Mainstage Concert 3 – July 22, 2021
Mainstage Concert 3 – July 22, 2021
2:00PM & 7:30PM, Arkell Pavilion, SVAC
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (b. Russia | d. Russia; 1840 – 1893)
Méditation in D minor for Violin & Piano, Op. 42 No. 1 (composed 1878)
The opening piece of a suite of three short works for violin and piano entitled “Souvenir d’un lieu cher,” or “Remembrance of a dear place,” Méditation is one of Tchaikovsky’s iconic instrumental compositions, showcasing his penchant for melody and heart-on-sleeve expression. Composed amidst personal turmoil – an immediately failed marriage and subsequent messy divorce – Tchaikovsky wrote this suite at the home of his staunch supporter and patroness, Nadezhda von Meck. The composer’s own words shed light on his sensitive emotional state at the time, “On giving these pieces to Marcel (Tchaikovsky’s manager), I experienced an indescribable melancholy, which stayed with me even as I sat down to write this; until I saw the lilacs still in full bloom, the grass still long, and the roses only just starting to blossom!”
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (b. Germany | d. Germany; 1809 – 1947)
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 (composed 1839)
Little did Mendelssohn know as he set out to compose this work – at a time when chamber music was no longer quite in vogue – that he would create one of the most beloved masterpieces of all time. Already musical tastes were shifting under the thrall of an emerging Richard Wagner and the hyper-virtuoso pianists who frequented European musical salons, such as Franz Liszt. Music had become larger-than-life, theatrical, and extroverted; yet Mendelssohn’s delicate sensibilities grounded his style in a nuanced approach to composition that drew equally upon the influences of both past and present.
In the Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49, Mendelssohn successfully straddles these diverging worlds, forming a highly-structured composition driven by robust interaction among the three instruments. The virtuosic first movement is marked by a stern temperament and pulsating energy, pushing ever forward with only brief respites along the way. The introspective second movement flows gently and calmly and depicts a world of chaste beauty. The fleet third movement is a prototype for what we readily associate with “Mendelssohnian” charm: a lighthearted and whimsical scherzo along similar lines to those of his infectious “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20. Returning to a sphere of drama, the fourth movement begins with quiet agitation, and a radiant second theme – introduced by the cello – gradually grows in power and scope. The frenetic main textures ultimately morph with the second theme in a coda that bubbles with enthusiastic energy, bringing this monumental composition to a rousing finish.
Frédéric Chopin (b. Poland | d. France; 1810 – 1849)
Introduction & Polonaise Brillante for Cello & Piano, Op. 3 (composed 1829)
Largely renowned for his body of solo piano works, Chopin did invest considerable energy toward the composition of select chamber music works, a number of which involved the cello. The Introduction & Polonaise Brillante for Cello & Piano, Op. 3, is perhaps the most well-known, the polonaise portion of which was composed quickly for a sojourn at the home of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł, himself an amateur composer and cellist. Chopin was self-deprecating in regard to the work, claiming “Nothing to it but dazzle, for the salon, for the ladies.” Yet, he subsequently added to the polonaise movement a lyrical slow introduction, one that casts the cello in exquisite bel canto melodies set in a nocturne-like atmosphere decorated by pearly runs in the piano. Despite Chopin’s initial misgivings, this composition reigns supreme among cello and piano works of the 19th century.
Arno Babadjanian (b. Armenia | d. Russia; 1921 – 1983)
Piano Trio in F-sharp minor (composed 1952)
This treasure of a work continues to gain in popularity as its author becomes increasingly well-known to audiences in the West, and it is worth noting that it was instantly proclaimed a masterpiece upon its world premiere. Perhaps Babadjanian’s friendly ties with the Soviet government contributed to his subsequent socio-political anonymity following the dissolution of the U.S.S.R., yet his music carries with it an unmistakable tie to the folk idioms of his Armenian homeland. For that reason, and certainly owing to the consistently high quality of his work, Babadjanian is championed as an Armenian national hero.
The first movement is full of seductive harmonies and flavorful melodies that flow across thick pianistic textures and complex interactions between the violin and cello. The emotional second movement begins with a violin melody set in an otherworldly high register, floating in the stratosphere before descending to more “earthly” realms with the entrance of the cello. The movement proceeds with increasing urgency before returning to the innocent sweetness of the opening area. The energetic finale is set in a 5/8 meter and features a frenetic asymmetrical dance rhythm. Toward the middle, the music transitions toward areas of harmonic uncertainty that eventually recapitulate a return to the first movement’s main theme, crowning the work in a rhapsodic flourish.