The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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123. The Lighter Side of Beethoven, Part II Aug 01, 2011

Show notes

Works for violin and piano duo and string quartet performed by violinist Bella Hristova, pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, and the Belcea Quartet.

Beethoven: Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3
Beethoven: Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6

The two chamber works on this podcast showcase a somewhat more jovial side of Beethoven. We begin with the perky eighth sonata in G Major for violin and piano, one of the pieces composed in Beethoven's surprisingly productive period following the Heiligenstadt Testament. Although written during the time that Beethoven began to seriously recognize his worsening hearing, the eighth sonata doesn't give any hint of inner turmoil. Next, we'll hear Beethoven's sixth string quartet, Opus 18, number 6, another mostly lighthearted chamber piece that also owes a great debt to Haydn.

122. Works of Passion Jul 15, 2011

Show notes

Works for voice and piano and piano solo, performed by soprano Jeanine De Bique, and pianists Warren Jones and Cecile Licad.

Obradors: Songs
Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor

Today's podcast is for the unabashed romantic. We begin with songs by the Catalan composer Fernando Obradors. Written between 1921 and 1942, Obradors' songs capture the spirit of the classic Spanish poetry with a freshness and immediacy that has made them an enduring hit, with both singers and audiences. Then we move on to one of the great Romantic piano works: Rachmaninoff's second piano sonata. Just as Obradors' songs seem to have an essential Spanish-ness, Rachmaninoff's sonata has often been called uniquely Russian in its fierce passion and brooding expressiveness.

121. Mozart’s Keyboard Works Jul 01, 2011

Show notes

Works for piano performed by pianists Paavali Jumppanen and Elaine Hou.

Mozart: Sonata No. 17 in B-flat Major, K. 570
Mozart: Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K. 283
Mozart: Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos, K. 448

Mozart began his musical life as a keyboard prodigy, touring the European courts and performing alongside his sister, both of them encouraged and shepherded from town to town by their father. At age 19, when he penned his first keyboard sonata, he had already written 8 operas and at least 30 symphonies. It's quite likely that the reason for the delay in his keyboard output was at least partly technical: though the earliest pianos had been built decades earlier, it wasn't until the 1770's that the instrument began to achieve a quality and consistency of tone that made it such an attractive option for ambitious solo composition. On this podcast, we'll sample a wide range of Mozart's sonatas: one of his first, one of his last, and a unique sonata for two pianos.

120. Intimate String Works Jun 15, 2011

Show notes

Works for chamber orchestra and string quartet performed by A Far Cry and the Orion String Quartet.

Elgar: Serenade for Strings in E minor, Op. 20
Sibelius: String Quartet in D minor, Op. 56 "Voces Intimae"

There is something uniquely intimate about chamber music for strings. At times, the ensemble can sound like one enormous instrument, resonating together; at others, the effect is of independent voices, the differences in timbre and register emphasized. Indeed, many composers seem to use the string quartet as a sort of musical depiction of internal struggles, of the life of the mind.

119. A New Goldberg Jun 01, 2011

Show notes

Work for solo piano, performed by pianist Jeremy Denk.

Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

There are few works in the classical canon as mythologized as Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The story goes that this incredible set of keyboard variations were in fact commissioned by Count Keyserlingk as a sleep aid, something that his court musicians could play for him on the harpsichord when he had difficulty falling asleep. The score, like many Baroque works, lacks much of any tempo and dynamic markings, leaving ample room for interpretation by the performer. The wide range of possibilities has inspired passionate debate, often dividing those who prefer a more historically-informed approach and those who embrace more audacious contemporary readings.

118. A Flair for Drama, Even in Concert May 15, 2011

Show notes

Works for string quartet, and voice and piano, performed by the Borromeo String Quartet, soprano Jeanine De Bique, and pianist Warren Jones.

Mozart: String Quartet in B-flat Major, K. 458
Mozart: Misera, dove son, K. 369

A prolific opera composer, Mozart was an expert dramatist, and his knack for keeping an audience’s attention and tugging at their emotions extended to his works for the concert hall. At the end of our program today, we’ll hear one of the composer’s concert arias, a sort of opera in miniature. In this aria, the character Fluvia is racked by grief over her father’s treachery, driven so far as to wish for death, begging heaven to send down a thunderbolt to end her suffering. But first we begin with a less narrative but no less captivating instrumental piece. The quartet’s nickname, “The Hunt,” seems irresistibly apt, given the galloping rhythm and hornlike motives in the opening movement. A rollicking finale follows two less rustic inner movements, a lilting minuet and a beautiful adagio.

117. The Lighter Side of Beethoven May 01, 2011

Show notes

Works for solo piano, and violin and piano duo, performed by pianist Paavali Jumppanen and violinist Corey Cerovsek.

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2, No. 3
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3

The image that comes to mind when thinking of Beethoven is probably a stern-faced, wild-haired man, deep in existential angst. But one of Beethoven’s great inspirations, particularly in his early days, was Haydn, that famously jocular father of the string quartet. Today’s we’ll hear that lighter, “Haydn-esque” side of Beethoven through two of his chamber works.

116. Contemporary British Throwbacks Apr 15, 2011

Show notes

Works for chamber orchestra performed by the Gardner Chamber Orchestra directed by Douglas Boyd.

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47

The two works on this podcast have a striking number of similarities. Written at the very beginning of the 20th century, both of these works for strings exhibit a luscious, Romantic sensibility, applied to centuries-old material. Vaughan Williams takes a hymn tune by a British Renaissance composer as his starting point, while Elgar evokes the Baroque more generally, using rhythmic hemiola and incorporating a vigorous fugue. Both works also hearken back to the early form concerto grosso—using a larger orchestra paired with a smaller “solo” group. Both pieces evoke the folk music of the British Isles. Despite all the commonalities, the works undoubtedly have their own distinct character, which makes for an interesting study of the similarities and differences between these two contemporaries.

115. A Baroque Potpourri Apr 01, 2011

Show notes

Works for flute, oboe, viola, harpsichord and chamber orchestra performed by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center members Paula Robison, Steven Taylor, Andreas Brantelid, and John Gibbons, and A Far Cry.

Bach: Sonata in D Major for viola da gamba and harpsichord, BWV 1028
Bach: Trio Sonata in G Major for flute, oboe, and continuo, BWV 1039
Purcell: The Old Bachelor, Z. 607

What better way, in the days before television, iPhones, movies, and all other forms of electronic distraction, to pass the evening than listening to live music? Bach’s sonatas for viola da gamba were written at a time when the instrument was waning—most of the great players were in their final years, or had already passed on. The sonata we’ll hear requires particularly incredible technical prowess, and one can’t help but rejoice in the fact that musicians today still perform these wonderful sonatas. Next is another sonata from that same set, an arrangement for woodwinds and continuo that allows the delightfully imitative individual lines to shine. We end with a lovely set of incidental music written by Purcell for the Restoration comedy The Old Bachelor. Though perhaps less familiar than the composer’s operas, Purcell’s theatre music is not at all short on charm or tunefulness; indeed some of his best-loved songs come from this part of his oeuvre.

114. Schubert’s Instrumental Chamber Music Mar 15, 2011

Show notes

Works for solo piano and flute and piano duo performed by pianists Seymour Lipkin and Paavali Jumppanen, and flutist Paula Robison.

Schubert: Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 78, D. 894
Schubert: Introduction and Variations on “Ihr Blumlein alle”, Op. 160

The name Franz Schubert is virtually synonymous with lieder, the German art song, which he is widely credited with elevating to the highest level, deftly marrying poetry and music. Some of Schubert’s best-known instrumental chamber works are actually adaptations of his songs including the introduction and variations on “Ihr Blümlein alle,” which is one of the final movements of Schubert’s cycle “Die schöne Müllerin.” Schubert wrote 21 piano sonatas, but only three of these were published during his lifetime, and Op. 78 was one of the few to make the cut. The piece was published as a “fantasy”, apparently because the publisher feared that the tranquil first movement was so different from the typical sonata opener that it would confuse customers.

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