Belfast Music Society Celebrity Concerts 2/172/965 Programme

GUSTAV RIVINIUS - 'cello PHILIPPE CASSARD - piano ooo 'Cello Sonata in A, Op. 69 Pohádka (Fairy Tale) 'Cello Sonata PROGRAMME 'Cello Sonata in F Three Little Pieces for 'cello and piano, Op. 11 Supported by the ARTS COUNCIL Interval Capogros knw olles kond 10 012 oooo CITY Saturday, 2 December 1995 Elmwood Hall at 7.30pm F MON Beethoven Janáček Debussy Webern Brahms otom #00 olom 200 orgallo how toond vino 2 000 100 ser sol motive NATIONAL FEDERATION OF MUSIC SOCIETIES NEMS

Sonata in A, Op. 69 allegro ma non tanto scherzo (allegro molto) 20151 adagio cantabile - allegro vivace MMA Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) VATZUD 91110 The third and greatest of Beethoven's five 'cello sonatas was composed in 1807/8: it is contemporary with the 5th and 6th symphonies. It bears a dedication to one of his patrons, Baron von Gleichenstein. In the sonata Beethoven exploits the instrument's singing capabili- ties to the full. This is revealed from the very opening, where the noble main theme is stated by the 'cello unaccompanied. The secondary themes are more energetic and forceful, but the cello continues to sing through them. In contrast, the scherzo that follows is jagged and syncopated, Beethoven enjoying to the full the rhythmical tricks he plays on his listeners. In only one of the sonatas does Beethoven write a full slow movement. The others have, instead, significant slow introductions to their finales, and that is the case here. What feeling and depth Beethoven explores in just 18 bars! Then a pause, and in breaks one of the composer's most memorable themes. Throughout the sonata we marvel at the skilful writing for the instrument, and regret that Beethoven never composed a 'cello concerto. Pohádka (Fairy Tale) amer8 - adagio Leos Janáček 1854-1928 con moto con moto - allegro Janáček's only important work for 'cello was composed in 1910, but revised extensively in 1923. It was originally entitled The Story of Czar Berendei, after the epic poem by Vasili Zhukovsky on which it is loosely based. This possibly explains the work's episodic nature, but it is not necessary, or even desirable, to try to fit the story to the music. Pohádka was written for performance at the Klub Přátel Umeni (Friends of Art), whose music section Janáček had founded in 1904, and where many of his chamber works of the period were first performed. ysbruin2 downl3 Sonata in D minor Claude Debussy 1862-1918 Towards the end of his life, when his health was already failing, and he was becoming increasingly depressed at world events, Debussy began a series of six sonatas for various combinations. He only managed to complete three, and they reveal an increasingly stark and lean style, with thin textures and tiny wisps of melody. The 'cello sonata was the first, and Debussy toyed with the idea of subtitling it 'Pierrot (the traditional masked buffoon) angry with the moon'. The declamatory prologue occupies only four pages of score, yet it presents a succession of melodic ideas, some no more than a bar or two in length, following each other in the manner of a narrative.

The central movement is a bitter serenade, in which the 'cello is called upon to imitate a guitar, flute, mandolin, even a tambourine. In the folksong-like finale the 'cellist appears to put on a pierrot mask of light-heartedness, but the desolation of 1915 can't be long disguised and soon breaks through. Three Little Pieces, Op.11 Anton Webern 1883-1945 Retune your ears! Forget flowing melodies and lush harmonies. Experience music pared down to its bare essentials. Dissatisfied by the inflated nature of late 19th century music, Webern was one of a number of composers who felt the need to 'de-emotionalise' music and return to what they saw as 'purity'. Their various attempts tended to be somewhat haphazard until Schoenberg's development of serial technique (basically a mathematical approach to composition) in the 1920's. Meanwhile, Webern's explorations into the compression of musical argument reached their furthest point in these three pieces of 1914, with a total playing time of less than three minutes. Each note in the first has a different dynamic or method of attack. The second is a brief and violent allegro, while the last is a very quiet, almost motionless, adagio. Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99 allegro vivace adagio affetuoso allegro passionato allegro molto Johannes Brahms (1833-97) 1400 XEM Robert Hausmann, the 'cellist of the Joachim Quartet, was responsible for reviving Brahms' early E minor sonata, and asked the composer for a new work. For him Brahms wrote the present sonata, as well as the double concerto. It was written during the summer of 1886 at Brahms' holiday retreat at Thun, a fertile visit that also produced the 3rd violin sonata and 3rd piano trio. The first movement presents passionate, fiery music, much of the movement being characterised by tremolandos in both instruments. The step-like tread of the pizzicato 'cello at the opening of the second movement, in the unexpected key of F sharp, has a slightly menacing tone. More tender music follows, though dark-hued. The 6/8 scherzo is again quite serious, stormy and passionate in mood, as might be expected from the key of F minor; the trio section is more lyrical. There is a lightening of mood in the folksong-like finale; the second theme has a strongly rhythmical character. Alec Macdonald 1995

Tonight's Artists GUSTAV RIVINIUS Born in 1965, Gustav Rivinius began his 'cello studies at the age of six, with Hermann Dirr in Munich, continuing with Ulrich Voss, Claus Kanngiesser and David Geringas. At the Juilliard School in New York he studied with Zara Nelsova and finally with Heinrich Schiff in Basel. Among numerous other prizes, he won first prize and the gold medal at the ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1990. Since then he has been pursuing an international career as soloist and chamber musician. bos PHILIPPE CASSARD It is a pleasure to welcome back Philippe Cassard, who accompanied Raphael Oleg in a highly successful recital for the 1992/93 season of BMS Celebrity Concerts. Since winning first prize at the first GPA International Piano Competition in Dublin in 1988 he has earned an enviable reputation as a concert artist on the world circuit. NEXT CONCERT Saturday, 3rd February 1996 SUZANNE MURPHY-soprano INGRID SURGENOR - piano Elmwood Hall - 7.30pm 195