITAL EDUARDO FERNANDEZ (Guitar) Saturday 26 May 1990. 7.30 pm Elmwood Hall

The BMS has been presenting concerts of first-rate chamber music, including masterpieces which are landmarks in European culture, for almost 70 years. Some of the world-famous artists who have played and sung for us have included the Amadeus Quartet, Elly Ameling, Claudio Arrau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Janet Rake Baker, Pierre Bernac and Francis Poulenc, Alfred Brendel, Kathleen Ferrier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, John Lill, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerard Souzay and Rosalyn Tureck. Copies of BMS brochures available from the Secretary, Janet Quigg, 48, Bawnmore Road, Belfast, BT9 6LB, tel. 660115. CITY HOSPITAL ELMWOOD HALL LISBURN ROAD CAMDEN ELMWOOD AVENUE COLLEGE GARDENS METHODET COLLEGE WELLESLEY AVENUE 1000 TOWER CRE MOUNT CHARLES DONEGALL PASS C UNIVERSITY SQUARE UNIVERSITY STREE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY 000 BOTANIC GARDENS