UMS Concert Program, January 25, 1947: Seventh Annual Chamber Music Festival -- Budapest String Quartet

Season: 1946-1947
Concert: Third
Complete Series: 2944
Lecture Hall, Rackham Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan

UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
CHARLES A. SINK, PRESIDENT HARDIN VAN DEURSEN, CONDUCTOR
Third Concert 1946-1947 Complete Scries 2944
Seventh Annual
Chamber Music Festival
BUDAPEST STRING QUARTET
Josef Roismann, First Violin Boris Kroyt, Viola
Edgar Ortenberg, Second Violin Mischa Schneider, Violoncello
Saturday Evening, January 25, 1947, at 8:30
Lecture Hall, Rackham Building
Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Quartet in D major, Op. 18, No. 3......Beethoven
Allegro
Andante con moto Allegro Presto
Quartet No. 2...........Prokofieff
Allegro sostenuto
Adagio; poco piu animato; tempo 1 Allegro; andante molto; tempo 1
INTERMISSION
Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 67........Brahms
Vivace Andante
Agitato--allegretto non troppo
Poco allegretto con variazioni, doppio movimento
Fitst performance in Ann Arbor.
(over)
ARS LONGA VITA BREVIS
PROGRAM NOTES
Quartet No. 2...........Prokofieff
Quartet No. 2, Op. 92 was written in 1941. It embodies Prokofieff's reaction to the folklore and the landscape of the Northern Caucasus. The thematic material is based on folk songs that Prokofieff heard sung to the accompaniment of native instruments by national poets and singers of the Caucasus.
The first Soviet performance of the work was in March, 1944. It was presented by the Beethoven Quartet in the Conservatory Hall of the Moscow State Philharmonic Society at a composer's evening devoted to the works of Prokofieff. In a program note written for this performance, admiration is expressed for the skill with which Prokofieff retained "not only the national color, but the legendary character and concrete imagery of the folklore" at the same time that he succeeded in integrating it into his own individualistic style.
The first movement is marked Allegro sostenuto. Sharply dynamic, it is given unusual intensity by the energy of its rhythms and the grimness of its harmonies. The second movement, marked Adagio, has the lyrical quality of an impassioned song by a Caucasian folk singer; before the movement terminates, the song transforms into a light graceful dance. The final movement is an Allegro with sharply contrasting moods.
Note.--Some supplementary material on this Quartet may be found in the recently published biography of Prokofieff by I. Nestyev.
CONCERTS
CHORAL UNION SERIES
Detroit Symphony Orchestra.....Monday, February 17
Karl Krueger, Conductor
Lotte Lehmann, Soprano.....Wednesday, February 26
Chicago Symphony Orchestra......Sunday, March 16
Desire Defauw, Conductor
EXTRA CONCERT
ALEC TEMPLETON--Friday, February 21, 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $1.50-$1.20--$1.00 (including tax).
MAY FESTIVAL
FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL MAY FESTIVAL (6 concerts): May 8, 9, 10, 11. The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor, and Alexander Hilsberg, Associate Conductor; the Choral Union, Hardin Van Deursen, Conductor; and the Youth Chorus, Marguerite Hood, Conductor, will participate.
For tickets or for further information, please address: Charles A. Sink, President, University Musical Society, Burton Memorial Tower.