Tag Archives: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wigmore Mondays – Ensemble Marsyas and Kristian Bezuidenhout

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Ensemble Marsyas, Kristian Bezuidenhout (left)

Ensemble Marsyas (Josep Domènech Lafont (oboe), Nicola Boud (clarinet), Alec Frank-Gemmill (horn), Peter Whelan (bassoon), Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano)

Wigmore Hall, London, 11 July 2016

written by Ben Hogwood

Audio (open in a new window)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jhwk7

Available until 10 August

What’s the music?

Mozart Quintet for piano and wind in E flat major, K451 (1784) (23 minutes)

Beethoven Quintet for piano and wind in E flat major, Op.16 (1796) (24 minutes)

Spotify

Kristian Bezuidenhout and the Ensemble Marsyas have not recorded this music, but in case the broadcast link does not work the Spotify playlist below gives alternative versions from pianist Stephen Hough and the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, available on BIS:

About the music

Mozart held his quintet in extremely high regard in comparison with the rest of his output. Its first performance was part of a marathon concert that also featured the Linz and Haffner symphonies, but all the composer could talk about was his satisfaction with the new quintet. It does mark something of a departure, being the first work for the combination of piano and wind quartet, and the writing for both is superb.

In some of his early works Beethoven was consciously using instrumental combinations already mastered by Mozart, and applying his own stamp to them. The early string trios, piano trios and this quintet for piano and wind are all examples. Typically he does things his way in all of them, and in the quintet the piano really does take the lead, perhaps betraying the fact that Beethoven was about to publish his first two piano concertos.

It is an ambitious work, with a particularly sizeable first movement, and in the second Beethoven allows each of the wind instruments a chance to shine in a solo capacity.

Performance verdict

There is something about the sonic combination of piano and wind that is enormously comforting, either as late night / early morning listening or in a concert experience. To say it was invented by Mozart may be stretching things a little far, but it is seemingly the earliest work to put the combined forces together, followed by Beethoven in his early ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ mode.

The two make a good concert coupling, especially when the performances are as good as these. Kristian Bezuidenhout is a musician who easily dispels the fears among some concert goers that the fortepiano is a tinny instrument of little sound quality. He gets his phrases to really sing, especially in quiet moments, and throughout the more graceful parts of both pieces he played several melting passages of music.

The wind players were every bit as good, led more obviously in the Mozart by oboist dfgd or in the Beethoven by the bright timbre of clarinettist Nicola Loud. Alec Frank-Gemmill wrestled manfully with the difficulties of natural horn to produce a lovely sound, while on occasion the bassoon of Peter Whelan had a timbre resembling a baritone saxophone. When all four played together it was a beautiful sound, sometimes rough around the edges in a most appealing way, reminding us that there is such a thing as over-polished performance!

One of the most enjoyable Wigmore concerts of the 2015-16 season, closing the series with a flourish and well worth hearing. As a postscript, it is worth noting Ensemble Marsyas were formed as a result of relationships formed in the European Union Baroque Orchestra. Would such a thing be possible after the UK leaves the union? Very unlikely!

What should I listen out for?

Mozart

2:02 – a slow introduction, where the tonality of E flat is established – but where the sonorities of the wind instruments are also made clear, as though Mozart were introducing the new idea to his audience. Then at 4:08 we hear the start of the allegro, introduced by the piano then passed over to the winds. This is a genial piece of music, like listening to a conversation between musical friends, and Mozart develops his ideas comprehensively, a good example occurring at 8:44.

12:05 the slow movement, a beautifully restrained introduction followed by solos for clarinet, oboe and then horn, Mozart giving each of the treble instruments their chance to shine. The fortepiano – reclaiming melody at 13:28 – is very much part of the ensemble. The horn gets a bigger solo at 16:08, part of a central section deeper on feeling.

19:37 – the fortepiano begins the finale with a detached and relatively simple theme that gains more colour when the woodwind repeat it. This tune becomes more of an earworm as the piece progresses.

Beethoven

28:15 – a subdued fanfare signals the beginning of the quintet from the wind, answered by a profound statement on the piano. This is a slow introduction, and a grand one at that, before the fast movement proper gets underway at 30:51, with some lively exchanges between the instruments and a number of tricky runs on the piano.

41:02 – a gentle start to the first movement, the fortepiano playing a figure that sounds like a lullaby. The sonorous tones of the wind instruments are soon in play with the same material, before solos from all four. The piano returns to the lullaby material at 45:12.

47:17 – the finale starts with a tune on the piano that you know is going to be whistled by the end of the concert! It is a perky and optimistic melody, often assigned to the bright clarinet timbre. When piecked up by the wind its dance character comes through, and for the rest of the movement it is developed and repeated.

Further listening

Not too long after the pieces in this concert were composed and performed, Rossini wrote six sonatas for string ensemble, published in 1804. Around twenty years later, Frédéric Berr thought these would be suitable when arranged for wind quartet – and so it proved. They make a very enjoyable hour’s music, making absolutely no demands on the listener!

Wigmore Mondays – Michael Collins and the Borodin String Quartet play Mozart

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borodin-quartet

Michael Collins (clarinet) and the Borodin String Quartet (above) (Ruben Aharonian and Sergei Lomovsky (violins), Igor Naidin (viola), Vladimir Balshin (cello)

Wigmore Hall, London, 25 April 2016

written by Ben Hogwood

Audio (open in a new window)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07866f4

Available until 24 May

What’s the music?

Tchaikovsky, arr. Rostislav Dubinsky – Album d’enfants, Op.39 (1878) (29 minutes)

Mozart – Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581 (28 minutes) (1789)

Spotify

In case you cannot hear the broadcast, recordings of the music played can be found on the Spotify playlist below, including a recording of Rostislav Dubinsky’s arrangement:

About the music

Tchaikovsky’s Album d’enfants follows in the footsteps of Schumann’s collection for piano of the same name, yet this set of 24 piano miniatures is designed to be played by children as well. It includes dances, children’s pieces, portraits and flights of fancy, with most pieces little more than a minute and a half in length.

In it the composer allows his inner child to run free, in the same manner it was to do later in life in the ballets The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. This arrangement for string quartet was made by the Borodin String Quartet’s previous first violinist, Rostislav Dubinsky.

michael-collins

Clarinetist Michael Collins

Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet is probably the best known work for the combination of clarinet and string quartet, and it was written late in his life – 1789 – for the clarinettist Anton Stadler. It is written in A major, the same key the composer was to use for his final orchestral work, the Clarinet Concerto, and is notable for its sunny mood.

Performance verdict

This was a charming concert, though the Borodin String Quartet did take quite a serious approach to even the most infantile of Tchaikovsky’s character pieces. They were effective in their arrangements, and the quartet played with charm, delicacy and poise.

The Clarinet Quintet enjoyed a similar performance – serious but enjoying the work’s abundance of melody, although the decision not to employ the repeats Mozart marks in the first two movements changed its dimensions rather. Michael Collins was a good match, allowing himself a freer rein at times in the solo part, and while the quartet and clarinettist did not exchange much in the way of glances during the performance, theirs was an account notable for its unity. When played as beautifully as it was here, the Clarinet Quintet is as vivid an evocation of spring as you could wish to hear!

What should I listen out for?

Tchaikovsky

1:20 Morning prayer a charming, contented slow piece

2:42 A Winter morning – quite a blustery one by the sounds of it! Quicker interplay between the instruments

3:32 The Hobby-Horse – a quick portrait of a horse that seems to be difficult to capture!

4:17 Little Mother – soft and reassuring music that speaks of safety and warmth

5:55 March of the Wooden Soldiers – the title sounds like something out of The Nutracker, and the tune is similar. A crisp march.

6:49 The Sick Doll – the mutes are on for this fragile, mournful portrait, which sinks despondently into its minor key.

8:20 The Doll’s Funeral – the doll has now died, and this movement marks its passing with plaintive pizzicato.

9:49 The New Doll – the funeral has passed and a relatively quick and brief waltz, the face of the new doll lifts the mood from the doldrums.

10:29 Old French Song – A solemn piece, but with elements of warmth too. A beautifully scored movement, this has a lovely unison between first violin and cello.

11:48 German Song – this cheery dance has a jagged rhythm and opens out into quite a knees-up! The viola (I think) can be heard tapping its strings rhythmically half way through.

13:00 Italian Song – this has a lovely warmth, and the full part writing allows us to hear a lovely, rich quartet sound, with the cello plucking underneath.

14:15 Neapolitan Song – here the peasant is playing a form of concertina – and it sounds a lot of fun from the cello plucking and the sprightly tunes from the quartet!

15:24 Waltz – this has a lovely, simple tune for first violin, with the other instruments mostly off the beat.

16:52 Mazurka – a grand introduction from the cello with multiple stopping (playing more than one string at once), taken over by the violin

18:10 Polka – a charming, brief dance, lively and with some imaginative violin harmonics at the top end.

19:21 Russian Song – a solemn intonation from each instrument in turn, taking on the form of a canon but then settling to a relatively calm finish

20:21 The Peasant Plays His Ziehharmonika­ – the instrument effectively portrayed here is the concertina, the quartet playing as one.

21:05 Popular Song (Kamarainskaya) – this is brilliantly sent up by the violin especially, with squeaky high harmonicas like an old creaking chest of drawers

22:28 Sweet Dreams – a sentimental tune where Tchaikovsky allows some indulgence

24:43 The Old Nurse’s Tale The scratchy strings here give a lovely impression of old age, and the tale itself is lightly humorous.

25:40 The Witch: Baba-Yaga Even more scratchy is the old witch, played with the bows right close to the finger board for a more scary sound.

26:22 Song of the Lark The lark makes a beautiful sound here, thanks to the first violin over warm string accompaniment.

27:52 The Organ-Grinder Sings – over the held chords of the organ the first violin sings in a rather small voice.

29:02 In Church – a solemn finish to the cycle, given by the quartet in very subdued and rather eerie tones.

Mozart

27:07 – the first movement (marked Allegro) begins with the strings, a restful series of chords that are actually the first theme, a support for when the clarinet rises through the texture. Then, a minute later, the clarinet enjoys a tune that rises through the texture, floating gracefully. At 30:06 Mozart develops his ideas, the main theme coming back at 31:18.

34:01 – the second movement is marked Larghetto. In the key of D major, it is notable for its restraint and beautiful, spaced out melody heard on the clarinet at the outset. The melody returns at 37:50 in an even softer guise, peaceful and rather moving.

40:44 – a stately Minuet for the third movement, led by the clarinet but egged on by the strings. Mozart includes two contrasting ‘Trio’ sections – the first in the key of A minor (42:01). The Minuet section is repeated at 43:59 before a second trio at 44:40, another graceful dance led by the clarinet. The Minuet returns for the final time at 47:00.

47:47 – the final movement consists of a perky theme from the strings, embellished by the clarinet – and then five variations on it. The first (48:36) gives the clarinet a free reign, the next (49:30) hands over the baton to the first violin in an energetic section. The third (50:25) moves into the minor key and a brief shadow falls over the music, before 51:36, where the clarinet joyously lets itself go in the fourth variation. Then the music pauses, almost in an operatic sense, with a complete freedom of tempo as the clarinet leads the movement towards a close – where the perky theme reappears (54:36).

Further listening

Having heard the Borodin Quartet in sympathetic versions of Tchaikovsky, it makes perfect sense to expand that to the composer’s three published string quartets, which are relatively rare in concert these days. They are extremely enjoyable works. The First is notable for its slow movement, the Andante cantabile, which Tchaikovsky arranged for string orchestra, while the Third is a particularly poignant piece of work. As a bonus the album below includes the Souvenir de Florence, the composer’s String Sextet:

Howard Shelley & London Mozart Players – Mozart Explored – Piano Concerto no.27

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sjssHoward Shelley & London Mozart Players, St John’s Smith Square, 2 March 2016.

Mozart Explored: Piano Concerto no.27

For the latest in their Mozart Explored series at St John’s Smith Square, Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players turned their attention to the composer’s final work in the form.

It is astonishing when you pause to think that Mozart had already completed 27 piano concertos by the age of 35, quite apart from everything else he did. Even after the composition of this piece, when he was under all sorts of personal and financial pressure, he managed to write such ‘trifles’ as The Magic Flute, the Clarinet Concerto and the Requiem. So although the music here was shown to be wonderfully positive there was a twinge of sadness at a career cut so short.

Howard Shelley was the ideal guide, affable yet knowledgeable, and although his keyboard was positioned so he faced the orchestra rather than the audience this was a good move, for everyone in St John’s could see his hands at the keyboard – and as a result the music physically being made.

St John’s is a lovely venue for this music, a world apart from the incessant clamour of Parliament Square just around the corner – an oasis by the Thames. Shelley’s demeanour only aided this hour of escape, talking through the circumstances around the composition of the concerto and also getting to the nub of the main themes of each of the three movements.

And then the performance itself, which was beautifully and stylishly given. With the orchestra ideally sized, Shelley conducted them through the opening bars of the first movement before his own graceful solo part asserted itself, stressing the vocal nature of much of this music.

There was lovely interplay particularly with the woodwind, who were also a prominent feature of the second movement, which felt like an aria in Shelley’s hands. The finale, written in celebration of the onset of Spring, could have been a little misplaced given the bitterly cold wind outside, but it became a light footed and quite graceful dance, Shelley again taking the lead.

The LMP return on Thursday March 16 to turn their attention to Beethoven’s Emperor Piano concerto – and if you can make it the rewards will surely be many!

Wigmore Mondays – Armida Quartet play Mozart and Beethoven

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The Armida Quartet play string quartets by the teenage Mozart and Beethoven – his first quartet for Count Razumovsky of Prussia

armida-quartetPhoto: Felix Broede

Wigmore Hall, London, 25 January 2016

written by Ben Hogwood

Audio (open in a new window) – available until 24 February

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06xwtbp

What’s the music?

Mozart – String Quartet in G major, K80 (1770) (10 minutes)

Beethoven – String Quartet in F major, Op.59/1 (Razumovsky) (1806) (39 minutes)

Spotify

If you cannot hear the broadcast then this attached playlist has all the repertoire in the concert. The Armida Quartet have recorded a disc of Mozart but not this particular piece – so the Hagen Quartet version is included here, along with the Tokyo String Quartet in the first Razumovsky:

https://open.spotify.com/user/arcana.fm/playlist/726X8dueQnIBJOflr9jeIt

About the music

What were you doing when you were 14? I daresay you hadn’t completed a String Quartet lasting 20 minutes by then! The teenage Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had managed that – he had also completed ten symphonies and numerous other works – and was about to witness the premiere of his first opera, Mitridate, in Italy with his father Leopold.

This string quartet was written on the road, between Milan and Parma – an early ‘tour album’, you could say! – and initially sat in three movements to conform with Italian taste. Later the composer added a fourth to suit German audiences. All were completed under the watchful eye of his father.

Beethoven dedicated three of his ‘middle period’ string quartets to Count Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador in Vienna at the time and a musical patron. At his request Beethoven included a Russian theme in each work, and in the first quartet it can be heard at the beginning of the last movement.

With these three quartets Beethoven noticeably expanded the form, no longer the intimate salon experience of Mozart but now a medium for the communication of extremely personal thoughts and big structures. The three works are big, each around 35-40 minutes in length, and they push the boundaries of string quartet writing so that on occasion the four instruments sound at least double the size. This one, Op.59/1 in F major, is the longest of the three and is notable for its profound slow movement (one of only two pieces marked mesto (sad) by the composer) and for the fun and games in its second movement Scherzo.

Performance verdict

The Armida Quartet are BBC Radio 3 New Generation artists, and on the strength of their Beethoven performance in particular they clearly have a very bright future.

This was excellent quartet playing, incredibly well balanced and full of vitality. Their sense of enjoyment in the second movement of the Beethoven was infectious, and throughout their quiet playing in particular was something to treasure, enabling them to reach the very sombre depths of the slow movement but also the dynamic contrasts used by Beethoven elsewhere. The outer movements contrasted nicely with this, being vibrant and humourous on occasion, and always revelling in the composer’s tuneful invention.

The Mozart was very stylish, possibly a little too rich in the first movement as the quartet recaptured the Italian style. The main emotion here was one of surprise at the composer’s sheer prowess – this is a remarkable work for someone the age of 14 to have turned out – but on occasion.

The quartet decided not to employ the repeats marked in each movement, effectively halving the length of the piece with the Beethoven in mind. A shame, perhaps, but not a decision that stopped us from sitting in awe of the adolescent’s genius!

Interestingly the quartet changed their seating arrangements during the concert. For the Mozart the violinists faced each other, with viola and cello in between, while for the Beethoven the cello and second violin swapped for a more conventional arrangement.

What should I listen out for?

Mozart

1:32 – the first of Mozart’s quartets is quite top heavy in structure, and it is the first movement that has a lot of the emotional and musical content, lasting nearly twice as long as any of the others. It starts with such elegance you would never know it was the work of a fledgling composer. There is assured writing for the four instruments, often divided into pairs in the part writing.

5:17 – a lively second movement, the four instruments playing in unison initially then moving apart.

7:33 – Mozart writes a graceful minuet for the third movement, one with a light spring in its step.

9:27 – the finale brings with it more open textured, bright writing for the quartet

Beethoven

13:40 – the piece starts quietly, the cello theme immediately evident before being passed to the violin. At 15:03 we hear the other main theme of the quartet, different in character – the music feeling more ‘established’ by this point. At 16:06 we hear the cello’s theme again, but now Beethoven moves this through a development section, chopping and changing it – before bringing it back for a recap at 19:40. By now the music feels increasingly restless, and continues to pass through a number of different forms and keys, until the quartet state the theme in fall, and the music falls away a little to the end, seemingly content.

23:44 – the ‘Scherzo’, traditionally the movement where composers show their witty side. Beethoven certainly does that here, picking a tune that can be cheeky or quite aggressive by turns. It starts sheepishly, but Beethoven varies the volume a lot in this movement, passing from very quiet to loud, often in a way that might make you jump!

The music then moves into the minor key for a contrasting ‘trio’ section, beginning at 30:00, but by 31:14 is back in the major key and playing with different volume levels again! Snippets of the main tune and other phrases are passed around until the soft finish at 32:16…though even this has a sting in the tail!

32:48 – the slow movement begins – and with it one of Beethoven’s saddest themes, heard on the first violin. While fragile at the start the music gains intensity and sounds rather tortured at times. At 37:48 we hear the sad music again, though it is higher and weightless in its new guise. Then Beethoven takes us through a section developing the tune, with a pensive and very intimate dialogue between the four instruments. This profound passage of play comes out of the doldrums and into…

46:05 – the last movement, based on a Russian folk tune – and immediately positive with the cello’s rendition of it. Beethoven structures this as a Rondo – a form that means the tune comes back repeatedly, with differing sections in between. Then at 51:31 we hear the tune very slowly, setting up a quick drive to the finish from 52:03.

Encore

54:09 – as an encore the quartet play Contrapunctus IV from J.S. Bach’s The Art of Fugue. The violin begins, then the second violin joins, then the viola and then the cello – all in a perfectly calculated example of how a fugue works with four parts. (3 minutes)

Further listening

 

Vilde Frang, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Peter Oundjian – Viennese classics in Dundee

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Ben Hogwood visits Dundee’s magnificent Caird Hall for an trio of Viennese works given by violinist Vilde Frang, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and principal conductor Peter Oundjian
Caird Hall, Dundee, Thursday 12 November

Webern Langsamer Satz (1905), arr for string orchestra by Gerard Schwarz

Brahms Violin Concerto (1878)

Mozart Symphony no.41 in C, ‘Jupiter’ (1788)

What a magnificent setting for a concert. Dundee’s Caird Hall will be well known as an attraction by the locals but it bears repeating that the venue is an excellent acoustic for classical music, as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conductor Peter Oundjian observed in his brief talk to the audience before the concert.

The high ceiling was perfect for the burnished ardour of Webern’s Langsamer Satz, written while the composer was still in a tonal way of thinking and in thrall to his hero Mahler. Although normally heard through the intimate medium of the string quartet, this arrangement, made by the conductor Gerard Schwarz for string orchestra, worked extremely well, and the RSNO strings made a beautiful and clean sound that left us in no doubt as to the composer’s feelings towards his cousin – who was later to become his wife.

The Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang then joined the enhanced orchestra for another Viennese piece, Brahms’s Violin Concerto­ – and in the process she built on a relationship already established with the erte concerto last year. Frang is not a player prone to exaggerated gestures or one-upmanship on the orchestra and this was the ideal approach for the Brahms, where the two forces work together and where the orchestra often have the better tunes. Oboist Adrian Wilson, acknowledged by Frang at the end, was superb in his slow movement solo, and while this was perhaps a more ‘classical’ reading looking back towards Schubert, Frang took the difficult and extended solo passages, particularly the cadenzas, by the scruff of the neck and refused to let them go.

Completing the Viennese trio was Mozart’s Jupiter symphony, his last – with Oundjian sensibly reducing the forces in the name of clarity. This was an extremely fine performance where the rapport between the RSNO and their conductor was abundantly clear, and where he ensured that Mozart’s deceptively simple themes were beautifully communicated and developed. A graceful minuet was notable for the floated violin delivery, though in the trio the minor key harmonies sowed the seeds of disquiet.

These were emphatically blown away by the finale, one of Mozart’s greatest achievements as a composer in his successful dovetailing of all five themes in a brilliantly worked fugue. Oundjian took this at a daringly fast tempo but we never lost sight of the tunes, the orchestra working incredibly hard to keep their lines clear and crisp. The enjoyment of all – players and audience – was clear, for this was music to banish even the squalliest of November nights.