Smithsonian Chamber Players, Apr 22, 2018

Yale Collection of Musical Instruments presents the

SMITHSONIAN CHAMBER PLAYERS

MUSIC OF SCHUBERT 15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven 22 April 2018 3:00 p.m.

FOrTHcOMINg pErFOrMaNcES

April 24th Tuesday, 5:30 pm

STyLuS FaNTaSTIcuS Daniel S. Lee, violin Ezra Seltzer, cello Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord Free admission for Associate Members of the museum.

Reservation required. $20.00 for non-member seats.

April 28th Saturday, 2:00 pm

MuSIc OF J.S. BacH IN cONJuNcTION WITH THE MEETINg OF THE aMErIcaN BacH SOcIETy aT yaLE, 26-28 aprIL

2018 Triple Concerto in a minor, BWV 1044 Prelude and Fugue in a minor, BWV 894 David Schulenberg, harpsichord Mary Oleskiewicz, flute Jude Ziliak, solo violin Chloe Fedor & Augusta McKay Lodge, ripieno violins Georgina McKay Lodge, viola Katie Rietman, cello Free admission.

Here’s a SNEAK PEEK at our 2018-2019 concert series: October 7th Sunday, 3:00 pm

LaNdOWSKa IN MEMOrIaM Wladyslaw Klosiewicz, harpsichord

03 February Sunday, 3:00 pm

Il flauto magico

Works by Cipriano de Rore, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and J.S. Bach BOrEaS rEcOrdEr QuarTETT BrEMEN Luise Manske, Julia Fritz, Elisabeth Champollion, and Jin-Ju Baek with guest artist Han Tol

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203 432-0822

Yale Collection of Musical Instruments 15 Hillhouse Avenue New Haven

22 April 2018 3:00 p.m.

Music of franz schubert Vera Beths, Cynthia Roberts, violins Steven Dann, viola Kenneth Slowik, violoncello Anthony Manzo, double bass Charles Neidich, clarinet Andrew Schwartz, bassoon William Purvis, natural horn

Franz Schubert (1797-1829)

Quartet in Eb Major, D87, Op. post. 125, no. 1 (1813) Scherzo, Prestissimo Adagio Allegro Quartettsatz in C minor, D703 (1820) Allegro assai

INTErvaL Octet in F Major, D803, Op. post. 166 (1824) Adagio – Allegro Adagio Allegro vivace Andante Menuetto, Allegretto Andante molto – Allegro

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PrograM notes Our instrumental Schubertiade this afternoon features works from three different phases of Schubert’s longstanding engagement with chamber music, which began early in his life. His father, a schoolteacher by profession but also a discerning amateur musician, sent him at the age of seven to audition for the court music director Antonio Salieri, as a result of which he was granted eligibility to apply for the next opening in the imperial Hofkappelle (ancestor of the famed Vienna Boys Choir), which he joined in 1808. By that time, he had already begun lessons in violin, counterpoint, organ, singing, and figured bass. Membership in the Hofkapelle included enrollment at the K&K Stadtkonvikt (Imperial and Royal City College), where Schubert both excelled at his academic studies, and played violin in (and sometimes composed for) the firstrate student orchestra.

During the school holidays in 1811, Schubert took the viola part in his family’s string quartet, shortly thereafter producing the first three of his eleven “early” quartets. Like the three posthumously-published “Sonatinas” for violin and piano, these quartets today are rarely heard in concert, being nearly completely overshadowed by the three quartets of 1824-26 (the A minor “Rosamunde,” D 804; the D minor “Death and the Maiden,” D 810; and the sprawling G major, D 887), yet they demonstrate a solid knowledge of Haydn and Mozart quartets, and not infrequently suggest the melodiousness associated with more mature Schubert. The Quartet in E-flat Major, D 87, written about the time Schubert left the Stadtconvikt, was published in 1840 as Op. 125, No. 1. On account of its lyricism and almost Mozartean clarity, and the humor of its buffo finale (which offers an especially captivating and memorable second theme), it was, until recently, the only one of the early quartets to be heard with any frequency in public concerts.

Four years elapsed between the last of Schubert’s “early” quartets and his next engagement with the genre, the unfinished C minor work known as the Quartettsatz (“quartet movement”), which was not premiered until 1867. Schubert wrote the first 41 measures of a slow movement for this quartet, but, as with the “Unfinished” Symphony, chose to leave it a torso. Several explanations for this have been offered, with one of the more interesting coming from scholar John M. Gingerich, who speculates that Schubert, ca. 1820, was testing his compositional mettle, but was not yet ready to mount a public campaign and so, once having demonstrated to himself his readiness, could afford (and was indeed forced by illness) to wait before unleashing his energies on full-fledged productions in these two very Beethovenian genres.

In a letter of 31 March 1824 to his friend the painter Leopold Kupelwieser (which one important Schubert biographer has called “the key verbal document of Schubert’s life”), Schubert wrote: In a word, I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world. Imagine a man whose health will never be right again [Schubert was already taking the highly poisonous mercury treatment standard at the time for advanced syphilis], and who in sheer despair over this makes things worse and worse instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the happiness of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain, at best, whose enthusiasm (at least of the stimulating kind) for all things beautiful threatens to disappear, and I ask you, is he not a miserable, unhappy being?

4.

After describing his lack of success with two recently-written operas [Die Verschworenen, later re-titled Der häusliche Krieg, and Fierabras], Schubert goes on to write: “Of songs I have not written many new ones, but I have tried my hand at several instrumental things, for I wrote two string quartets and an octet [D 803, finished, according to the autograph score, on 1 March 1824], and I want to write another quartet; in fact, I intend to pave the way towards a grand symphony in this manner.” He then transmits a report that Beethoven is about to give a concert at which he is to produce ‘his new [9th] symphony, three movements from the new Mass, and a new Overture. God willing, I too am thinking of giving a similar concert next year.”

In the event, Schubert did not give an Akademie, as such self-benefitting concerts were called, until 26 March 1828, and then its dimensions—with one movement of a quartet (either D 810 or D 887), a new piano trio (either D 898 or D 929), and a selection of vocal works—did not “pave the way” towards anything approaching the scope of Beethoven’s concert.

Nevertheless, the Octet, D 803, with its “orchestral” scoring of a “full” string section (consisting of first and second violins, a viola, a cello, and an independent double bass) plus winds, does offer an impressive sonic experience, one which contains only a few hints as to Schubert’s dire condition while writing it. It was, according to one report, commissioned by the fine amateur clarinetist Ferdinand Graf Troyer, ostensibly as a “companion” work to Beethoven’s light-hearted and ever-popular Op. 20 Septet, but with the addition of a second violin. Schubert closely followed Beethoven’s overall formal model, indeed to a far greater extent than a mere sequel would require. His careful modeling of Beethoven seems calculated not only to render homage to what was one of Beethoven’s (much to that composer’s eventual irritation) most popular pieces, but also to invite direct comparison of the two works, down to the level of their individual movements. And, as with the “extra” violin, Schubert seems intent on outdoing his model, for while the Septet lasts about forty minutes, the Octet takes a full hour to perform.

Though it did not figure in Schubert’s own concert, it was publically premiered by the Ignaz Schuppanzigh Quartet (with additional players as necessary) on that ensemble’s series, on 16 April 1827 (Schuppanzigh having also participated in the first, private, performance some three years earlier). The Wiener Theaterzeitung critic who was present described the Octet as “commensurate with the author’s talent, glowing, agreeable, and interesting; but it is perhaps possible that its long duration may lay too great a claim on the hearer’s attention.”

--Kenneth Slowik

5.

THE SMITHSONIAN CHAMBER PLAYERS VERA BETHS was born in Haarlem, Holland. She received her first violin lessons from her father, Gijs Beths, and continued her studies with Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatory. In 1969 she won the 1st Prize of the Dutch National Oskar Back Competition, and in that same year she was awarded the Prix d’Excellence. Winning the Oskar Back Prize enabled her to study in New York with Ivan Galamian. In the summers spent in the USA, she played at Rudolf Serkin’s Marlboro Festival. Having an extensive repertoire, Vera Beths is a popular soloist with the many Dutch symphony orchestras. She has played with conductors like Bernard Haitink, Kiril Kondrashin, Loren Maazel, Walter Susskind, Edo De Waart and many others. A champion of contemporary music, she has had works dedicated to her by numerous composers, including Peter Schat, Louis Andriessen, Willem Breuker, Misha Mengelberg, Geert van Keulen, Philip Glass, and John Adams. As a performer of chamber music, Vera Beths has a splendid reputation as a result of her concerts with Archibudelli, an ensemble founded by her husband Anner Bylsma, violist Jürgen Kussmaul and herself. On gut strings and old bows they give exciting performances of 18th and 19th century music. For Sony Classical’s Vivarte series Archibudelli made numerous CDs (both as an autonomous ensemble and in collaboration with the Smithsonian Chamber Players) of which many were awarded prestigious international prizes. Vera Beths teaches at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and at Marlboro.

Violin by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727 CYNTHIA ROBERTS is one of America’s leading baroque violinists and has appeared as soloist, leader, and recitalist throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She has served as concertmaster of the New York Collegium, Apollo’s Fire, Concert Royal, and Les Arts Florissants. She performs regularly with the Boston Early Music Festival, Tafelmusik, and the American Bach Soloists, and has appeared with the London Classical Players, the Taverner Players, and the Clarion Music Society. Her playing was featured on the soundtrack of the film Casanova and she has performed live on the Late Show with David Letterman. She recently toured South America as concertmaster of the Los Angeles ensemble Musica Angelica with actor John Malkovich in The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer and appeared as guest soloist and concertmaster with the New World Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. Ms. Roberts teaches at the Juilliard School, the University of North Texas, and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, and has given master classes at the Eastman School of Music, the Cleveland Institute, Cornell, Rutgers, the Minsk Conservatory in Belarus, and for the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique in Santes, France.

Her recording credits include over fifty disks on the Sony, Analekta, BMG/Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, and Eclectra labels. as well as numerous broadcasts for NPR, CBC, and WDR. Violin by Jacobus Stainer, Absam, 1671 From 1977 to 2000, STEVEN DANN was successively principal violist of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Zurich’s Tonhalle, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony. He performed as soloist with these orchestras under eminent conductors, and as guest principal with other prominent orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Paavo Berglund, and Pierre Boulez. His large chamber music discography includes numerous awardwinning recordings on a number of labels, including two recent Grammy® Award nominations with the ARC Ensemble. With Austrian violinist Ernst Kovacic and Finnish cellist Anssi 6.

Karttunen, he tours extensively as a member of the contemporary music ensemble Zebra. He has commissioned and recorded many new works from composers such as Peter Lieberson, R. Murray Shafer, and Christos Hatzis, teaches viola and chamber music at the Glenn Gould Professional School of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, holds the Catherine Thornhill Steeles Chair in Viola at McGill University, and coordinates the chamber music program of L’Académie de musique du Domaine Forget.

Viola by Giuseppe, Giovanni, & Antonio Gagliano, Naples, ca. 1830 ANTHONY MANZO enjoys performing in a broad variety of musical forums—despite the ever-present complications of travel with a double bass! An artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mr. Manzo is a sought-after chamber musician who performs regularly at such noted venues as Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Mr. Manzo is also the Solo Bassist of San Francisco’s New Century Chamber Orchestra, and a regular guest with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony when he’s at home in Washington DC. Formerly the Solo Bassist of the Munich Chamber Orchestra, he has also been a guest principal with Camerata Salzburg in Austria, where collaborations have included their summer residency at the Salzburg Festival, as well as two international tours as double bass soloist alongside bass/baritone Thomas Quasthoff, performing Mozart’s “Per questa bella mano.” Mr. Manzo is also an active performer on period instruments, with groups including The Handel & Haydn Society of Boston (where his playing has been lauded as “endowed with beautiful and unexpected plaintiveness” by the Boston Musical Intelligencer), and Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco. Additionally, Mr. Manzo is a member of the double bass and chamber music faculty of the University of Maryland.

Contrabass labelled Carlo Tanegia, Milan, 1766 Clarinetist CHARLES NEIDICH has gained worldwide recognition as one of the most mesmerizing virtuosos on his instrument. In wide demand as a soloist with a repertoire of over two hundred solo works, Mr. Neidich has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Halle Staatsorchester of Germany, Orpheus, the St. Louis Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, San Diego Symphony, New City Chamber Orchestra of San Francisco, Athens Chamber Music Festival, Tafelmusik, the Juilliard, Guarneri, American, and Mendelssohn String Quartets, and the Peabody Trio. In recent years, Neidich has turned his attention in a serious way to conducting, and has appeared with the Avanti Chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Helsinki, at the Båstad Festival in Sweden, the Kirishima Festival in Japan, with the New World and the San Diego symphonies (in a triple role of conductor, soloist, and composer), and in Bulgaria with the Plovdiv State Philharmonic.

Very active in education, he is on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Queens College of the City University of New York, the Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College, and has held visiting positions at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, the Yale School of Music, and Michigan State University. In 2013, Charles Neidich was the recipient of the William Schuman Award given by the Juilliard School for outstanding performance and scholarship.

Bb Clarinet by Rudolf Tutz, Innsbruck, 1990; after August Grenser, Dresden, ca. 1800; Clarinet in C by C. J. Finke, Dresden, ca. 1801 WILLIAM PURVIS pursues a multifaceted career both in the U.S. and abroad as horn soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and educator. A passionate advocate of new music, he has participated in numerous premieres including horn concerti by Peter Lieberson, Bayan Northcott, Krzysztof Penderecki and Paul Lansky; horn trios by Poul Ruders and Paul Lansky;Sonate en Forme de Préludes by Steven Stucky; and recent premieres by Elliott Carter, Retracing II for 7.

Solo Horn and Nine by Five with the New York Woodwind Quintet. He is a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Yale Brass Trio, and the Triton Horn Trio, and is an emeritus member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. A frequent guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Boston Chamber Music Society, Purvis has collaborated with many of the world’s most esteemed string quartets, including the Juilliard, Tokyo, Orion, Brentano, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Daedalus, and Fine Arts string quartets. A Grammy Award winner, Mr. Purvis has recorded extensively on numerous labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Naxos, Koch and Bridge. He is currently Professor in the Practice of Horn and Chamber Music at the Yale School of Music, where he is also coordinator of winds and brasses, and serves as director of the Yale Collection of Musical Instruments.

Horn by Richard Seraphinoff, Bloomington, IN, 2000; after Haleri, Paris, ca. 1810 Initially trained as a modern bassoonist, ANDREW SCHWARTZ began playing historical instruments with the Royal Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra in Stockholm Sweden, where he served as principal bassoon for twelve years. He has held the principal basssson position with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Boston Baroque, and New York’s Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra and American Classical Orchestra, and has also worked with other period-instrument orchestras such as Berkeley’s Philharmonia Baroque, London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Vienna’s Wiener Akademie, Toronto’s Tafelmusik, Portland [Oregon] Baroque, Cleveland’s Apollo’s Fire, and Los Angeles’ Musica Angelica, as well as at the Aston Magna and Blue Hill Bach festivals, and with the Aulos Ensemble and Rebel Baroque. He has appeared as soloist at prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Symphony Hall and Jordon Hall in Boston, and Vienna’s Musikverien, and has recorded for the Decca/ L’Oiseau Lyre, Deutsche Gramophone, Harmonia Mundi, RCA, Sony Classical, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and Coro labels. He teaches at Boston’s Longy School of Musc and the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute.

Bassoon by Guntram Wolf, Kronach, Germany, 2008; after Heinrich Grenser, Dresden, 1792, “modernized” with additional keys ca. 1820 KENNETH SLOWIK first established his international reputation as a cellist and viola da gamba player through his work with the Smithsonian Chamber Players, Castle Trio, Smithson String Quartet, Axelrod Quartet, and the Amsterdam-based ensemble L’Archibudelli. Conductor of the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra since 1988, he has been a featured instrumental soloist and/or conductor with numerous other orchestras, among them the National Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Vancouver Symphony, the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic, the Polska Orkiestra Sinfonia Iuventus, and the Cleveland Orchestra. His discography comprises over seventy recordings—many winners of notable international awards— featuring him as conductor, cellist, gambist, and keyboard player for music ranging from the Baroque through the twentieth century. Mr. Slowik has presented lectures throughout the United States and has contributed to a number of symposia at American and European museums. Artistic Director of the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin since 1993, he serves on the faculties of the University of Maryland and the American Bach Soloists Academy. In 2011, he was the recipient of the Smithsonian Secretary’s Distinguished Scholar Award.

Violoncello by Carlo Antonio Testore, Milan, ca. 1730