Programme for Tuesday 25th November, 2014

Anton Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 32 “Allegro Moderato”

After Anton Stepanovich Arensky (1861-1906) completed his composition studies with Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he became one of the youngest professors ever hired at the Moscow Conservatory. As a teacher, he was highly respected and counted among his students the likes of Alexander Gretchaninov, Alexander Scriabin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. As a composer, Arensky produced a number of operas, symphonic and concertante works as well as music for chamber groups and piano solo. The great Russian novelist, writer and social critic Leo Tolstoy suggested, “among the new composers, he is the best; he is simple and melodious.” However, professional jealously prompted his own teacher to accuse Arensky of lacking a distinctive personal style. As such, the majority of his compositions have largely been forgotten. The notable exceptions are a set of charming variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky and the Piano Trio No. 1 in d minor, dedicated to the memory of the legendary Russian cellist Karl Davidoff.

Published in 1894, Arensky’s first trio serves as a luxurious musical vehicle for showcasing the rich timbres of the cello. Featuring prominently throughout, the cello frequently combines with the piano in tender duets, clearly matching the violin in importance and prominence. The expansive “Allegro moderato,” opens with a soaring and lyrical theme in the violin. Accompanied by pulsating triplets in the piano, this melody is clearly indebted to the spirit of Tchaikovsky. The opening theme is restated in the cello, before a sudden and passionate outburst invites the lyrical participation of the piano. A rhythmically driven transition provides for the entrance of the second subject, first presented by the cello. Unpretentious and full of simple elegance, this theme energetically gathers momentum and intensity before the rhythmic contrast prepares for the repeat of the entire exposition. In a powerful and energetic development, Arensky projects the first subject and the rhythmic transitions in a variety of harmonic guises before the violin commences the recapitulation. Finally, the adagio restatement of the first subject in a melancholy and emotional coda provides a feeling of almost unbearable nostalgia and longing.

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49

The foundation of Felix Mendelssohn’s (1809-1847) aesthetic and musical conception is deeply rooted in the emerging spirit of the Restoration. By referencing the genres, styles and compositional techniques of the musical past, Mendelssohn began to develop a highly personalized musical style, albeit one with a decidedly archaic character. In fact, Hector Berlioz once snidely remarked that Mendelssohn had paid too much attention to the music of the dead. And George Bernard Shaw compared Mendelssohn to a senile academy professor whose exercises in a dead musical language “are as trivial as they are tedious.” Fortunately, today we recognize in Felix Mendelssohn not only a meticulous musical craftsman, but also a highly sensitive composer who is rightfully compared in depth and scope to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Even more significantly, as artistic director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus and founder of the Leipzig Conservatory, Mendelssohn not only initiated the revival of music by Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, he also assured that his brand of musical historicism was disseminated throughout Europe and beyond.

Mendelssohn complete his most popular chamber composition, the Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, on 23 September 1839. Published the following year, Robert Schumann glowingly wrote in his review that “Mendelssohn is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians.” In the opening “Molto Allegro,” a syncopated piano accompaniment gives rise to a grandly arching melody announced in the cello. Joined by the violin, the music effortlessly transitions to the second subject. Alternating exuberance and gentle elegies, the remainder of the movement unfolds in one continuous breath of melancholy yearning. A “Song without Words,” performed by the solo piano initiates the “Andante” movement. Pensive and pondering, the theme is subsequently stated by the violin and accompanied by a tender counterpoint in the cello. The passionate central section steadily grows in intensity before seamlessly returning to the opening theme, this time with pizzicato accompaniment. The light and aery “Scherzo” is reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s best passages from his Midsummer Night’s Overture, with a central section providing a lyrical contrast. Marked “Allegro assai appassionato,” the finale adheres to a basic rondo design, with two cantabile sections pensively encroaching on the piano-dominated refrain.

Astor Piazzolla: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (1966-69)

While Carlos Gardel is credited with creating the “tango canción”—a subgenre that realistically reflected the life of the lowest classes of society— Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) is considered the father of the “tango nuevo.” In the 1950’s, Piazolla began to incorporate elements from jazz and classical music into the traditional tango. Furthermore, he also introduced new forms of harmonic and melodic structure into the traditional tango ensemble, and integrated novel instruments, such as the saxophone and electric guitar. This fusion of tango with a wide range of recognizable Western musical elements—including counterpoint and passacaglia techniques—not only produced a new and unique musical style that transcended all earlier expressions, it also significantly contributed to the continued evolution of this art form. Composed between 1966 and 1969, The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires are not inspired by Vivaldi’s famous set of concertos, but originate as four independent compositions. Eventually, the composer combined them at the request of playwright Alberto Rodriguez Muñoz.

Although originally scored for violin, piano, electric guitar, bass, and bandoneón—a type of concertina popular in Argentina and Uruguay—The Four Seasons have appeared in a variety of sanctioned arrangements, including one for piano trio. “Primavera porteña”—referring to spring time in the impoverished port area of Buenos Aires—immediately presents the trademark walking-bass line of the tango. All instruments casually share the angular and spiny melodic interest, while the music and texture continues to grow in intensity. Harmonically daring and rhythmically unrelenting, this opening section gives way to an episode of affectionate lyricism and exalted passion, before the music returns to the rhythmically animated opening section. A tender instrumental conversation sounds at the beginning of “Inviemo porteño” (Wintertime). This languid opening is unceremoniously interrupted by highly energetic and virtuosic tango passages, before the return to the opening material—recast as Baroque ground-bass variations—provide for a nostalgic conclusion.

Georg A. Predota