The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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83. A Different Beethoven Dec 01, 2009

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Beethoven: Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101

When one thinks of Beethoven, the image that springs to mind is usually of the stern, wild-haired man behind such epic works as the fifth and ninth symphonies, or perhaps the avant gardist who wrote those sublimely philosophical final string quartets. But of course, there’s more to Beethoven than that. As Lewis Lockwood and Mark Kroll write in their book on Beethoven’s violin sonatas, “Although this image is meaningful and enduring, it fails to make room for contrasting dimensions of Beethoven’s art that belong to other aesthetic domains—those of grace, beauty, humor, and restraint, which emerge…in the more intimate world of his keyboard chamber music.” In today’s podcast, we’ll delve into that world, first through Beethoven’s first violin sonata in D Major. Written early in Beethoven’s career, and characterized by those qualities of beauty and lightness, the sonata nonetheless contains kernels of the methods that would characterize his later work. Then, we’ll hear Beethoven’s 28th piano sonata, his opus 101. In the final movement of this sonata, Beethoven again employs a device that would become a signature in his later works: a wonderfully intricate fugue.

82. Musical Boston Nov 15, 2009

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Kirchner: Trio No. 1
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87

It comes as little surprise that Boston, one of America’s oldest cities, has a rich musical history. The Gardner Museum’s own concert series is the longest-running museum music program in the country. But the roots of Boston’s chamber music life stretch even further back, to the famed Mendelssohn Quintet Club, the very first professional chamber music ensemble in the U.S., founded in Boston in 1849. For almost fifty years, the ensemble was a cornerstone of Boston’s musical life. On today’s podcast, we hear one of the works that gave them their name. First, though, we have a work from much more recent history: Kirchner’s Trio No. 1. A longtime Harvard professor, Leon Kirchner was deeply involved in Boston’s new music community, as a teacher and a composer. He also conducted the Gardner Chamber Orchestra from 1995 to 2002, cementing his strong relationship with the museum, which has given performances and premieres of many of his works, some of which have been featured on this podcast. Our recording is taken from a January 2009 concert celebration of Kirchner’s 90th birthday at the Gardner.

81. Wunderkind Nov 01, 2009

Show notes

Brahms: Piano Trio in B Major, Op. 8
Brahms: Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100

Throughout the history of music, society has been fascinated by the idea of the wunderkind, the child prodigy. Many of us think of Mozart as the archetypal wunderkind, but the subject of today’s podcast is not Mozart but Brahms, a wunderkind of a different sort. Brahms didn’t begin studying composition until age 13, but within seven years he was pronounced one of the most important composers of his generation, the heir to Beethoven. The piano trio that we’ll hear today is one of relatively few early Brahms works that remain. The composer was an infamous perfectionist, and he destroyed many early works that he didn’t think were up to snuff. We’ll begin today’s program, though, with a piece written much later in Brahms’ career, his second sonata for violin and piano. This piece was also somewhat atypical for the perfectionist Brahms, in that it was dashed off rather quickly, much more like the traditional wunderkind. Brahms was in his fifties at the time, but the trip that yielded this work was colored by a flurry of youthful inspiration. Brahms proclaimed the vacation spot where he wrote the pieces “so full of melodies that one has to be careful not to step on any.”

80. Pictures in Sound Oct 15, 2009

Show notes

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Liszt: Der Müller und der Bach, Op. 25, No. 19 (piano transcription of Schubert's song)
Liszt: Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, D. 774, Op. 72 (piano transcription of Schubert's song)
Liszt: Concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto

This week’s program features several works that conjure visual images. First up is Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, based on artwork by Viktor Hartmann. Even without seeing those paintings, it’s not hard to imagine the depictions of the dim Parisian catacombs and the majestic gates of Kiev that inspired Mussorgsky’s music. We then get two very different depictions of flowing water, in a set of Franz Liszt arrangements of Schubert songs. The first song, the sorrowful final movement of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, changes character entirely when the voice of the brook enters, bringing with it flowing sextuplets and a major tonality shift. The second work, loosely translated as “To be sung upon the water,” is perhaps a more obvious depiction of water, with a fluid triple meter throughout, the undulating water a constant beneath the singer’s description of a glowing sunset. Finally, we hear Liszt’s concert paraphrase of Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, specifically an arrangement of the famous Act 3 quartet.

79. Not Just for Singers Oct 01, 2009

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Rachmaninoff: Vocalise
Rachmaninoff: Etudes Nos. 8 and 9, Op. 39
Songs from Tin Pan Alley

This week we’ll bring you a few works that started off as songs, but have had great success instrumentally. Rachmaninoff’s lyrical Vocalise is undoubtedly one of the best-known melodies in the canon. Originally the last of his opus 34 set of songs, the gorgeous tune seems to have been a more or less immediate hit. Rachmaninoff himself wrote several arrangements, augmented over the years by dozens more. Today, we’ll hear Rachmaninoff’s own arrangement for piano. The Vocalise will be followed by more Rachmaninoff, Etudes nos. 8 and 9 from opus 39. Then, we’ll move to the popular end of the spectrum, with a set of songs from the Gardner’s Tin Pan Alley series. Today’s selections range from the traditional Danny Boy to the marching band hits You’re A Grand Old Flag and When Johnny Comes Marching Home to the ballad Shine On, Harvest Moon.

78. Two Keyboard Masters Sep 15, 2009

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Bach: Partita for keyboard No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829
Beethoven: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2

Today, we’ll hear pieces by two great composers that reflect instrumental developments in their time. Bach was a dedicated keyboardist and composed for nearly every keyboard instrument. His Partita No. 5 in G Major was written specifically for a single-manual harpsichord; therefore, there are very few sustained notes. Instead, Bach uses intricate counterpoint and fugal relationships between the voices to create a densely textured and swirling set of dance movements. Beethoven, a gifted keyboard player himself, was also a pioneer in utilizing the cello as a solo instrument. In his Cello Sonata in G minor – one of the very first cello sonatas ever written – we hear the young composer beginning to realize the full potential of both instruments. He skillfully matches the sustained tones of the cello with rhythmic articulation and cascading notes in the piano. And in the final Rondo-Allegro, the piano and cello take turns carrying the lyrically playful melody and adding sparkling embellishment.

77. Why Do They Do It? Sep 01, 2009

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Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings, and continuo in A minor
Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47

While the bassoon was hardly a common solo instrument at the turn of the 18th century, Vivaldi clearly took it seriously. He wrote over 39 concertos for the instrument, including the Bassoon Concerto in A minor that we’ll hear today. Why was Vivaldi so drawn to the bassoon? Theories abound: perhaps he was inspired by a well-known Venetian master of the dulcian (an early version of the bassoon) or by an accomplished bassoonist at the girls’ school where he taught. Robert Schumann wrote his Piano Quartet in E-flat Major in 1842, a year known as his “Chamber Music Year” for the abundance of chamber works he composed during that time. Why so much chamber music all at once? Part of the answer lies in the genre itself, representing an ideal middle ground between private and public entertainment. This piano quartet has moments of quiet intimacy; yet the overall texture is thick with activity and grand gestures, melding an older chamber music model with a new impulse towards soloistic virtuosity.

76. On Either Side of the Heiligenstadt Testament Aug 15, 2009

Show notes

Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1
Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein”)

After Beethoven’s death, a curious document was found among his belongings. In this highly personal letter, labeled the “Heiligenstadt Testament,” Beethoven admitted that he was going deaf and revealed the agony that his condition had caused him. Indeed, the loss of his hearing was Beethoven’s greatest fear realized. Beethoven wrote the Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 just four months before the Heiligenstadt Testament. The Adagio movement holds a beautifully deep sense of melancholy and pathos, perhaps reflecting the composer’s growing despair. By contrast, his ambitious Piano Sonata in C Major, op. 53, nicknamed the “Waldstein Sonata,” was composed a year after the Heiligenstadt Testament. By this time, Beethoven had moved beyond his anxiety and depression into a phase of intense productivity. Featuring compelling motives and strong characters, this sonata is a clear reflection of Beethoven’s personal determination and commitment to his life and music.

75. An Ambitious Octet Aug 01, 2009

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Schubert: Octet in F Major, D. 803, Op. 166

Schubert’s Octet in F Major, the centerpiece of today’s program, is an ambitious piece in every way. Its broad instrumentation—string quartet plus double bass, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn—provides a richness of texture and timbre that is unusual in a chamber work. Moreover, Schubert gives each instrument a place of honor within the piece. Melodies are shared and swapped, making the octet a rich and respectful conversation between eight individuals, where the expressive whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. The octet was commissioned by the Archbishop Rudolph of Olomutz, Beethoven’s former patron, who asked Schubert for a work that would complement Beethoven’s 1799 septet. Schubert followed Beethoven’s model closely in the number and structure of the movements as well as in the instrumentation. And indeed, this octet is marked by the strength and fieriness that we associate with Beethoven. But the elegance and lyricality, as well as the intimacy of emotions expressed, are quintessentially Schubert.

74. Integration with an Intention Jul 15, 2009

Show notes

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (excerpt)
Beethoven: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 106 (“Hammerklavier”)

Today’s podcast features works by two composers who were committed to devising integrated musical forms in order to create compelling musical experiences. In his opera Orpheus and Eurydice, Christoph Willibald Gluck wanted to unify all elements of the work to create dramatic momentum. By simplifying flashy vocal techniques and making skillful use of orchestration, harmonies, and plot, he created a work that flows smoothly, allowing the audience to become thoroughly absorbed in the music and drama. We’ll hear a selection from the opera, arranged for flute and harp. Monumental in its structure, length, and sheer amount of musical material, Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata is considered one of the most challenging in the piano repertoire. Though each movement has a distinctly different mood, Beethoven too was focused on creating an integrated musical form. Through skillful variation and fugal development, he was able to take a few small melodic units and spin them into a massive, yet elegant, musical structure.

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