Alexander Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major
‘String Quartet No. 2 in D Major’ is Borodin’s second and last quartet. The tone and emotionality of the piece reflect personal experiences: the composer lived in a happy marriage, and this composition is a kind of recollection of the euphoria he experienced in the period of courtship. He completed this musical piece in 1881, and dedicated it to his wife on the twentieth anniversary of their marriage. The work is one of the masterpieces of 19th-century Russian chamber music: in this piece Borodin masterfully combines the formal language and compositional techniques of Western music (with the obvious influence of Mendelssohn and Schumann) with motifs of Russian folk songs.
Saint-Saëns: Bassoon Sonata in G Major, Op. 168
This bassoon sonata is one of the composer’s late works: the sonata was written in 1921, in the year of his death, and is the last piece in a series of sonatas with piano accompaniment written for wind instruments (clarinet, oboe). In a letter to a friend, he wrote: “I am currently focusing the last bits of my energy on giving less prominent instruments and their musicians the opportunity to shine.” In his bassoon sonata, Saint-Saëns made a conscious effort to highlight the sensitive, lyrical melodic nature of the bassoon, while in the second movement of the piece he literally makes the instrument “speak”. At the same time, the composer did not fail to include the humorous, overexaggerated nature of the bassoon’s sound in his composition.
Reingold Moritzevich Glière: Eight Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39
Glière (1875-1956) was of Polish and German decent, with his musical career unfolding in Russia. He had excellent teachers (such as Taneyev) and he later had such outstanding students as Prokofiev and Khachaturian. His ‘Eight Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39’ was published in 1909. The concept of the suite and the titles of some of its movements are characterised by Baroque influences, but this is only partly true. The ‘Prélude’, for example, presents mysterious, enigmatic and thoroughly romantic music while the ‘Intermezzo’ evokes associations with the waltz and would have pleased also Tchaikovsky. The ‘Gavotte’ is reminiscent of Bach’s music, while the middle section (‘Musette’) exhibits a folk character, imitating the playing of bagpipers. The entire cycle is defined – and is concurrently made also very attractive – by the music’s romantic gestures and its witty combination of Russian folk songs and Baroque instrumental music.
Eugene Goossens: Suite, Op. 6
This piece for flute, violin and harp (or two violins and piano) was composed in 1914. Its composer, Eugene Goossens (1893–1962), was born in London, and was the son of the renowned Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens (1845–1906). Goossens Jr. had close connections with leading British musicians of his time, and as a conductor he is remembered for performances including the 1921 English premiere of ‘The Rite of Spring’ (by Stravinsky). Goossens Jr. spent a longer period in the United States and then in Australia. “Suite, Op. 6” is dedicated to outstanding British harpist Miriam Timothy (1879-1950). According to an apt description, the composition consists of three short movements, formed with great taste and careful craftmanship.
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Variations No. 1
Wednesday 15., 7:00 PM
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