Listening to Beethoven #152 – Sonata for piano and horn in F major Op.17

Posted on by
Reply

giovanni-punto

Giovanni Punto, the dedicatee of Beethoven’s Horn Sonata. Artist unknown

Sonata for piano and horn in F major Op.17 (1799-1800, Beethoven aged 29)

1. Allegro moderato
2. Poco adagio, quasi andante
3. Rondo. Allegro moderato

Dedication Giovanni Punto
Duration 15′

Listen

by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

Although Beethoven had written a good deal for wind instruments up until now, this was the first time he had written a solo sonata for one. However as horn player Richard Watkins notes, it is ‘typical of Beethoven’s sonatas in that it could easily be described as a piano sonata with a horn obligato.’

There is a definite date for the first performance of this work, given by Czech horn player Jan Václav Stich (better known in Vienna as Giovanni Punto) and Beethoven on the piano at Vienna’s Burgtheater on 18 April 1800 in Vienna. Punto had also played Mozart’s work, so had an impressive musical pedigree. The story runs, however, that Beethoven arrived in Vienna the day before giving a concert with Punto to find a new horn sonata advertised – which he had not yet written! The next day he had completed a horn part, improvising his own role at the piano. The audience warmed to the new music so much that there was a standing ovation and a repeat performance.

There is a cello arrangement of the work, made by Beethoven himself, which falls easily into the stringed instrument’s range. Steven Isserlis, while noting that it is ‘certainly not a profound work’, enjoys the fun as much as the composer himself. ‘This could not be by anybody else’, he says.

Thoughts

The horn begins with a breezy call, to which the piano responds – and then the two engage in lively dialogue, which the piano begins to dominate. Beethoven’s writing is exuberant, sometimes reckless for the piano – no doubt with his audience in mind. The freshness of his invention is clear, the two players pulling back the volume for a soft-hearted second theme in the first movement. There are some lovely rasps from the horn at the end.

Things take a solemn turn for a very short while, Beethoven slipping into the minor key for a plaintive statement from the horn. Rather than a slow movement proper, however, this acts as a short introduction to a fast third movement. This one is a little more poised than the first but still good fun, with Beethoven asking plenty of the horn player with some wide leaps in the melody.

Overall this is a light-hearted piece, which no doubt made a strong impression at its premiere in spite of the haste with which it was written. It’s good fun and not to be taken too seriously!

Recordings used and Spotify playlist

Dennis Brain (horn), Denis Matthews (fortepiano) (EMI)
Hermann Baumann (horn), Stanley Hoogland (fortepiano) (Teldec)
David Pyatt (horn), Martin Jones (piano) (Erato)
Richard Watkins (horn), Julius Drake (piano) (Signum Classics)
Barry Tuckwell (horn), Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) (Decca)

There are some very fine versions of this piece, with the Tuckwell – Ashkenazy and Pyatt – Jones partnerships standing out as particularly fine. Yet Dennis Brain is in a league of his own, with a superb account matched by Denis Matthews.

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1800 Gyrowetz – Divertissement for piano, violin or flute and cello Op.50

Next up String Quartet in F major Op.18/1

In concert – Stephen Hough, CBSO / Edward Gardner: Saint-Saëns, Mazzoli & Debussy

Posted on by
Reply

hough-gardiner

Stephen Hough (piano), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Edward Gardner

Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto no.4 in C minor Op. 44 (1875)
Mazzoli Violent, Violent Sea (2011)
Debussy La Mer L109 (1903-05)

Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Wednesday 19 May 2pm

Written by Richard Whitehouse

It may have been almost six months since the City of Birmingham Symphony last played to live audiences, but the frisson of expectation was palpable as the orchestra gradually took the stage for this first of nine concerts that, at around an hour’s duration, are being heard at 2pm then again at 6.30. The design of Symphony Hall’s platform makes it possible, moreover, to take out the raised platforms and so accommodate a larger number of musicians than would otherwise be possible in what is (hopefully!) a transitional period out of lockdown. Current restrictions still entail the spreading out of listeners, a small price to pay given the quality of acoustic at almost any point in this auditorium, while the rapid entry and exit procedures also enabled punters to assess the remodelled catering areas in advance of their June reopening.

As conducted by Edward Gardner, this programme featured works by two French composers with more in common than either could have suspected. Saint-Saëns nearly always brings out the best in Stephen Hough, and so it proved in this regrettably rare revival of the Fourth Piano Concerto. Its four sections grouped into two movements (a design the composer returned to a decade on with greater panache if less subtlety in his Third Symphony), the piece touches on aspects of sonata, variation and rondo procedures while its plain-spun material is developed in various and intriguing ways. This plus the close integration of soloist and orchestra often makes for a sinfonia concertante than concerto per se, yet there is no lack of virtuosity such as Hough despatched with alacrity – not least the cascading passagework in the final Allegro.

Saint-Saëns and Debussy evinced no mutual esteem, but as the former integrated symphonic elements into his concerto, so did the latter in his ‘three symphonic sketches’ which comprise La Mer. Here the CBSO came into its own, not least in the purposefully contrasted sequence of From Dawn to Midday on the Sea with its crepuscular writing for solo wind and divided strings through to a climactic chorale of visceral immediacy. Perhaps interplay of timbre and texture in Games of the Waves could have been more deftly handled, but Gardner exerted a firm grip over its course then drew real pathos from the final bars. He also found a persuasive balance between the volatile and poetic aspects in Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea, while maintaining steady momentum as issued forth in the chorale on its proudly affirmative return.

Between these works, Violent, Violent Sea by the highly regarded American composer Missy Mazzoli elicited a wholly different response as to its marine concept. Here it is the constant yet rarely insistent melding of translucent harmonies and pulsating rhythms (stemming from marimba and vibraphone) as underpin this music; the sustaining of whose atmosphere is the keener for its succinct duration. The ranging of its relatively modest forces across the extent of the platform also made for rather greater impact than might otherwise have been the case. It certainly added to the attractions of a programme which launched this series of concerts in impressive fashion. The CBSO returns next Wednesday with Nicholas Collon at the helm for a sequence that ends with the uncompromising defiance of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.

For further information about the CBSO’s current series of concerts, head to the orchestra’s website

For further information about Missy Mazzoli, click here

In concert – Members of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group: Huang Ruo: A Dust in Time

Posted on by
Reply

dust-in-time

Members of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group [Kate Suthers (violin), Colette Overdijk (violin), Adam Römer (viola), Ulrich Heinen (cello)]

Huang Ruo A Dust In Time (2020)

St Paul’s Church, Hockley, Birmingham
Tuesday 18 May

Written by Richard Whitehouse

The coronavirus pandemic and its attendant lockdowns has put paid to many events, not least a performance of A Dust in Time by Huang Ruo planned by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group for December, after a memorable online account three months earlier. Fortunately, it was possible to reschedule this to coincide with the further lifting of restrictions – enabling a socially distanced audience to hear what, when that created as the consequence of these past   18 months can be assessed more objectively, will come to be regarded as a defining artwork.

Born in southern China and now resident in the United States, Huang has emerged among the more striking composers of his generation (recordings of four Chamber Concertos and three of his ‘Drama Theatre’ pieces are well worth investigating on Naxos). Stylistically his music ranges across Eastern and Western, traditional and original sources – the resulting synthesis notable for its keen integration. An approach evident in this work, contrast between whose underlying concept and formal procedures are outweighed by its overall expressive impact.

Drawing inspiration from the circular concept of the mandala central to Hindu and Buddhist cultures (not least that of Tibet), while unfolding along the lines of a passacaglia which has long been a favoured formal model in European music, A Dust in Time patently evokes issues of transience and becoming over the course of an inevitable yet inexorable progress. Starting and ending on unaccompanied cello, it draws in viola, second then first violins as harmonic and rhythmic movement increase towards the sustained convergence of sound and emotion.

In its shortest incarnation (as previously performed by groups such as the ASKO-Schönberg Quartet) the piece ends here, but this evening it gradually effected a falling-off of tension on the way back to its beginning – deft usage of the Golden Section bringing it full circle at just under an hour’s length. In the earlier stages, listeners may have been reminded of the opening ‘Elegy’ from Shostakovich’s 15th Quartet with its oblique allusion to Russian Orthodox chant and comparable ‘otherness’, but the continuation and outcome could hardly be more different.

The performance, by a quartet from BCMG, was no less impressive than that given online by these same musicians – not least in its immaculate tonal blending and sense of venturing forth on a shared trajectory toward a common goal. Ensemble faltered passingly in the later stages, but never enough to undermine the intense focus and concentration which was brought to the music-making. Certainly, those present were held in thrall through to the transfigured closing bars – heard to advantage in the resonant while never cloying ambience of St Paul’s Church.

Huang has spoken of an extended version in which the piece can be looped round to twice its current length and played by a larger body of strings as an installation, though it is debatable whether music of this intensity would translate into a relatively passive listening experience. Hopefully, tonight’s account will be made available commercially – making possible a larger audience for a work which, together with the Donmar Warehouse’s production Blindness last year, is the surest statement of defiance and transcendence in the face of unforeseen tragedy.

Last year’s BCMG online performance of A Dust in Time can be seen here:

For further information about Huang Ruo you can visit his website here, while more information on the activities of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group can be found at their website

Listening to Beethoven #151 – Piano Concerto no.1 in C major Op.15

Posted on by
1

piano-concerto-1
Beethoven (1987) by Andy Warhol – screenprint on Lenox Museum Board

Piano Concerto no.1 in C major Op.15 for piano and orchestra (1795-1800, Beethoven aged 29)

Dedication Princess Babette Odescalchi (a former pupil)
Duration 35′

Listen

Background and Critical Reception

Beethoven tried his hand at a piano concerto back in 1784 at the age of 13, and although it was another 17 years before his next attempt was published, the musical form was never far from his mind. As Barry Cooper reports in his booklet note for Hyperion’s new recordings with soloist Stephen Hough, ‘By 1795, Beethoven felt ready to launch a public career as a pianist-composer. He began composing his Piano Concerto no.1, making numerous sketches and rough drafts’.

A prototype seems to have been performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 29 March 1795, with the finale composed in a hurry, but the work was revised in 1800 and written out afresh. This final version was published in March 1801, with the original lost. Cooper writes that ‘around this time, Beethoven began including pedal marks in his own piano works, and this concerto was his first work (along with the Quintet for piano and wind Op.16) to be published with them’.

Daniel Heartz notes that the work ‘calls for the full orchestra of Mozart’s largest piano concertos’ – and goes on to draw parallels with Mozart in Beethoven’s structuring of the first movement and the relationship between the piano and the orchestra. Cooper finds that ‘in all of Beethoven’s piano concertos, the first movement is the most complex, written in a blend of Baroque ritornello form and the more modern sonata form.’ The suggestion is that a great deal of time has been spent on it, as well as the traditional cadenza near the end of the movement. While this section would normally be improvised by the soloist, Beethoven wrote out three possibilities – one in 1808 and two more in 1809.

Heartz describes the theme of the finale as ‘sharply etched in emphatic rhythms, with many repeated tones, lending it a popular or folklike character, like a country dance. For him the third theme has a ‘Slavic twang’.

The reaction to the concerto is not well-documented, but it appeared in an 1801 concert in Vienna which included the first performance of the Septet and the Symphony no.1, also in C major.

Thoughts

Beethoven’s official entry into the concerto arena has a real sense of occasion in its opening minutes. The orchestra play for a good three minutes before we hear the piano, which would surely have heightened the audience expectation back in 1801. It is an elegant theme that gains stature and power, complemented by a flowing second tune.

When the piano has arrived Beethoven enjoys its qualities in dialogue with the orchestra, as well as showing it off. There are some surprisingly quiet, touching moments where the ear is pulled in – just as there are the more obvious opportunities for display.

The first movement is a long one but sustains the drama through to the cadenza, the soloist given plenty of time to display their wares. It may even be too long in comparison to the rest of the work, for it is almost half the duration.

For the slow movement Beethoven chooses A flat major, the same key which held our rapt attention for the second movement of the Pathétique sonata. Here the effect is similar if not quite as concentrated, yet there are tender asides both for the soloist and the orchestra and some lovely prompting from the woodwind, clarinet in particular. The piano tells its story in expressive tones.

The best tune, however, is held over for the finale. It is a catchy number with its roots in the dance, as Daniel Heartz notes, and because of the finale’s ‘Rondo’ structure (A-B-A-C-A-B-A) and its status as the ‘A’ theme, we hear it several times – and it is undoubtedly the tune the audience walk away humming!

Spotify playlist and Recordings used

Wilhelm Kempff, Berliner Philharmoniker / Ferdinand Leitner (Deutsche Grammophon)
Robert Levin, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner (Arkiv)
Mitsuko Uchida, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Kurt Sanderling (Philips)
Rudolf Serkin, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Rafael Kubelik (Orfeo)
Claudio Arrau, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink (Philips)
Martha Argerich, Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe Sinopoli (Deutsche Grammophon)
Ronald Brautigam, Die Kölner Akademie / Michael Alexander Willens (BIS)
Stephen Hough, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Hannu Lintu (Hyperion)

With so many recordings of the concerto it is only possible to offer a few pointers rather than declare a definitive version, but each of the above recordings have helped form an impression of the piece. Wilhelm Kempff and Ferdinand Leitner give a joyful account from 1960 which has held up extremely well, as do Rudolf Serkin and Rafael Kubelik from 1977. Serkin uses the biggest cadenza in the first movement, heightening dramatic impact even if it feels a bit unbalanced. Claudio Arrau’s musicianship is first class, with an especially beautiful delivery of the third movement theme. Robert Levin and John Eliot Gardiner create a special atmosphere in the hushed slow movement. Like Levin, Ronald Brautigam performs on a fortepiano, though his instrument has a coarser sound, lean and to the point. Despite the excitement of his reading the notes are a bit clumped in the finale.

To listen to clips from Stephen Hough’s new recording on Hyperion, head to their website

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1800 Boieldieu Harp Concerto in C major

Next up Horn Sonata in F major Op.17

In concert – Michael Collins & Michael McHale: Widor, Bax, Muczynski & Horovitz @ Wigmore Hall

Posted on by
Reply

collins-mchale

Michael Collins (clarinet), Michael McHale (piano)

Widor Introduction et Rondo Op.72 (1898)
Bax Clarinet Sonata in D major (1934)
Muczynski Time Pieces Op.43 (1984)
Horovitz Sonatina (1981)

Wigmore Hall, London
Monday 17 May (review of the online broadcast)

Written by Ben Hogwood

What a joy to see audiences back in Wigmore Hall on a Monday lunchtime, as the venue took its first available opportunity of 2021. The gathering was for an enterprising program of 20th century works for clarinet and piano from Michael Collins and Michael McHale, pleasingly off the beaten track in its selection and proving highly accessible.

Viewed online in this case, the excitement was palpable – from Andrew McGregor’s introduction for the live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 to the performers’ demeanour as they began. The clarinetist successfully overcame an instrument malfunction, too, which caused him to repeat the first few minutes of the Bax sonata.

Collins and McHale began with Widor, however, a competition piece written for students of the Paris Conservatoire in 1898. Both performers settled immediately, Collins with a beautifully floated introduction and McHale with sensitive pedaling, the pianist then echoing the excitable flourishes from of clarinet when the Rondo itself arrived. This work occupies a happy place in Widor’s output, and was a joyful overture here.

The mood deepened for the Clarinet Sonata in D major of Sir Arnold Bax from 1934. First performed by Frederick Thurston, it is an unusually structured work, but the two movements sit together nicely. It was during the beautifully floated opening that Collins had to change his clarinet, but the advantage of this was that we were able to marvel at his control for a second time, supported by rippling figures from McHale. The first movement unfolded as though in one long phrase, revealing the influence of Wagner but establishing Bax’s own melodic grace too. The second movement had impressive urgency, with chromatic surges from the piano and impressive breath control from Collins. A typically deep second theme was matched by a lovely, poised closing section.

The Polish-American composer Robert Muczynski has an intriguing works list including many pieces for woodwind, and the Time Pieces of 1984 are among his most-performed. Each of the four movements looks to bring out different qualities of the clarinet and Collins was fully alive to their possibilities. The busy first piece was enjoyable, clarinet and piano ducking and diving in their interplay, while time became suspended in the outer sections of the second piece, lost in thought. The third explored the timbres of the solo clarinet, wonderfully nuanced by Collins, while the spicy dialogue of the fourth was laden with syncopation and brilliantly played.

The Sonatina for clarinet and piano from Joseph Horovitz dates from 1981, when it was first performed by Gervase de Peyer and Gwenneth Pryor in the Wigmore Hall itself. Like Muczynski, Horovitz is at home writing for wind and brass. Working within a compressed structure, the Sonatina was packed with incident and melody. A perky first movement unfolded with easy, winsome phrases, while the second was more introspective and took time for soul searching. Not so the finale, whose offbeat japes were carefree and witty in this performance, instinctively played.

It was over all too soon – but we were treated to an encore, Collins every bit as enthused as the audience. The warm-hearted Summer, from Paul Reade’s suite Victorian Kitchen Garden, was the ideal choice.

This concert is available to play for 30 days using the YouTube embedded link above.