The Arianna String Quartet - Progam Notes
W.A. Mozart: Quartet in B-flat Major, K.458 "Hunt"
It had been ten years since Mozart had written a string quartet when he began a set of six quartets in 1782. Inspired by Franz Joseph Haydn's Op.33 quartets, Mozart endeavored to match Haydn's brilliant expression and balanced use of the four voices of the string quartet. From 1782 to 1785 Mozart wrote what turned out to be six of the greatest works in the quartet repertoire. As the musicologist Alfred Einstein says, "this time (Mozart) learned as a master from a master; he did not imitate, he yielded nothing of his own personality." In 1785 Haydn, the most heralded composer alive in Europe, heard three of these six quartets in concert (one of which was K.458). At the conclusion of the concert, Haydn told Mozart's father, "Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition." Several months later, Mozart bundled the six quartets together and sent them to Haydn with the following words: "A father who had decided to send out his sons into the great world thought it was his duty to entrust them to the protection and guidance of a man who was very celebrated at the time and who, moreover, happen to be his best friend. In like manner I send my six sons to you. They are, indeed, the fruit of a long and laborious study.Please, then, receive them kindly and be to them a father, guide and friend!" Mozart's K.458, nicknamed the "Hunt" quartet, is the fourth work in the six quartet set called the "Haydn" quartets. It was completed on November 9, 1784.
The sonata form first movement, marked allegro vivace assai, opens with the theme for which the quartet gets its nickname. The "Hunt" theme is evocative of hunting horns, but the name is not from Mozart or his publisher. The joyous lilt of the music is energized by the 6/8 rhythm and the buoyed by the symmetry of the phrase lengths. The main idea of the second theme is built around a scampering motif that is tossed back and forth between all four instruments. The development unveils a version of the opening first theme, and then gives way to a driving contrapuntal section built of the scurrying music from the exposition. In the extended coda, Mozart ingeniously revisits the thematic ideas of the movement, creating a masterful close to the first chapter of the piece.
Traditionally, the Menuetto and Trio movement falls into position as the third movement in the classical style. But here Mozart places it as the second movement, probably to set up the slow movement as the heart of the work. The majestic Menuetto is expressive and personal, even showing moments of introspection. The Trio, in the same key, begins as a light and bubbling counter to the Menuetto, but the ticking accompaniment gives way to a touch of seriousness and drama before returning to the Menuetto.
The adagio third movement stands as one of the most beautiful and personal movements Mozart ever wrote. After a hesitant opening, the first violin plays a long grieving melodic line that becomes more ornate as it proceeds. Even though the first violin plays the primary thematic material throughout, the other instruments provide a lush bed of sound and color for the music, and even take turns singing parts of the melody. The sheer beauty of the music is a tribute to Mozart's mastery, as nothing seems unnatural or out of place. It's as if the music could be no other way.
The brilliant last movement is driven by the spirited rhythm and wonderfully shaped first theme. Even the more patient second theme is adorned with breezy elements, some of which come from the first movement. The contrapuntal development hints at intensity, but never truly finds its way into darkness, as the first theme finds its way back into the picture. Here again, Mozart's ability to take the listener into new and varied harmonic landscapes without encroaching on the inherent beauty of the music is utter genius.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Quartet in G Major, D.887
Franz Schubert worked steadily composing string quartets from an early age. Inspired by the three masters that preceded him in the genre (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven), Schubert spent his life improving and elevating the expressive content of his quartets. Of his fifteen string quartets, three stand above the others as the crown jewels in his catalog of works. His quartet in A minor, the "Rosamunde", the quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden", and his great quartet in G Major. All three of these masterpieces share a depth of expression and quality of craftsmanship that place them among the very finest works in the history of western music.
The G Major quartet was Schubert's last string quartet, composed in 1826, and was not published or performed before the composer's death in 1828. The work wasn't premiered until 1850. The G Major quartet is a huge work, much like the late quartets of Beethoven, and there is a sense that Schubert knew that listeners may not have been ready for the scope of this amazing piece had they heard it at the time of its completion.
The dramatic basis of the entire quartet is the struggle between the bright major key themes and the stern darkness of the minor sections. The sonata form first movement has one of the most uniquely expressive openings of any string quartet. An initial introduction, featuring a jagged minor key first theme played in the first violin, is shrouded in tremolos in the lower three voices. This tremolo effect becomes a key component in the later movements, and injects the music with an almost electric quiver of uncertainty. The bright second theme is a lighter dance that is initially shared by the four instruments in the quartet and provides the first respite from the stormy opening of the piece. As the movement progresses, Schubert ingeniously revisits these two themes, varying them slightly each time as he creates an emotional and psychological ebb and flow between them.
The ominous opening of the second movement immediately gives way to an extended plaintive melody in the cello. The gentle accompaniment and arched shape of the tune creates a wistful quality that shows some of Schubert's most personal and intimate writing. Here again, the juxtaposition between the colors of the major and minor keys plays a constant role in the destinations and emotional portent of the melody. A mysterious transition shared by all four instruments leads the movement into a terrifying center section that is in complete contrast to the opening of the movement. Tremolos shake the foundation of the music, and outbursts from the first violin and viola add a feeling of overwhelming desperation. The rest of the movement is journey back and forth between versions of the lovely melody of the opening, accompanied each time by a slightly different underpinning, and the tragic and tremulous second section.
The scampering third movement is dark in sentiment yet retains a bit of capriciousness, and foreshadows the style of writing most immediately associated with Mendelssohn. The repeated figure of the opening movement creates a bubbling energy that drives the movement as rising and falling arpeggios are tossed between the instruments of the quartet. The trio section features a simple Viennese folk-like song played first in the cello, and then passed to the first violin. The light pastoral mood of the music offers a welcome respite from the unrelenting quality of the body of the scherzo.
The rondo finale is a brilliant tarantella, a fast dance in a 6/8-meter whose energy and direction never wane. Unexpected outbursts permeate the texture throughout the movement as Schubert explores the emotional contrasts between his constantly shifting harmonies of major and minor keys. The emotionally charged harmonic tug-of-war of the entire work is finally resolved with two heroic chords that establish G Major once and for all.
- notes by Kurt Baldwin