Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
String Quartet in G major Opus18. No.2, Compliments
      I. Allegro
      II. Adagio cantabile
      III. Scherzo
      IV. Allegro molto,quasi Presto

Dimitry Shostakovich (1906 – 1975)
String Quartet No. 3, Opus 73 in F Major
      I. Allegretto
      II. Moderato con moto
      III. Allegro non troppo
      IV. Adagio
      V. Moderato

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Opus 51
      I. Allegro
      II. Romanze. Poco Adagio
      III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo – Un poco piu animato
      IV. Allegro

Program Notes

Beethoven - By 1800, Beethoven had written a large quantity of chamber music (for winds or for strings, both with and without piano), but the six pieces in Op. 18 were his first string quartets. They were composed between 1798 and 1800, and published in Vienna in 1801. The second of this set is a light work, dominated by the top instruments. Even so, there are moments of forward-looking harmonic and contrapuntal interest.

      The quartet opens with a traditional sonata form, with two clear-cut themes. Motion through minor keys and a false recapitulation (the first theme in the wrong key) contribute to a dramatic development section. Beautiful melody is featured in the next movement, although it is interrupted for a faster, scherzo-like section.

      The real scherzo is in the third movement, with a cheerful mood created by the quick dialogue between the instruments. The cello announces the first theme of the last movement, another sonata form. The breathless motion slows from time to time in order to regain strength for the brilliant conclusion.

Shostakovich - As always with this composer's music, this quartet has more than one level of interpretation. It was written in 1946, which was, like the previous year, a relatively lean period in his compositional life. His Ninth Symphony, from the summer of 1945, had been expected to celebrate Soviet victories at the end of World War II. Instead of featuring colossal triumphant hymns, the relatively short work had uncertain and conflicted emotions. Reaction to the November premiere was polite but unenthusiastic.

      Begun just two months later, this quartet also has a range of moods that seem more troubling than reassuring. Shostakovich, aware of suspicions aroused by the symphony's unclear meaning, added subtitles for the program when the piece was premiered by the Beethoven Quartet in Moscow on December 16, 1946.

      1.   Calm unawareness of the future cataclysm
      2.   Rumblings of unrest and anticipation
      3.   The forces of war unleashed
      4.   Homage to the dead
      5.  The eternal question: Why? And for what?

      Still, there was ambiguity. This interpretation could be accepted as either a reflection of World War II or an anticipation of the Cold War into which Stalin was leading the country. Shostakovich later discarded the subtitles, which supports the understanding of the work not as agreement with Stalin's leadership, but as defiance of his dictatorial power.

      The first movement's sonata form presents a first theme that is both simple and carefree. After the exposition is repeated, the development features a fugue with an intensity that quickly darkens the atmosphere. The second movement combines scherzo and waltz characteristics in a "dance of death" lead by the violin, traditionally the devil's instrument. A second scherzo follows, with changing meters and more complex harmonies that increase the level of stress.

      Shostakovich visited Leningrad in July, 1946, and in this fourth movement he bore witness to the unbelievable destruction in the city of his birth. A passionate set of variations, its intense evolution recalls his earlier passacaglias, like the one in the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. A three-note rhythmic motive has appeared through much of this quartet, or has been hidden in the structure. Said to represent the Russian people, it seems to become even more important in the last movement, which is connected without pause to the fourth. Another "dance of death," it ends as the violin rises higher and higher, as those killed by war - and by the Stalin regime - ascend to heaven.

Brahms - Although numbered the first of Brahms' three string quartets, this one was composed only after he had written about twenty other quartets, none of which were completed to the level of perfection that he imposed on himself. Brahms, well aware of the misinterpretations made by many who studied the Beethoven sketches, destroyed all of his early efforts, leaving many to consider this quartet the gift of genius rather than the result of years of hard work.

      We know that this piece was in progress as early as 1865, when Brahms discussed it with Joseph Joachim. He sent early versions of the outer movements to Clara Schumann four years later. Finally, in 1873, he decided that it was worthy of publication and performance. It was premiered in Vienna on December 1.

      Traditional sonata forms are used in the outer movements. While the dark, dramatic character of C minor dominates, the gentler lyricism of the secondary themes provides some relief. A more substantial contrast is found in the sublime beauty of the second movement. With a return to a minor key for the third movement, there is a move toward the original mood. The middle section of this movement is, however, clearly major with a nearly folk-line simplicity.

Lee Teply