Belfast Music Society Celebrity Concerts

RAPHAEL OLEG PHILIPPE CASSARD *** violin Sonata in G Sonata in E flat, K481 Sonata no. 2 in A, Op. 100 piano * * * * * Sonata in G minor INTERVAL * * * Saturday 6 February 1993 Elmwood Hall 7.30 p.m. Supported by the ONG ARTS COUNCIL Mozart Brahms Poulenc Lekeur Debussy

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Sonata in E flat, K481 1 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791 molto allegro adagio theme and variations (allegretto) The composer's own manuscript of this sonata is dated. "Vienna, 12 December 1785". It thus comes from the period of his two piano quartets, and all three works reflect Mozart's new interest in the then popular forms of chamber music with keyboard. As often in mature Mozart, the first movement has not two main themes, but three. The first, heard immediately, is a delicately leaping theme; the second is lyrical, but also rather restless, and the third, introduced by the piano in thirds, has the character of a minuet. These three themes are then fully developed. Incidentally, listen out for the appearance at several points in the violin part of the four-note motif familiar from the finale of the Jupiter symphony. The heart of the sonata is the remarkable long and lyrical slow movement. Underlying the passionate progress is a rondo structure, but there is little in the way of literal restatement, the themes being transformed on each reappearance, and the movement includes some fascinating modulations. The finale is a set of six variations on a simple theme, each variation becoming more complex until the final variation; the movement concludes with the theme transformed into a lively jig.

2 Johannes Brahms Sonata no. 2 in A, Op. 100 allegro amabile andante tranquillo vivace - andante tranquillo allegretto grazioso (quasi andante) 1833-1897 The second of Brahms' three violin sonatas was composed at his summer cottage by the lakeside at Thun in Switzerland, in 1886. The melodies of several of the composer's own songs are woven through the texture, contributing to the sonata's lyrical nature. The songs, and perhaps therefore the emotions behind the sonata, are closely linked with the soprano Hermine Spies who had visited the composer in Switzerland. The predominantly gentle opening movement begins with a long fluid theme of great beauty, presented at first by the piano with answering comments by the violin. It becomes quite passionate before the movement's second theme, marked teneramente - tenderly - is heard. A third theme is more lively, with dotted rhythms and triplets. All three themes contribute to the development, the often contrapuntal writing reminding us that Brahms was a Classical composer as well as a Romantic one. The second movement combines both slow movement and scherzo, in the form A-B-A-B-A, concluding with a brief and unexpected return of the music of the scherzo. There is the greatest possible emotional contrast between the singing 2/4 andante and the skipping 3/4 vivace, marked molto leggiero. The last movement, again lyrical, reveals some of the shadows typical of the late works of the composer, especially when the piano has a series of arpeggios that seem to conjure up a twilight image of waves lapping the lake shore.

Sonata in G 3 très modéré - vif et passionné très lent très animé Guillaume Lekeu 1870-1894 The Belgian composer Lekeu began composing at the age of 15, studying later with Franck and d'Indy. On d'Indy's recommendation he entered for the Belgian Prix de Rome competition, in which he won second prize in 1891. The composition, a cantata, so impressed the celebrated violinist- composer Ysäye that he commissioned a violin sonata from Lekeu. It is the best-known of the small but important output of a composer whose early promise was cut short by his death from typhoid, the day after his 24th birthday. The slow opening to the first movement presents a theme which serves as a motto for the whole work. It has a prominent triplet figure; a triplet figure is also featured in the thematic material of the livelier main part of the movement. It will be quickly apparent that Lekeu's music speaks with an individual voice the influence of Franck is there in places, but it is not overpowering; if a parallel is to be found, it is perhaps with the harmonic and melodic waywardness of Fauré. Although much of what follows is very passionate, the conclusion of the movement is of the utmost gentleness. The slow movement presents a glorious long-breathed melody. The fluidity of the music is helped by the prevailing 7/8 metre of the outer pages. Again there is a great wealth of thematic material; the central part of the movement is marked to be played "in the style of a folk song". The finale is in the minor key for much of its length. Although it begins in animated manner, the pace slackens and the main theme of the first movement. reappears. From then on, this theme and other material from the opening movement dominate the finale, which ends with a grand statement of the motto

4 theme. The writing in this movement may be more Franckian in its melody and harmonies than what has gone before; certainly the sonata as a whole shows that Franck did not have a monopoly of fiendish piano writing. Sonata in G minor allegro vivo intermède (fantasque et léger) très animé Claude Debussy 1862-1918 The title page of this sonata proudly proclaims, in 18th century cursive script, "6 sonatas for various instruments ... composed by Claude Debussy, Musicien Français". In fact, of the six sonatas that Debussy planned in the final years of his life, he was only able to complete three, the violin sonata being his last composition. How often have regrets been expressed that he was not spared to write the planned 4th sonata - for oboe, horn and harpsichord. Debussy's violin sonata has one characteristic at least in common with the late 19th century sonatas of Franck and Lekeu; there are elements of cyclic form reusing themes from the opening movement later in the work. In this case the opening motif of descending thirds returns at the opening of the finale, and other thematic relationships can be traced. The atmosphere of much of the opening movement is vaguely mysterious and 'other-worldly' in fact one critic has described the whole work as "in sound and mood, unreal, a ghost-like sonata". The scherzo is, as the heading implies, a fantastic affair (in the literary sense), light-footed, and in a way reminiscent of Debussy's prelude, Minstrels. In the centre of the movement the pace slackens, and here is one of Debussy's most beautiful lyrical creations. The finale has the frenetic quality of a toccata, but again there is a contrasting slower section, with a sultry theme full

5 of smoky glissandos. Although this last movement begins in the minor, the composer who had done as much as any of his contemporaries to loosen the bonds of tonality, closes his composing career with a clear and joyous G major. Alec Macdonald 1993. TONIGHT'S ARTISTS: RAPHAEL OLEG Raphael Oleg first came to the attention of British audiences in May 1987 when he made an exceptional debut, standing in at short notice to play the Brahms concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra under Jeffrey Tate, 'not just with commanding technique but with a maturity of poetic feeling much beyond his years. (The Times) 1 sus viewe Raphael Oleg entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 12 and won the first prizes for violin and chamber music in 1976, going on to win the First Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1986. Even before this achievement, Raphael Oleg had built an international career and reputation both as a recitalist and with Europe's major symphony orchestras. He created a sensation at the 1986. Lucerne Festival when he replaced Josef Suk as soloist with the Czech Philharmonic and Vaclav Neumann, and was immediately re-engaged by the Festival to play in September 1987 with the Orchestre Nationale de France. and Lorin Maazel, with whom he made a tour of European Festivals. He has already appeared with such eminent orchestras as the Concertgebouw under Chailly, Orchestre de Paris under Dohnanyi, Philadelphia Orchestra under Maazel, Munich Staatsorchester under Sawallisch and he was a soloist on a major European tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. boo

6 He recently made his debut recital tour of Japan including a recital as the first artist in the Suntory Hall 'Promising New Artists' series. PHILIPPE CASSARD Philippe Cassard, who won the top prize at the first GPA Dublin International Piano Competition, is one of the most promising pianists among the new generation. A review from the 1988 Wexford Festival said: "It is a mark of Cassard's art, something obviously spotted by the judges at the competition, that he can achieve great feats of technical brilliance without ever losing sight of the musical content of his material." He was born in 1962, and his early teachers were Dominique Merlet and Genevieve Joy-Dutilleux at the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieure de Musique in Paris, where he was unanimously awarded two first prizes for piano and chamber music, in 1982. He also attended master-classes by Leon Fleisher, and spent two years in Vienna with Hans Graf at the Hochschule Für Musik. Since 1984, he has been studying under the direction of the legendary Nikita Magaloff, who regards him as "an authentic musician, with out- standing capacities". He is now a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Ireland, where he has worked with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Ulster Orchestra. recitals have ake him to London (Wigmo Dublin (National Concert Hall), Belfast Festival, New York, Washington, Vienna, Paris and Rome. Hall), NEXT RECITAL: Vanbrugh String Quarter Saturday 13 March 1993 Elmwood Hall: 7.30 pm His