chamber music society at yale

december 82009

david shifrinArtistic Director

Robert Blocker, Dean

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046AllegroAdagioAllegroMenuet

Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047AllegroAndanteAllegro assia

Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048AllegroAdagio Allegro

intermission

December 8, 2009 · 8 pm · Morse Recital Hall

The Brandenburg Concertos

Daniel Lee, violino piccoloAni Kavafian, violin *Wendy Sharp, violin *Raul Garcia, viola Laura Usiskin, celloAleksey Klyushnik, double bassStephen Taylor, oboe *

Wendy Sharp, solo violin *Itay Lantner, solo fluteStephen Taylor, solo oboe *David Shifrin, E-flat clarinet(originally for trumpet) *Ani Kavafian, violin *

Ani Kavafian, violin *Wendy Sharp, violin *Katie Hyun, violinEttore Causa, viola *Raul Garcia, viola Daniel Lee, viola

Alexandra Detyniecki, oboe Andrew Parker, oboeFrank Morelli, bassoon *William Purvis, horn *Leelanee Sterrett, hornAvi Stein, harpsichord *

Katie Hyun, violinRaul Garcia, violaLaura Usiskin, celloAleksey Klyushnik, double bassAvi Stein, harpsichord *

Sunhee Jeon, celloLaura Usiskin, celloMerav Stern, celloAleksey Klyushnik, double bassAvi Stein, harpsichord *

As a courtesy to the performers and audience members, turn off cell phones and pagers. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is not permitted.

Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050AllegroAffetuosoAllegro

Robert Mealy, violin *Christopher Matthews, fluteIlya Poletaev, solo harpsichord *

Performed on period instruments

Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051AllegroAdagio ma non troppoAllegro

Ettore Causa, viola *Syoko Aki, viola *Laura Usiskin, viola da gambaAleksey Klyushnik, viola da gamba

Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049AllegroAndantePresto

Ani Kavafian, violin *Ransom Wilson, flute *Mindy Heinsohn, fluteWendy Sharp, violin *Katie Hyun, violin

*faculty artist

Benjamin Charmot, violin Daniel Lee, violaLaura Usiskin, celloNathaniel Chase, double bass

Sunhee Jeon, celloMark Wallace, double bassAvi Stein, harpsichord *

Raul Garcia, viola Sunhee Jeon, celloMark Wallace, double bassAvi Stein, harpsichord *

johann sebastian bach1685-1750

johann sebastian bachThe Brandenburg Concertos

In March of 1719, Prince Christian Leopold of Cöthen sent J.S. Bach, his court music director, to Berlin to procure a new harpsichord. While there, Bach performed for Christian Ludwig, the margrave of Brandenburg, and impressed him enough that the margrave asked the com-poser to send him some new music once he returned home. Likely preoccupied with other compositions and beset by personal setbacks including the death of his wife and his infant son, it took Bach two years to fulfill the request and send the six works we now call the Brandenburg concertos. Despite the delay, the flattering tone of Bach’s note makes it clear that he desperately sought the margrave’s admiration. The composer writes, in courtly French:

I have taken the liberty of discharging my humble obligation to your Royal Highness with the present concertos which I have adapted to several instru-ments, begging you most humbly not to judge their imperfections by the standards of that refined and delicate taste in music that everyone knows you to possess, but rather to accept, with benign consi-deration, the profound respect and most humble devotion that I attempt to show by this means. . .Being with unparalleled zeal,Monseigneur,Your Royal Highness’smost humble and most obedient servant,Jean Sebastien Bach

Also in the dedication, Bach informs the margrave that he desired “nothing more than to be em-ployed on occasions more worthy of you and your service.” Indeed, he was probably hoping for a full-time position in Brandenburg and con-sidered these concertos a sort of job application.

Scholars have debated over the years whether Christian Ludwig had these works performed

or even acknowledged them, as there is no record of either. Considering that Friedrich Wilhelm (the “Soldier King”) had recently inherited the Prussian throne and had cut funding for court musicians in order to augment the military, it was likely not logistically or financially feasible for the margrave to find performers. In any case, we can be quite certain that these concertos were rarely performed during Bach’s life—or shortly after his death—by any ensemble. The earliest documented performance is not until 1835, and the works were essentially unknown to the public until they were published in 1850 as a comme-moration of the centennial of Bach’s death.

The six concertos were not composed as one unit, and some movements may date back to as early as 1713 when Bach was employed in Weimar. Most, however, were written for Bach’s group of musi-cians at Cöthen, as the instrumentation of the works is nearly identical to his available instru-mentation there. Prince Leopold took pride in the musical arts, and the capability of the Cöthen performers enabled Bach to write music that was uncharacteristically difficult for the time.

Akin to the Classical-period symphony, the early eighteenth-century concerto was both the most popular and the most important genre of its time. In the standard concerto grosso, a group of solo-ists (the concertino) is accompanied by a small orchestra (ripieno). While Bach held the conven-tional concerto in high regard, his Brandenburg works stand apart from their contemporaries not only in their unprecedented instrumentation (particularly the inclusion of winds as soloists), but also in their blurring of the boundary between the concertino and the ripieno.

Concerto No. 1 in F majorThe only one of the set with four movements, this concerto exemplifies the lack of distinction between soloists and orchestra: the two horns, three oboes, bassoon, and “violino piccolo” (a smaller violin pitched a third higher than usual) are essentially all of equal importance.

Concerto No. 2 in F majorOften labeled the most popular and widely-known of the six, this concerto boasts a concer- tino of four treble instruments: trumpet, flute, oboe, and violin. The solo trumpet part, almost certainly written for the virtuosic court trum- peter in Cöthen, is considered one of the most difficult in the entire trumpet repertoire; in tonight’s performance, it will be played on the piccolo E-flat clarinet.

Concerto No. 3 in G majorIn typical Bach fashion, much of the first move- ment of No. 3 is based on the first three notes of the work: G-F#-G in a short-short-long rhythm. The middle “movement” consists of only two chords, and it is unclear whether Bach intended for the first violinist to perform an extensive cadenza over them.

Concerto No. 4 in G majorA solo violin and two flutes take the helm here. The outer movements are particularly virtuosic for the violinist, contrasting with the more staid nature of the recorders and consequently breaking up the unity of the concertino.

program notes

Concerto No. 5 in D major Bach likely wrote the music of this concerto, at least that of the first movement, to show off the new harpsichord he had acquired in Berlin. It represents the first documented instance of a harpsichord taking a solo role rather than simply providing accompaniment in the continuo. Bach has the instrument slowly emerge as a virtuosic soloist, as if representing the historical transition in the music itself. The second movement, marked affetuoso (“with emotion”), is the only one with a mood heading in the entire set.

Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat majorThe closing concerto has been branded the “Cinderella” of the group, the least performed in isolation but no less impressive or enjoyable. The curious exclusion of violins (as well as all winds) in this number may have something to do with the fact that, as his son once noted, Bach himself preferred to play the viola over the violin. The violas do indeed take the lead role in the concerto, from the unusually close canon (at the eighth-note) that opens the first move-ment, to the moment their gigue-like melody closes the last. The simplicity of the viola da gamba part may be practical in origin, as Prince Leopold himself likely played the part and was not at the same skill level as his court performers.

- Jacob Cooper

chamber music society at yaleDavid Shifrin, Artistic Director

All concerts take place Tuesdays at 8 pm in Morse Recital Hall.

January 26 tokyo string quartetHaydn: “Sunrise” Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 76, no. 4; Barber: String Quartet, Op. 11; Beethoven: String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, no. 2.

February 23 the orion quartet with peter serkinBach: Art of the Fugue, Contrapunctus I; Leon Kirchner: String Quartet no. 4 (2006); Beethoven: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 74, “Harp”; and Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34.

April 6a tribute to ohamA tribute to the Oral History of American Music project at Yale. Featuring music by Charles Ives, Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland, John Cage, Jacob Druckman, Steve Reich, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, interwoven with interviews from the archives.

April 27hagen string quartetBeethoven: Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, no. 3 Webern: Five Pieces, Op. 5Grieg: Quartet in G minor, Op. 27

May 4competition winnersGraduate musicians in winning performances from the 2010 Chamber Music Competition.

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upcoming events

December 11 new music for orchestra

Woolsey Hall, Fri, 8 pmThe Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale, directed by Shinik Hahm, features music by David Lang and Yale graduate composers. Free admission.wshu 91.1 fm • media sponsor

December 14 liederabend

Morse Recital Hall, Mon, 8 pmAn evening of German song featuring the singers of Yale Opera. With Kyle Swann, piano. Music by Brahms, Mahler, Mendelssohn, J. Marx, Schubert, Schumann, R. Strauss, and Wolff. Free admission.

December 15vista

Morse Recital Hall, Tue, 8 pmA fresh look at chamber music. Selected students from the Yale School of Music will discuss and perform Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Haas’s Wind Quintet, and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet. Wendy Sharp, director. Free admission.

December 16horowitz piano series

Morse Recital Hall, Wed, 8 pm Peter Frankl and Wei-Yi Yang perform music by Schumann and Debussy for two pianos and piano four-hands, plus a work with guest artists. Tickets $11-$20 / Students $6.wshu 91.1 fm • media sponsor

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