Schulhoff - String Quartet No. 1

Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer that embraced many styles of  music in his lifetime. He was born in 1894 and as a child was encouraged by Dvořák. He began his studies at the Prague Conservatory when he was ten years old and later went on to study with Claude Debussy and Max Reger. He was a proficient pianist as well as composer.

He found inspiration in early jazz music and was part of the avant garde music scene in Europe after World War One and helped organize concerts of avant garde music. Schulhoff had this to say about revolution and music:

Absolute art is revolution, it requires additional facets for development, leads to overthrow (coups) in order to open new paths...and is the most powerful in music.... The idea of revolution in art has evolved for decades, under whatever sun the creators live, in that for them art is the commonality of man. This is particularly true in music, because this art form is the liveliest, and as a result reflects the revolution most strongly and deeply–the complete escape from imperialistic tonality and rhythm, the climb to an ecstatic change for the better.

Schulhoff was friends with the Austrian composer Alban Berg and wrote the following in a letter to him:

I am boundlessly fond of nightclub dancing, so much so that I have periods during which I spend whole nights dancing with one hostess or another...out of pure enjoyment of the rhythm and with my subconscious filled with sensual delight.... [T]hereby I acquire phenomenal inspiration for my work, as my conscious mind is incredibly earthly, even animal as it were.

Schulhoff's early compositions could be strange and quirky. For example, he wrote a Sonata For Female Voice Solo that had a soprano spend several minutes faking a notated orgasm, a piece for solo contra bassoon where the soloist is supposed to make soulful liquid bird calls. His went through stylistic changes during his career and his third major stylistic change came when he was most active as a composer,between the years 1923 and 1932. Schulhoff integrated many elements into his own style of modernist music.

His last years were dominated by the politics of social realism and Communist ideology. He was living in Czechoslovakia when the Nazis attained power in Germany and his Communist sympathies and Jewish heritage resulted in his music being banned in Germany. When the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia he worked as a pianist in clubs and on the radio under a false name to make a living. He applied to the Soviet Union for citizenship in 1941 and was accepted, but before he could leave he was arrested and deported to a concentration camp where he died in 1942 of tuberculosis.

His String Quartet No. 1 was composed in his third stylistic period in 1923. It is a work that lasts just a little over a quarter of an hour and reflects many of the trends of the time. It is in 4 movements:

I. Presto con fuoco -  Schulhoff celebrates his Czech heritage with a lively, almost perpetual motion folk dance. The rhythmic drive is constant and in a matter of about two minutes it ends abruptly.

II. Allegretto con moto e con malinconia grotesca - The music is as different as the title of the movement would suggest. Schulhoff utilizes pizzicato, ponticello (bowing close to the bridge which gives a glassy, ethereal quality to the tone) and sliding on the strings to add tonal color. The movement ends with pizzicato notes.

III. Allegro giocoso alla Slovacca - Another odd title, this music is also like a folk dance, but Schulhoff continues to make much of the possible sonorities of the strings as the players pluck strings with enough force to slap the fingerboard. Pizzicato is also used, as well as strumming on the strings like a guitar.

IV. Andante molto sostenuto - This may well be the biggest surprise in the work as this movement brings a different atmosphere far removed from the wit and vivacity of the first three movements. The mood is somber, the pace slow. There is a feeling of mystery and other worldliness to the music as string effects add to the eeriness of the sound.  A ticking underpins the subdued music until it evaporates.

Chopin - Sonata in G Minor For Piano And Cello

Frédéric Chopin has been called the poet of the piano, and for good reason. Chopin wrote over 200 hundred pieces in his short life with the vast majority of them being for solo piano, some of the greatest music ever written for any instrument. Early in his career he composed two piano concertos and 4 other works for piano and orchestra, a few songs for voice and piano, and a handful of chamber music pieces. But it is interesting to note that all of Chopin's collected works were either for the piano or included the piano.  Seldom has a major composer been associated almost exclusively with one instrument.

After the piano, the cello seems to have been Chopin's favorite instrument. He wrote three pieces for cello and piano, more than for any other instrument. Two of the pieces were written early in his career while the Sonata For Piano And Cello was written late in his career, and it was the last work to be published while the composer was alive.

It was written in 1845-1846, a time of personal turmoil and physical illness for Chopin. His relationship with George Sand, the French authoress, had come to an end and the tuberculosis that he had been suffering with for years was getting worse.  He struggled with the sonata and wrote to his sister:

I write a little and cross out a lot. Sometimes I am pleased with it, sometimes not. I throw it into a corner and pick it up again. 

Auguste Franchomme

Chopin wrote the sonata for his friend the cellist Auguste Franchomme and also dedicated the work to him.  The work has never been a popular one, but it does give a glimpse of where Chopin may have been headed with his music if he had lived longer.  The sonata is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro moderato -  The work begins with an introduction by the piano. After this, the cello enters with a theme that is taken from material in the introduction. Most of the material of the first movement is derived from the piano introduction. The second theme is more gentle and is not developed; when it appears again it remains the same as its first hearing. New themes are heard with each changing the character of the mood. Indeed, the ever-changing moods and complexity of the first movement has been one of the reasons the sonata is not one of Chopin's more popular works. The development section continues introducing themes and changing others. The recapitulation is much shorter as some  f the themes are not revisited, but the gentle second theme is heard once again. Chopin pushes the music to the conclusion of the movement and it ends with two terse chords.

II. Scherzo -  The scherzo is written in D minor and varies from lyrical to rapid runs and hammered chords. The trio is in D major with a long melody sung by the cello.  The scherzo is repeated and ends with a loud chord.

III. Largo -  A brief nocturne written in B-flat major. Piano and cello have a tender conversation that gently ends all too soon.

IV. Finale, Allegro -  Chopin begins the finale with a dramatic theme. The second theme is less dramatic but still carries the dotted rhythms of the  first theme. The dotted rhythms continue as Chopin changes the mood with material in the major mode. The development section has Chopin treat material contrapuntally. The tempo increases and both instruments make their way to the brilliant ending in G major.

Borodin - String Quartet No. 2 In D Major

Borodin was a higly respected chemist, physician and teacher that was also an extremely gifted composer. Borodin was the illegitimate son of a Russian noble who had the child registered as the son of one of the nobleman's serfs. The nobleman saw to it that the child had a good general education as wel las music lessons. Borodin entered the Medical-Surgical Academy and upon graduation spent a year as an army surgeon, aftedr which he studied in Europe. He went back to St. Petersburg and became a professor of chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy. Borodin was an advocate for women's rights and was instrumental in establishing medical courses for women.

The 2nd string quartet was written in 1881 and it is one of the few works that didn't take years to complete, as it was written while he was on a vacation.  He dedicated the quartet to his wife on their 25th anniversary.
The quartet was popular during his life but it reached its peak of popularity in the early 1950's when some of the themes from the quartet (along with themes from other Borodin works) were used in the Broadway musical Kismet. The quartet is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro moderato - The quartet opens with a delicate theme in the key of D major. This theme segues into the second theme that is slightly more robust but maintains a lyrical quality. The development begins with the first theme heard in the cello. The recapitulation follows the same general plan of the exposition, but the second theme is first heard in E-flat major before it modulates to the home key of D major. Borodin manages to keep the lyrical quality throughout the first movement with just enough contrast to keep the interest of the listener.

II. Scherzo: Allegro -  The scherzo begins in F major with a rapid first theme. The second theme appears and it was one of the themes used in the musical Kismet in a song called Baubles, Bangles and Beads.  The movement is not in the traditional form of a scbherzo, but it is in sonata form. After the two themes are played at the beginning, a development section has both themes played in counterpoint, sometimes both are incorporated at the same time. The recapitulation has the themes repeated with the second theme modulating to F major. A short coda brings sthe movement to a quiet close.

III. Notturno: Andante - The cello plays the beautiful theme first, and then the violin takes it up. This theme was also used in the musical. The middle section the tempo quickens slightly into a dance. The opening theme appears again, this time with modulations to minor keys that bring a sense of drama to the duet between cello and violin. The two instruments respond with a contrapuntal duet of the theme.  The theme is developed and repeated until the instruments reach a serene and quiet end to the movement.

IV. Finale: Andante, Vivace - The movement begins with an odd question and answer introduction that has the main theme of the movement presented in two sections, the question )played by the violins) interrupted by short sections, the answer (played by cello and viola). The pizaccato cello leads the beginning of the movement proper and the music increases in tempo. The movement is in sonata form, and the second theme maintains the speed of the first theme. The development section begins with the question (this time in the cello and viola) and answer (this time in the violins) as the exposition. The recapitulation begins with the question and answer, but this time all 4 instruments play it. Both themes are played and a short coda rounds off the quartet in the home key of D major.

Franck- Piano Trio No.1 In F-sharp Minor Opus 1 No. 1

César Franck's first composition acknowledged by him was a set of Piano Trios which were composed in his last years as a conservatory student. He was eighteen when he began the 1st Piano Trio in F-sharp minor in 1840. Franz Liszt saw the set of piano trios and offered constructive criticism and encouragement. Liszt performed them after he settled in Wiemar as Kappelmeister to the court there.  In 1845  Franck composed an oratorio that had a private performance for Liszt and other musicians. The work was a mild success, but when it had its first public performance a year later it received harsh criticism. Franck shelved the work and took up the life of a teacher, accompanist and composed a few smaller works on commission.

The 1st Piano Trio is Franck's early attempt at writing in cyclical form in which an entire composition is based on a few themes that keep returning in each movement. He was to perfect the form in his later compositions beginning in 1872. The 1st Piano Trio is in 3 movements:

I. Andante con moto - The movement begins with the solo piano playing the lead in to the first theme in F-sharp minor that is taken up by the cello. This theme is played three times during the movement. Franck relieves some of the monotony of the theme with expanding the theme, and one of the repeats has the theme treated fugally. The second contrasting theme is in F-sharp major and is played and developed twice in the movement. These two themes are not especially notable, but tension is built up by the contrast between the two.  The first theme comes back to finish the movement abruptly.

II.  Allegro molto - A scherzo in B minor that has two trio sections, with the second trio being a reworking of the second theme of the first movement. The first theme of the opening movement returns after the second trio and leads directly to the last movement.

III.  Finale: Allegro maestoso - The final movement is in F-sharp major sonata form with the first theme being a variant of the first theme of the opening movement. The second theme is written in D-flat major, the enharmonic equivalent of C-sharp major, the dominant of the home key of the movement. The plodding first theme returns and leads to a section in D major, which in turn leads to the recapitulation.  The movement ends in F-sharp major.

Franck's 1st Piano Trio has been criticized for being monotonous. While it is true that this early attempt at cyclical form pales in comparison to his later works, the 1st Piano Trio does give a glimpse of things to come. Liszt has been given his due for his contribution to cyclical form, but he was far from the first composer to use it.  Franck was slow to develop as a composer, and no doubt he learned a great deal from Liszt's use of the form.

Brahms - Piano Trio No. 3 In C minor Opus 101

Brahms wrote his third piano trio in 1886 while vacationing at Lake Thun in Switzerland. The scenery inspired Brahms, for in addition to the piano trio he wrote a cello sonata and violin sonata. It was a time in Brahms' life when all but one of his orchestral works (the Double Concerto for violin and cello) had been composed. He grew more introspective in his final years, writing mostly works for voice, solo piano and chamber ensembles.

The Piano Trio No. 3 is one of Brahms' shorter chamber works.  All of the movements are short but full of intensity. This trio was a favorite of Brahms' good friend Clara Schumann who turned pages for Brahms when he played the work with his two good friends the cellist Robert Hausmann and violinist Joseph Joachim. It is in 4 movements and takes just over 20 minutes in a typical performance:

I. Allegro energico - The work begins with a shout to grab the attention of the listener as the first theme rolls out of the three instruments with passion. The second theme is more lyrical but the restlessness of the first theme lurks in the background. There is not repeat of the exposition. A very short development section and condensed recapitulation lead to an impassioned coda that brings this very terse movement to a close.  

II. Presto non assai - The violin and cello are muted throughout this movement.  The music is quirky but it also has an underlying sense of melancholy. The movement is short, and ends abruptly.

III. Andante grazioso - A mellow theme, the strings have moments when they play a duet without the piano, and the piano has its solo moments also. Brahms has time signature changes of 9/8, 6/8, 3/4 and 2/4, which gives a slight hesitating quality to the music. This movement also ends abruptly in the key of C major.

IV. Allegro molto - The passion of the the opening movement returns in C minor until near the end when Brahms writes in C major. The music maintains its hectic pace and passion despite the major mode all the way to the end.

Enescu - Romanian Rhapsody No. 2 In D Major

Pablo Casals, the great Catalan cellist and conductor considered George Enescu  "The greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart." Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher that proved to be so musically precocious after he was given a violin at the age of four, that he was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory at the age of seven. After he graduated from the Vienna Conservatory at the age of thirteen, he went on to study at the Conservatoire de Paris for four years.

His earliest composition was written when he was 5 years old, a work for violin and piano. Much of his music uses themes from his Romanian homeland and a particularly strong influence was lăutărească music, music that was played by the Romani (formerly known as Gypsy) people that lived in Romania. This style of music is different than Romanian peasant music, as  lăutărească music was a conglomeration of styles that the Romani came in contact with in their nomadic lifestyle. They derived rhythmic diversitiy from Turkish music, modal scales from church music of Byzantium as well as many other influences. Many Middle and Eastern European countries have their own specific  lăutărească traditions, with one of the most well known being the flamenco music of the Romani people of Spain.

Enescu was influenced early on by lăutărească music as he was the pupil of a Romani violinist and made friends with lăutărească musicians and learned many of their songs.  Enescu composed the two Romanian Rhapsodies in 1901, early in his career as a composer. Both are still popular with No. 1 more popular than No.2, and Enescu conducted them many times in his life and recorded them three times. He came to loathe both of the rhapsodies for their popularity prevented his other compositions from getting as much exposure.

The Rhapsody No. 2 is in D Major and is more subtle and reflective than No. 1 in A Major.  The rhapsody begins with a short introduction before the lush first theme is quietly presented in the strings under a gently throbbing accompaniment. This theme is played a two times with different instrumentation in the same quiet dynamics until the theme is repeated the third time in a louder dynamic. A short interlude of an improvisatory nature leads to a repeat of the introduction which flows into another interlude that is given an exotic coloring by the solo cor anglaise. The first theme returns in a different guise and tempo. A solo flute plays over a timpani roll which leads to a short dance for viola solo. The music swells and leads to a solo flute that brings the rhapsody to a quiet close over hushed, tremolo strings.

Onslow - String Quartet No. 25 In B-flat Major Opus 50

George Onslow come from a long line of  English politicians, beginning with his Great-Grandfather Arthur Onslow who served as Speaker Of The House Of Commons for many years in the 18th century, while George's Grandfather (also named George) served in Parliament and was the first Earl of Onslow. George's uncle Thomas served in Parliament as did his father Edward.  The Onslow family remains involved in English politics as some hold seats in the House Of Lords.

George's father Edward Onslow quit Parliament after only one term amid a sex scandal that forced him to emigrate to France. While in France Edward married and had four children.  George Onslow was the oldest son and was born in 1784. The family had a good life in France until the French Revolution of 1789 when Thomas Onslow was jailed on account of his nationality and was eventually exiled from France in 1797. George joined his father as they toured Europe to provide young George with an education. They ended up back in London where George continued his to study the piano as well as history, art, horsemanship and other subjects befitting a young gentleman. He also learned to play the cello and spent time with friends playing the quartets of Mozart and Haydn.

Despite his piano studies, he never gave a public recital nor did he consider becoming a composer. It was an overture to a opera of Méhul that  inspired him to try his hand at composition. His first attempt was a set of three string quintets that were published and became popular. Through the encouragement of friends and his publisher, he got serious about composing and took composition lessons from Anton Reicha, French composer and teacher. Although Onslow wrote 4 symphonies and works in other forms, he specialized in chamber works at a time in France where opera was the most popular form of music. He wrote 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets that were highly regarded in his lifetime. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn all placed him at the forefront of instrumental composers, and it was in Germany where his fame was the greatest and where  he was called The French Beethoven.

He had an international career, but remained loyal to France and lived most of his life there. He became a gentleman farmer that owned and ran a castle and was a good businessman in dealing with music publishers. Onslow's works sold very well and he profited by the competition among music publishers to obtain his newest works. For the most part he led a quiet and productive life. He died in 1853.

The String Quartet No. 25 was composed in 1836 and is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro moderato -  The first theme is heard straight away and makes its way to a section that has a few sudden outbursts. The second theme has the cello playing a motive as a violin scampers after it. After a short transition to material related to the first theme the exposition is repeated.  The development transitions into an exploration of the first theme mainly by modulations to keys that are close to the B-flat home key. The recapitulation repeats the first theme with added transitional material so the second theme segues into the home key. A short coda adds a moderate amount of dash until the movement ends quietly.

II. Scherzo: Vivace assai - The scherzo begins with a run that starts on B-flat and ends on a long G-flat, after which the music skips along in the home key with the phrase ending with three B-flat quarter notes one after the other descending in three octaves. The opening phrase is repeated but this time doesn't come to rest on G-flat but continues to scamper until the first section of the scherzo comes to rest on a high F. This first section has 20 measures in it, with the first eight measures making up two phrases. By phrase extension the other twelve measures give a a feeling of inequality to the first section that is reminiscent of Beethoven. The first section is repeated. The second section of the scherzo expands and modulates previously heard material until the opening run is heard and the section ends in the tonic. The second section is also repeated. The trio begins with an introduction, after which the time signature of the music turns from two flats to three as rapid pairs of identical notes are played as an accompaniment while the first violin plays a slightly halting theme. This section is repeated, after which the trio continues and material is expanded. Much of this section is played pianissimo which gives a rather eerie mood to it. After the trio the scherzo and trio are repeated, this time straight through without the repetition of sections. A short coda ends the movement in B-flat major.

III. Andante grazioso -  The slow movement is marked con simplecezza, with simplicity, which suits the gentle tune that is in F major. It proceeds to gracefully unwind at a steady pace until it reaches a minor climax. The accompaniment becomes slightly more complex as the tune continues on its gentle way until it grows more quiet and ends pianissimo in F major.

IV. Finale: Allegro vivace - The finale begins fortissimo with the instruments spitting out a fragment that returns throughout the movement. A second theme theme contrasts, the music bustles its way with the fragment reappearing in different keys and dynamics, but always maintaining a certain harshness, and the movement ends in the home key of B-flat major.