THE BELFAST MUSIC SOCIETY CAT له ELEBRITY CONCERTS 1991-92- 23.5.92 ST AT THE ELMWOOD HALL

THE TAKÁCS QUARTET Gabor Takács-Nagy Karoly Schranz Gabor Ormai Andras Fejer ***** String Quartet in D Op 76 no String Quartet in F op 96 INTERVAL String Quartet in A minor, D804 **** * violin violin viola cello Saturday 23 May 1992 Elmwood Hall 7.30 pm Supported by the ARTS COUNCIL in the Haydn Dvorák scherz Schubert

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1 String Quartet in D, op 76 no 5 Allegretto - allegro Largo cantabile e mesto Menuetto (allegro) Presto Joseph Haydn 1732-1809 By the time he came to compose the six quartets of opus 76, Haydn had written nearly eighty works in the form, and these quartets reflect his years of experimentation and experience. The opus 76 quartets were commissioned by Count Joseph Erdödy (whose wife, incidentally, was the dedicatee of a number of Beethoven's works). The Count kept the quartets for his own exclusive use until they were published in 1799, with a dedication to him.un The opening movement has a gentle 6/8 theme which is then treated to a continuous set of variations, at first in the major, then in D minor, with the cello leading off much contrapuntal treatment of the material; the major tonality then returns. The movement might be expected to end here, but instead Haydn springs one of his surprises - the music pauses, and then dances away in a lively allegro that takes the contrapuntal idiom of the earlier minor section and transforms it into an almost Beethovenian scherzo. The beautifully hymn-like largo, in the bright, distant key of F sharp major, is the heart of the quartet. As the music unfolds on its emotional pilgrimage, it twists and turns through many remote keys, before the final homecoming. The minuet is richly harmonised; its second half is characterised by typically Haydnesque off-beat accents. The rather grey-hued trio section is in the minor key. After a few introductory chords, the finale is one of Haydn's country dances, full of rustic charm, with drone basses and quirky humour. I wonder did Mendelssohn know this movement?

2 String Quartet no 12 in F, op 96 Allegro ma non troppo Lento Molto vivace Vivace ma non troppo Antonin Dvorák 1841-1904 Dvorák wrote no fewer than 14 quartets, plus some fragments, two waltzes, and the set of 12 Cypresses based on early songs, but only a few of the later quartets could be described as even occasional biocl visitors to our concert halls, and only the so-called 'American' quartet is really well-known - which is a pity, as there is much fine music in the other works. The composition of the F major quartet took Dvorák just two weeks in June 1893 (between the composition of the New World symphony and the E flat string quintet) while he was holidaying with his family at the Bohemian colony at Spillville in Iowa. All three works show an influence of American-Indian folk music, or at least the pentatonic scales on which much of it is built, though probably no actual folksong melodies are used. Pentatonic themes (i.e. using scales of five notes) play a major role in this quartet, notably in the first movement; for example, the opening theme of the movement is based on the notes F-G-A-C-D. The overall sound, however, is in no way American (or negro) but thoroughly Czech (pentatonic melodies are, after all, characteristic of the folksongs of many countries, including Ireland and Scotland). The slow movement is all melody, its song sung first by the violin, then by the cello; these two instruments share the melodic limelight. The scherzo was inspired by the pastoral scenery of Dvorák's adopted homeland; the music is permeated with the songs of birds. The contrasting minor key trio section is built on an augmented (slower moving)

3 duonds grieg asv aadud ads sib aid sozl vond oil version of the scherzo's theme, and the scherzo and trio are then repeated in different versions before the final return of the scherzo to round off the movement. The lively finale seems to picture a village dance; perhaps it is a Sunday, for the festivities give way for a time to a broad chorale melody, or perhaps a touch of homesickness intrudes, before performers and listeners alike are swept up again by the dance as it rushes to its conclusion. 31sduda? yd adow las corniscela. String Quartet in A minor, da sel Allegro ma non troppo Andante Menuetto (allegretto) Allegro moderato D804 Franz Schubert 1797-1828 seand anemOVO VOD A Corona Ism sounim aug13 There are 14 surviving complete quartets by Schubert, and like those of Dvorák (who wrote the same number) the earlier quartets are rarely performed. His earliest essays in quartet form were actually composed for his family to play young Franz on the viola, his two brothers on violins, and Herr Schubert as the (not very competent) cellist; they reflect the inexperience of composer and performers, though they do already reveal some of the mature composer's fingerprints. The majestic stepping stone to the mature Schubert is the incomplete yet, like the Unfinished symphony, it is complete Quartettsatz of 1820. It was four years before Schubert returned to the medium, but then he wrote the three great quartets, of which this is the first. Like Beethoven's op 127 of the same year, it was written for the quartet led by Ignaz Schuppanzigh - the leading ensemble of the period. The work's première in March 1824 was the first public performance of any of the composer's quartets, indeed it was the only one to be published in his lifetime.

4 We know from his diary that Schubert was going through a period of depression while he was writing the quartet, and this is apparent in the music. The bleak accompaniment figure and the gloomy opening theme immediately set the mood for the whole quartet. The first movement makes much use of a typically Schubertian alternation of minor and major the 1 opening A minor theme, for example, is soon heard in A rolad major. The movement ends firmly in the minor tonality, however. The two central movements both make use of material from earlier works by Schubert. The slow movement is based on the theme of the well-known entr'acte from the incidental music to e Rosamunde (1823). It is not a set of variations, but a new movement based on the earlier theme. The rather melancholy minuet quotes part of the composer's 1819 setting of Schiller's "Die Götter Griechenlands", characterised by a recurring E- D - E motif; the major key trio also makes rhythmic reference to this figure. Some, but by no means all of the shadows have been dispelled as the finale enters. The music is restrained and the tempo merely moderate; the impression we get is of the composer attempting to be cheerful, but not altogether succeeding. Indeed, the A major tonality is balanced by the C sharp minor of (3.720nd ow the second subject material. Alec Macdonald 1992

TONIGHT'S ARTISTS 5 TAKÁCS QUARTET Gabor Takács-Nagy, violin Karoly Schranz, violin des Gabor Omai, viola Invol fone Andras Feger, cello VIX alved yol vid Recognised as one of the finest Quartets in the world, the Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 and all members studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Recent international engagements have included a Bartók cycle for the Bartók Solti Festival at the South Bank, concerts in the Great Performers Series at the Lincoln Center, for the Mostly Mozart Festivals at Alice Tully Hall, New York, and in Tokyo, as well as appearances at the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the Musikverein in Vienna. TRATT Future plans include appearances at Tanglewood randol ben eigene Festival in Boston, Bartók cycles in Paris and Madrid, three concerts at the Salzburg Festival in 1993, and a return visit to the Far East. In the autumn of 1992, the Takács will give the world première of a work written for them by Brian Elias. The Quartet will host its own Festival at the Wigmore Hall in 1994. The Takács Quartet records exclusively for Decca International and has released works by Haydn, Chausson, Brahms and Dvorák. Their recording of Haydn Op 76 nos 4, 5 and 6 received a 1990 Gramophone Award nomination.

6 The Takács Quartet is Quartet in Residence at the Barbican, giving masterclasses at the Guildhall School of Music, and appearing in concert at the Barbican Hall. The Quartet also holds a residency at the University of Colorado in the USA. In September 1988, the Takács Quartet acquired the use of a quartet of Amati instruments, generously loaned. by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC. These instruments were made for the French Royal Family, probably for Louis XIV. seer PRS GIVING MUSIC ITS DUE Representing music creators & publishers We are pleased to have the support of PRS nodoet al Saunothi 40 n