A A Belfast Music Society Celebrity Recitals Programme

INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET OF LONDON Susan Milan -flute Nicholas Ward - violin Yuko Inoue viola John Heley-'cello Ieuan Jones - harp PROGRAMME Prélude, Marine and Chansons Flute Quartet in C Sérénade INTERVAL Sonatine Trio, D471 Concert à cinque Saturday, 28th March 1998 BT Studio, Waterfront Hall at 7.30pm GUY ROPARTZ MOZART ROUSSEL RAVEL SCHUBERT JONGEN

Prélude, Marine et Chansons Ropartz provides yet another example of a composer who, despite showing considerable musical promise at an early age, was 'encouraged' by his family to major in a different discipline - in this case, law (a common 'false' start, it seems, amongst musicians!). After graduating in law, in 1885, he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied with Dubois and Massenet. The following year he began private study with César Franck, whose music became a considerable, but by no means overwhelming, influence. Much of his large output (nearly 200 works) shows the influence of the landscape and Celtic folklore of Brittany, and this is particularly apparent in the last movement of the present work, which has, as its title implies, a delightfully 'primitive' folksong quality. Flute Quartet in C, K285b (KAnh 171) Allegro : Theme (Andantino) and Variations Guy Ropartz (1864-1955) Sérénade, op 30 Allegro: andante : rondo (presto) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) Much has been written on Mozart's relationship with the flute, and his letter to his father, in which he complained 'I become quite powerless whenever I am obliged to write for an instrument which I cannot bear', has been often quoted. So why did he write, apart from the justly popular flute and harp concerto, two other concertos for the instrument, plus a number of quartets for flute with strings? Well, money talks, of course, and we do know that, while he was in Mannheim in the winter of 1777/8, waiting (in vain) for a summons from the court that would enable him to escape the shack- les of his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg, he received a commission for 'three short simple concertos and a couple of quartets' from a rich amateur flautist, De Jean. On 14th February, Mozart reported to his father that he had completed two concertos and three quartets ..and I can send him the other pieces later..' Whatever their provenance, four quartets have come down to us; for various reasons, that can't be gone into here, there is considerable doubt about the dating of these four sur- viving works - hence the revised Köchel numbering of the present quartet (Anh(ang) = Appendix), whose authenticity is not even certain. What is known is that the finale is an arrangement of a gen- uine Mozart work, the 6th movement of the celebrated Wind Serenade, K361. Albert Roussel (1869-1937) Roussel has a reputation for writing often quite severely dry and 'academic' music and, although the title might imply something fairly light and relaxed in tone, the sérénade is quite serious in mood. That is not to say that it is 'unattractive', but it has none of the light-heartedness (some would say superficiality) of much French wind music of the twenties and thirties. This academic approach to composition perhaps springs from the influence of D'Indy, whose newly opened Schola Cantorum Roussel entered in 1898. After completing his studies, he became a Professor there, his pupils includ- ing Satie and Varèse. Later, an extended tour of India added an interest in Hindu scales to his musi- cal language and later still, he turned to a more neo-classical idiom. Roussel is best-known in this country for his orchestral works - notably the ballet The Spider's Banquet (1912) and the third sym- phony (1930), but he also composed a number of significant chamber works; the sérénade was writ- ten in 1925 for the Paris Instrumental Quintet, who gave the first performance at the Salle Gaveau in Paris that October.

Sonatine Modéré : menuet : animé Ravel wrote his sonatine for the piano in 1905; it is a small masterpiece, reflectir g his great skill in drawing wonderful and poetic sounds from his own instrument. But the harp is also an important part of Ravel's sound world, and this arrangement of the sonatine by the great French harpist/compos- er, Carlos Salzedo - provides a worthy companion piece to Ravel's Introduction and Allegro (com- posed the same year as the sonatine). The descending interval of a fourth that begins the first theme of the first movement pervades not only this movement, but also the other two movements, either in this form or, as in the second movement, in its inversion, a rising fifth. The second theme of the last movement is, in fact, a version, in 5/4 time, of the first movement's opening theme. Thus we have, in the three movements a tightly unified structure. Movement for string trio in B flat, D471 Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Concert à cinq, op 71 Franz Schubert (1797-1828) There are very few works for this medium in the concert repertoire, composers finding the string quartet) or the trio with piano) much more to their taste. Schubert's two examples are rarely per- formed. Like the better-known Quartettsatz, the Trio D471 belongs to the period when, for a num- ber of reasons, he left several works unfinished. Schubert completed the first movement (allegro), (in 1816), but abandoned the trio after 39 bars of the slow movement. Despite the difficulties inher- ent in the particular medium, the completed movement succeeds brilliantly. Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) The Belgian composer and organist Joseph Jongen is probably best known now for his music for his own instrument, though he was prolific in many genres, composing some 250 works (though he only allowed half of these to be published). He entered the Liège Conservatory at the age of 7 and won top awards in fugue, piano and organ. Later he widened his musical horizons in Germany, Italy and Paris, before being appointed Professor of harmony at Liège in 1902. During the first world war he lived in England and founded a piano quartet. Later he was Professor, and then Director, of the Brussels Conservatory. His extensive catalogue of chamber music includes three string quartets and other works for the medium, works for various combinations of wind instruments, and this concerto for five instruments, composed in 1923. Alec Macdonald 1998

Tonight's Artists The Instrumental Quintet of London takes its name from the Quintet Instrumental de Paris founded in 1922 by the leading French flautist, Rene Le Roy. Le Roy persuaded many composers of his time to write works for flute, harp and string trio and many pieces subsequently entered the repertoire. In 1987 Susan Milan founded the Instrumental Quintet of London as a vehicle for this music, and con- tinuing the Le Roy tradition has already commissioned many new works for the group from contemporary composers. The ensemble met with great success during their numerous concerts last season and attracted many favourable comments including a review in the West Somerset Press headed "Superb artistry" which described the performance as "a colourful and exciting voyage .... an enchanting performance... a fascinating evening". The reviewer ended by saying "Those who don't listen to unfamiliar music because I don't like it' are missing a lot of real enjoyment!" Engagements for the Quintet during 1998 include a visit to the new Waterfront Hall, Belfast and a tour of Germany. REMAINING RECITALS Sunday, 19th April 1998 ROMAIN GUYOT clarinet PHILIPPE CASSARD piano P Saturday, 16th May 1998 BARBICAN PIANO TRIO with TIMOTHY BOLTON~ viola

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