December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Violin Sonata in A major, op. 47, “Kreutzer” December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano In March 1803 Beethoven’s patron Prince Lichnowsky introduced him to the twenty-four-year-old violin virtuoso George Polgreen Bridgetower. Fresh from wildly successful concerts in Dresden, the violinist was visiting Vienna, having lived in London since his West Indian father had showed him off there as a child prodigy. After including the young violin virtuoso in a quartet reading at the home of the famous violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Beethoven arranged to give a public concert with Bridgetower on May 22—postponed to the 24th—and immediately set to work on a violin sonata for the occasion. Because time was short Beethoven drew on sketches for two movements begun earlier that year, and added a finale that he had originally written in 1802 for the A major Violin Sonata, op. 31, no.3, but had discarded and replaced because he thought it too brilliant. Even with these short cuts, Beethoven was scrambling to finish the piece in time, and summoned his student Ferdinand Ries at 4:30 one morning to copy out the violin part of the first movement. Poor Bridgetower had to read the middle variation movement from Beethoven’s messy manuscript at the concert, while the composer played from sketches. Luckily the last movement, because of its earlier origin, was in decent shape. Bridgetower later wrote that Beethoven was pleased with his playing, especially his improvisation on a “flight” in the piano part during the repeat of the fast part of the first movement. For his part Beethoven highly recommended Bridgetower as “a capable virtuoso who has a complete command of his instrument.” The composer wrote in his typical punning style on a draft score in quasi-Italian—untranslatable since “mulattica” and “mulattico” are made-up words—“Sonata mulattica composta per il mulatto Brischdauer, gran pazzo e compositore mulattico ,” meaning something like “A sonata of mixed colors, for the mulatto Bridgetower, big crazy person and mixed-up composer.” So why did Beethoven dedicate the Sonata to French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer instead of Bridgetower? Late in his life Bridgetower reported that he and Beethoven had been constant companions at the time the Sonata was composed and that the first copy bore a dedication to him. Before he left Vienna, however, they had a quarrel “about a girl” and when Beethoven published the work he dedicated it to Kreutzer. Beethoven may have been trying to help pave the way for a projected visit to France with this dedication, but there seems to be no evidence that Kreutzer ever played the Sonata. This powerful Violin Sonata, associated with two violin virtuosos, is Beethoven’s most popular and brilliant. The composer acknowledged this quality when he labeled it: “written in a highly concertante style, almost in the manner of a concerto.” Russian author Leo Tolstoy also recognized its power when he used the first movement of the Kreutzer Sonata in his short story of the same name to incite his tragic hero to a crime of passion. Leoš Janáček, in turn, based his First String Quartet on Tolstoy’s story. The Kreutzer Sonata is Beethoven’s only violin sonata to open with a slow introduction. He presents the violin alone at first, in regal A major, but the demonic, tempestuous main part of the movement occurs in A minor . A momentary halt of the driving momentum allows the chorale-like second theme to illuminate the scene briefly. It bears a certain relationship to the slow introduction, which Beethoven also recalls in the coda. In the second movement a rich theme begets four variations—the first playful, the second with repeated notes in perpetual motion, the third with an air of tragedy, the fourth ethereally florid—followed by an extended introspective coda. Bridgetower recalled about the premiere: “Beethoven’s expression in the Andante was so chaste, which always characterized the performance of all his slow movements, that it was unanimously hailed to be repeated twice.” The transplanted finale caps the Sonata brilliantly. A crashing A major chord cancels the remote key of the variation movement and launches a whirling movement based on the rhythm of the fast Italian dance known as the tarantella. Leading a merry chase through quasi-fugal terrain, “hunting” calls, breakneck “spinning” passages, and witty restarts, Beethoven ingeniously unfurls a sonata-rondo that pauses only to regain momentum. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

January 29, 2023: Danish String Quartet WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Divertimento in F, K. 138 January 29, 2023: Danish String Quartet Mozart’s Divertimento in F major, K. 125c, is one of a set of three written in Salzburg during the winter months of 1772, after Mozart had returned from his second journey to Italy. The Italian influence certainly seems present in these works, for they all use the three-movement structure then popular in Italian symphonies, direct descendants of the three-part opera overtures. Clear echoes can also be perceived of the young Mozart’s most admired composers, Joseph Haydn and Johann Christian Bach. The F major Divertimento’s first movement follows sonata form, as do most of the movements in these Divertimentos. The interplay between the two violin parts is especially striking. The lovely slow movement, also in sonata form, contains a truly melting second theme: long held notes in the two violins, reached each time by leap in a dotted rhythm, culminating in suspensions against contrasting figuration in the lower voices. The sparkling Presto finale, a rondo, is all too brief. The presence and character of the minor episode in the finale is particularly reminiscent of J. C. Bach. These three Divertimentos, K. 125a, b, and c (K. 136–138), present interesting questions similar to those surrounding the famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik: it is not clear whether these works were meant to be performed as string quartets or by larger string ensembles. Though they sound equally compelling in both settings, historical evidence suggests that Mozart envisioned them being played with one on a part—not, though, by the typical string quartet, but the “divertimento quartet” comprised of two violins, viola, and bass. The illustration on the title page of Mozart’s Musical Joke shows such a quartet with the addition of two horns. The matter was not of great importance to Mozart, and the great Mozart scholar Alfred Einstein suggested that Mozart and his father might have taken the Divertimentos along to Milan, and if asked for a new symphony could have simply added oboe and horn parts. Scholars even differ as to the correct title of the Divertimentos—the alternate names of “Quartett-Divertimenti” and “Salzburg-Symphonies” have been used; the title “Divertimento” on the original autograph was not written in Mozart’s hand. If, however, one takes the broadest definition of the word divertimento, namely entertainment or amusement, these works provide just that. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

MAURYCY BANASZEK, VIOLA Maurycy Banaszek was born in Warsaw, Poland. He has performed at the Marlboro, Seattle, Santa Fe, Aldeburgh, Moritzburg, Mozart, Kingston, Martha’s Vineyard, Warsaw Autumn festivals. He regularly tours with the Musicians from Marlboro and appears at the Barge Music in New York. As a founding member of The Elsner String Quartet he has played in such prestigious venues as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, among others. In August 1998 he was invited by the members of the legendary Amadeus String Quartet to perform at the Amadeus Quartet 50th Anniversary Gala Concert in London. He was recently invited to be the soloist with the New Jersey Lyric Orchestra at their Carnegie Hall debut performance and with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra in Jordan Hall, Boston. He was also chosen by Gidon Kremer to participate in Chamber Music Connects the World Festival in Kronberg, Germany where he performed with the Guarneri String Quartet. He holds a position of Principal Viola at the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. He is also a founding member of ECCO – the conductor-less chamber orchestra. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he studied with Michael Tree. He plays a viola made by Hiroshi Iizuka in Philadelphia in 1997.

May 19, 2019: Friedrich Heinrich Kern, glass harmonica WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Adagio in C, K. 617a for glass harmonica May 19, 2019: Friedrich Heinrich Kern, glass harmonica Please see the Adagio and Rondo, K. 617, for background on the glass armonica and Marianne Kirchgässner. Mozart most likely composed the brief, lovely Adagio in C major for glass armonica virtuoso Marianne Kirchgässner in late 1791, about the same time he composed the K. 617 quintet for her. In only twenty-eight measures (fifty-six, counting repeats), Mozart perfectly shows off the instrument’s ethereal qualities. The piece unfolds in rounded binary form, that is, two sections, each repeated, the second of which opens with contrasting material followed by a return to the opening music. Mozart incorporates elegant little embellishments when this opening returns. As with K. 617, Friedrich Heinrich Kern plays the Adagio on the verrophone, a modern version of the glass armonica. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Toccata in D, BMV 912 March 19, 2023 – Rachel Naomi Kudo, piano Bach composed seven manualiter toccatas, BWV 910–916, whose designation toccata refers to pieces that display a keyboardist’s dexterity and manualiter means “hands only” as opposed to those requiring pedals. Therefore these pieces were to be played on a keyboard instrument other than organ—such as the harpsichord in the eighteenth century. Bach never collected these toccatas under a single title, but they represent the culmination of the genre, begun in the sixteenth century and in Bach’s case likely influenced by early Baroque German models comprised of several distinct contrasting sections. Precise dating has proved impossible, but scholars typically designate a range of “?before 1708” to “before 1714,” which places them before or during his tenure at the court of Weimar. The date often given for the D major Toccata, BWV 912, is “before 1710,” with an early version possibly dating from c. 1707. That could have been during Bach’s year in Mühlhausen, June 1707–June 1708, or in Arnstadt where he was organist from 1703 to 1707. In June 1708 Bach took up the post of court organist at Weimar, where Duke Wilhelm Ernst is said to have greatly enjoyed Bach’s playing, so it is likely that Bach himself performed his toccatas for his employer. It is equally possible that they could have been played by one or more of his talented students, but there is no specific evidence that he intended them for teaching, as he did with other works (mentioned above in connection with the French Suites). The D major Toccata, like the other six, closes with a fugue and like all but one (G major, BWV 916) opens with an improvisatory prelude. This brief lively opening is striking for its similarity to the D major organ Prelude and Fugue, BWV 532, which may date from around the same time, especially as to its to ascending scales, which Bach extends locally and employs in dramatic descents in the extended Adagio transition to the first fugue. Prior to that, however, the prelude brings on a captivating Allegro that unfolds with rondo-like recurring passages. Modulatory excursions into the minor mode and similar journeys in the ensuing recitative-like Adagio prepare for the first fugue in F-sharp minor. This fugue offers a somewhat introspective exploration of that key with three expositions of the simultaneous subject/countersubject pair, seamlessly connected by two brief episodes. Following another dramatic declamatory transition, the final fugue gallops along in 6/16 meter much like a perpetual-motion gigue until its final arresting bars. For the C minor Toccata, BWV 911, scholars suggest a date of “before 1714,” which was the year Bach added the title and rank of Konzertmeister to the post of court organist that he had begun at Weimar in 1708. Thus its earliest performers were likely the same as for the D major Toccata above and the other manualiter toccatas, that is, Bach himself or possibly his sons or students. The C minor Toccata begins with an improvisatory, ornate-style introduction, followed by a relatively short Adagio, maintaining a lamenting mood. The main portion of the piece consists of a massive fugue, interrupted by a recitative-like passage, after which Bach introduces a second subject and launches into a double fugue (treatment of his two subjects in contrapuntal combination). A majestic adagio passage brings Bach’s mighty work to a close. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) Piano Sonata No. 50 in C Hob. XVI: 50 October 17, 2021: Roman Rabinovich, piano While he was in London in 1794 Haydn composed his last three piano sonatas—in C major, D major, and E-flat major—for professional pianist and teacher Therese Jansen; his final works for piano trio were also written for her. The firm friendship he formed with both Therese and her fiancé Gaetano Bartolozzi is affirmed by his standing as a witness to their marriage in 1795. Her pianistic abilities are reflected in all the works he wrote for her; this C major Sonata in particular required the manual dexterity for combinations of parallel thirds and broken octaves as well as a wide range of color and nuance. Laid out on a grand scale, the first movement of the late C major Sonata nevertheless begins in single triadic notes that then open out into two voices, then three, and culminate in full rolled chords. The second theme, as so often with Haydn, is closely related to the first. But perhaps the most striking features of the movement are Haydn’s performance directions. The most notable of these is the marking (possibly not in his hand) for “open pedal” in the development section, where he modulates to A-flat major, and again in the recapitulation. This direction has been variously interpreted to mean: 1) raise the dampers, which creates a blurring effect, 2) employ the una corda pedal, which softens the tone, or 3) use the two pedals jointly! Other notable directions occur with the aforementioned interplay of thirds and octaves, which require very detailed crescendos and diminuendos. The Adagio sounds improvisatory but actually unfolds in sonata form. Typical of this type of slow movement, the development section is short, consisting only of ten measures. The recapitulation is nicely elaborated, perhaps in admiration of the slow movement of Mozart’s B-flat major Sonata, K. 315c (K. 333) composed ten years earlier. Haydn’s finale suggests a scherzo with its triple meter and joking manner. Outrageously short in proportion to the first movement, the movement stresses the deliberately grotesque cadence in the tenth bar, fashioned out of the motive that first appeared in the third bar. The “contrasting” section that alternates two times with the main theme is so closely related to it that Haydn’s monothematic tendencies are again recalled. After each “contrasting” section the opening material returns in a varied version that contains the added curiosity of the note A in the register three octaves above middle C. This note was available on certain English pianos but not those on the Continent. The movement closes before Haydn’s witticisms can wear out their welcome. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2022 AT 4 PM SITKOVETSKY PIANO TRIO BUY TICKETS SITKOVETSKY TRIO Winners of BBC Music Magazine’s 2022 Chamber Music Award “Like three good friends enjoying a glass of wine and intimate conversation, the Sitkovetsky Trio sparkle with conviviality.” — BBC Music Magazine FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS One of today’s premier chamber ensembles, the Sitkovetsky Trio consists of Russian violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, German-Korean cellist Isang Enders, and Chinese pianist Wu Qian. Their international fusion of musical passion, personal rapport, and ensemble sophistication has brought them worldwide acclaim and yearly invitations to appear at such renowned venues as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall, New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, and Paris’s Palais des Beaux Arts. For their Parlance debut, they will perform piano trios by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and the engaging young Irish composer Sam Perkin. PROGRAM Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in G, Op. 1, No. 2 Program Notes Sam Perkin Freakshow Program Notes Ludwig van Beethoven Allegretto WoO 39 Program Notes Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66 Program Notes Watch the Sitkovetsky Trio play the Finale of Ravel’s Piano Trio:

December 16, 2018: Emerson Quartet DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975) String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, op. 110 December 16, 2018: Emerson Quartet The Eighth is probably the best known of Shostakovich’s string quartets because of its compact drama, its quotations from his own earlier works, and its pervasive use of the motto D.SCH, drawn from the initials of his first and last names. (He used Dimitri Schostakowitsch, the German transliteration, which in German musical notation equates to D, E-flat, C, and B-natural.) This “autobiographical” Quartet was composed in only three days, July 12–14, 1960, while the composer was in Dresden supposedly working on the score for a World War II film entitled Five Days, Five Nights. The Quartet that occupied him instead was officially dedicated “to the memory of the victims of fascism and war,” but it masked an inner dedication—to the composer himself. Shostakovich had just been coerced to join the Communist Party and he viewed his submission with self-loathing. His deep depression prompted the contemplation of his own mortality; one scholar and friend of Shostakovich suggested that the composer thought of the Eighth Quartet not only as autobiographical but at the time as his final work. He had in essence written his own Requiem. On July 19, 1960, Shostakovich wrote to his friend Isaak Glikman: “I have been considering that when I die, scarcely anyone will write a work in my memory. Therefore I have decided to write one myself. Then on the cover they can print: ‘Dedicated to the author of this Quartet.’ The main theme of the Quartet is the notes D-S-C-H, my initials. The Quartet contains themes from my works and the revolutionary song ‘Zamuchon tyazholoy nevoley’ [Tormented by Heavy Captivity]. My themes are the following: from the First Symphony, the Eighth Symphony, the [Second Piano] Trio, the [First] Cello Concerto and from Lady Macbeth. I have made allusions to Wagner (Funeral March from Götterdämmerung) and Tchaikovsky (second theme from the first movement of the Sixth Symphony). Oh yes, I forgot my Tenth Symphony. A nice mish-mash.” His continuation described how much he had wept during and after the Quartet’s completion, but in terms of a pseudo-tragedy. Shostakovich was already able to distance himself enough from the emotional content to admire the form of the work as a whole. The Quartet consists of five movements played without pause, unified by the D-S-C-H motto. The motto also announces the various quotations throughout the work—first played by the cello then imitated by the other instruments, it introduces his first self-quotation, from the First Symphony. The second movement provides contrast by means of speed, texture, and constant loud dynamics. After the prominent intoning of the motto by viola and cello, Shostakovich quotes what he calls “the Jewish theme” from his Second Piano Trio. The main theme of the third movement transforms the motto into a kind of grotesque waltz. Shostakovich quotes from his First Cello Concerto in one of the episodes, and the extension of this quotation becomes the first theme of the fourth movement. Music from his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is quoted both in this and the fifth movement, but the most poignant quotation, again introduced by the motto, is the revolutionary funeral march for prisoners “Tormented by Heavy Captivity.” The fifth movement, a recapitulation-reminiscence of the first movement, closes the work in the tragic mood that pervades the entire Quartet. Even without knowing the sources of the quotations or that Shostakovich was recalling works of special significance in his life, the listener is struck by the dark seriousness of the work and the soul-searching quality it conveys—a characteristic often associated with the late Beethoven quartets. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano. This piece was also performed on January 18, 2026 by cellist Jonathan Swenson and pianist Orion Weiss. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Seven Variations on Bei Männern from Mozart's Magic Flute for cello and piano September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano. This piece was also performed on January 18, 2026 by cellist Jonathan Swenson and pianist Orion Weiss. Beethoven composed works in the popular vein just as industriously as he created his most soul-searching and original masterpieces of “art” music. Every famous and not-so-famous composer of his day, as in preceding generations, considered improvising or writing sets of variations practical tools of the composer’s art. Beethoven’s skill at improvising on a theme given to him on the spot was legendary, but he was also enough of a businessman to know that writing down and publishing variation sets was a lucrative business, especially if the varied theme were a popular tune from an opera that was making the rounds. Beethoven especially admired Mozart’s operas, though he was equally adept at varying less elegant themes, thereby rescuing them from ultimate obscurity. In the 1790s Beethoven had composed variations on tunes from three great Mozart operas: “La ci darem” from Don Giovanni for two oboes and English horn, “Se vuol ballare” from Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) for violin and piano, and “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) for cello and piano. In 1801 he was again drawn to The Magic Flute—and the same cello-piano combination—this time for a set of variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” (A man who feels love), originally an exquisite duet between the comic birdcatcher Papageno and Princess Pamina. Beethoven’s immediate stimulus was probably a revival produced around that time by Emanuel Schikaneder, the opera’s librettist and original portrayer of Papageno. Beethoven’s manuscript for the “Bei Männern” Variations shows a crossed-out dedication, probably to Countess von Fries, whose husband had just received the dedication of the Violin Sonatas, opp. 23 and 24. Evidently changing his mind, the composer inscribed the work instead to Count Johann Georg von Browne-Camus, whom Beethoven had described as “the Maecenas of my Muse” in the dedication of his String Trios, op. 9. Beethoven dedicated a number of works to the count, whose generosity extended even to presenting him with a horse for dedicating to his wife the Variations on a Russian Dance from Wranitzky’s “Das Waldmädchen.” As in many of his variation sets, Beethoven follows tradition by including variations of contrasting tempos and characters, a minor-key variation, and an elaborate and extended final variation. He preserves Mozart’s tender quality in the presentation of the theme—even suggesting the two singing roles by switching the melody between the piano right hand and the cello. He does, however, leave the stamp of his personality by making some subtle, fascinating changes in Mozart’s rhythm and articulation. The quiet but sprightly first variation breaks the mood and immediately shows that piano and cello are to be equal partners as they begin in counterpoint. The virtuosity for both is stepped up in the next variation, whereas the third calls for sweetness and grace. Variation 4, the minor-mode variation, presents a haunting kind of melancholy, featuring the cello in its lower range. The capricious fifth variation provides a foil both to this and to the Adagio variation that follows. Here the tenderness returns with an added layer of poignance and elegant figuration. The extended final variation offers a procession of characters from dancelike to stormy, and injects a last moment of reflection just before the energetic concluding chords. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

ANDREW TYSON, PIANO Hailed by BBC Radio 3 as “a real poet of the piano,” American pianist Andrew Tyson is emerging as a distinctive and important new musical voice. In summer 2015, he was awarded First Prize at the Géza Anda Competition in Zürich, as well as the Mozart and Audience Prizes. These victories have resulted in numerous performances throughout Europe under the auspices of the Géza Anda Foundation. Tyson is also a laureate of the Leeds International Piano Competition where he won the new Terence Judd-Hallé Orchestra Prize, awarded by the orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder with whom he enjoys an ongoing relationship. With concerto performances taking him across North America, Europe and further afield, Tyson has performed with orchestras from North Carolina Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Kansas City Symphony and Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Alice Tully Hall, to Osaka Symphony, SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, Musikkollegium Winterthur and National Orchestra of Belgium. Highlights this season include a return to the Hallé and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras as well as his debut with Flanders Symphony Orchestra. Recital appearances include major cities across the U.S. and Europe at venues such as Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Zürich Tonhalle. Following last season’s recitals in Shanghai, Vancouver, St. Petersburg, Tokyo and a return to London’s Wigmore Hall, this season sees Tyson giving recitals in Taiwan for the first time as well as a tour in Switzerland. No stranger to the festival scene, Tyson’s previous performances include Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Lucerne Piano Festival, Pacific Music Festival in Japan and the Musica Viva festival in Sydney for a mixture of solo and chamber performances. An active chamber musician, Tyson regularly appears in recital with violinist Benjamin Beilman; this season they join up again for performances in the U.S. Tyson’s three recital discs apppear on the Alpha Classics label. His debut disc comprises the complete Chopin Preludes while his second album released in March 2017 features works by Scriabin and Ravel. His latest disc, Landscapes, released in September 2019, features works by Mompou, Albéniz, Scarlatti and Schubert and is described by Tyson as a program which “synthesizes my love of Spanish music, my love of nature and my fascination with the coloristic aspects of piano playing.” The album title takes its name from Federico Mompou’s Paisajes, which are “landscapes of the mind as much as intimate, yet vivid depictions of Spain.” As winner of the Young Concert Artists International auditions in 2011, Tyson was awarded YCA’s Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize and the John Browning Memorial Prize. An Avery Fisher Career Grant soon followed. After early studies with Thomas Otten he attended The Curtis Institute of Music where he worked with Claude Frank. Tyson later studied with Robert McDonald earning his Master’s degree and Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School, winning the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and receiving the Arthur Rubinstein Prize in Piano.

October 5, 2014 – Osmo Vänska, clarinet; Erin Keefe, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945) Contrasts, BB 116 October 5, 2014 – Osmo Vänska, clarinet; Erin Keefe, violin; Gilles Vonsattel, piano If the celebrated “king of swing” clarinetist Benny Goodman had not commissioned a work from Bartók, the composer probably would never have written a chamber work that included a wind instrument—this was the sole instance. In 1938 Bartók’s old friend, violinist Joseph Szigeti, wrote to him on behalf of Goodman to commission a chamber work the two could play together. The clarinetist made some very specific requests: he wanted a short work—six to seven minutes so it could fit on two sides of a 78 rpm recording—that should contain two movements, one in each of the Hungarian styles lassú (slow) and friss (fast) that Bartók had made so popular in his Rhapsodies. The composer, however, couldn’t help but respond as he had to previous commission requirements: he wrote what he wanted! Bartók did begin along the specified parameters, completing two movements—now the outer two—probably in August 1938, though they were considerably longer than expected. Goodman, Szigeti, and pianist Endre Petri performed these Two Dances, as they were called, at Carnegie Hall on January 9, 1939. The opening Verbunkos (Recruiting dance) movement possessed a livelier character than that of a lassú introduction, so already in September 1938 Bartók composed a slow movement to separate his two dances, though he waited until December to inform Goodman. The premiere of this complete version, finally named Contrasts, occurred in April 1940 when Bartók came to New York and played the piano part in a now-famous Columbia recording with Goodman and Szigeti. The same trio played the work live in Boston on February 4, 1941, and after Goodman’s three-year period of exclusive performance rights expired, chamber groups everywhere took up the colorful piece. As a proper recruiting dance should, the opening movement struts and postures, and includes the typical kind of melodic ornamentation that reflects Bartók’s familiarity with the national style. Both violin and clarinet are given ample opportunities to show off. After the initial march idea, the composer introduces a memorable theme that is ripe with characteristic Hungarian short-long rhythms. Just before the end Bartók provides a clarinet cadenza that displays the instrument’s range both in pitch and dynamics. The slow movement, Pihenő (Relaxation), projects a more serious quality, incorporating sounds that biographer Halsey Stevens suggests were inspired by Bartók’s study of Indonesian gamelan music. A brilliant shimmering passage introduces trills, pizzicato, and murmuring motives associated with what Bartók called “night music,” first introduced in his Out of Doors for piano in 1926. For the only time in any of his works, Bartók employed scordatura (unusual tuning of a string instrument) here in his whirlwind finale. Sebes (Fast dance) begins with the violin taking up a fiddle tuned with the bottom string raised and the top string lowered by a half step. As a result his opening chords sound like the beginning of a danse macabre—similar to Saint-Saëns’s famous example, which also uses scordatura. Bartók also has the clarinetist trade an A clarinet for one in B-flat in the movement’s outer sections, which changes the color slightly, but also reflects the curious tonality of the work—one of its contrasts?—ending in a different key than it began. Bartók interrupts the movement’s frantic perpetual motion for a slower middle section that features a plaintive melody and eerie washes of sound. Here the piano creeps in contrary motion against the slithering of the violin and clarinet, all in a complex meter of 13/8. The composer employs myriad effects from glissandos and “honking” grace notes to a cadenza of violin pyrotechnics to make this one of chamber music’s most riveting finales. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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