UMS Concert Program, January 22, 1980: International Presentations Of Music & Dance --

Season: 101st
Concert: Fortieth
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tnteifiatipnal
THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Alfred Brendel
Pianist
Tuesday Evening, January 22, 1980, at 8:30 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI48..........Haydn
Andante con espressione Rondo: presto
Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1........Beethoven
Andante, allegro, Tempo I Allegro molto e vivace Adagio con espressione Allegro vivace
Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight") .... Beethoven
Adagio sostenuto Allegretto Presto
INTERMISSION
Four Dirges...............Bartok
Adagio Andante Poco lento Assai andante
Suite, Op. 14................Bartok
Allegretto Scherzo Allegro molto Sostenuto
Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI20..........Haydn
Moderato
Andante con moto Finale: allegro
Philips Records. 101st Season -Fortieth Concert 101st Annual Choral Union Series
PROGRAM NOTES by David Hamilton
Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI48..........Haydn
The C-major sonata, Hob. XVI48 (Landon 48) was published in September 1789 by Breitkopf in Leipzig, in the first volume of a series entitled Musikalischer Pol-Pourri; possibly written some?what earlier, it was at least revised in the spring of 1789. Sending a copy to his Viennese lady friend Marianne von Genzinger, Haydn referred to this "little musical vegetable pot; indeed, I do not find too much that is fragrant in this pot-pourri, but perhaps the publisher may rectify this fault in future editions." In two movements--the first of improvisatory character, the second a grand rondo--the C-major Sonata foreshadows the keyboard style of the English period.
Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1;
Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2.......Beethoven
The two sonatas of Beethoven's Op. 27 were published in March 1802 (along with the preceding Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 26). Though sharing an opus number and the designation "Sonata quasi una fantasia," the two were printed separately, and bear separate dedications: the first to Princess Josephine von Liechtenstein, who was married to a cousin of Beethoven's patron Count Waldstein; the second to the still teenaged Countess Giulietta Guicciardi, a piano student of Beethoven's for whom the composer felt at the time a good deal more than simple affection (a year and a half later, she was to marry Count VVenzel Robert Gallenberg).
The distinctive title (which might, with equal justice, have been applied to Op. 26) is im?portant, for in layout and spirit these two sonatas are different from what had gone before. Neither opens with a conventional sonata-allegro movement, and the center of gravity has definitely shifted away from the first movement--a trend initiated by Beethoven, who thereby bequeathed to his successors a knotty challenge in the organization of the sonata cycle. Except between the final movements of the C-sharp minor Sonata, Beethoven indicates that the movements are to follow without pause (including the unexpected intervention made in the final movement of the E-flat Sonata).
Four Dirges; Suite, Op. 14...........Bartok
Franz Liszt may have died in Bayreuth, but the successors of Wagner were not as interested in the implications of his late piano works as was, subsequently, Bela Bartok, back in Liszt's native Hungary. The Four Dirges, composed in 1910, are studies in piano sonority: spare melodies, fre?quently in octaves or double octaves, stretch out over equally spare harmonic support, save in the second piece where each new melodic phrase adds another note to the background chord. (This piece is also familiar in an orchestral version that Bartok made in 1931 "on account of the money": No. 3 of the Hungarian Sketches.)
The Suite, Op. 14, was composed in 1916, in five movements, of which the second, an Andante, was later withdrawn. Here the harmonic and melodic consequences of the whole-tone scale, the tritone, and the augmented triad govern the larger and smaller relationships. Bartok freely admitted
to an Arabic inspiration for the third movement, but the piece is not otherwise based on folk materials. The Suite was one of the first of his works to be published by Universal Edition, the progressive Viennese publishing firm whose sponsorship was important in spreading Bartok's reputa?tion in Western Europe.
Sonata in C minor, Hob. XVI20..........Haydn
This Sonata was published by Artaria in 1780, as the sixth in a group of sonatas labeled "Op. 30." A fragmentary autograph manuscript, however, bears the date 1771, confirming the stylistic evidence that would place it in the composer's "Sturm und Drang period" (176872) with such works as Symphonies Nos. 44 and 45 and the String Quartets, Op. 20. It is apparently the first of Haydn's keyboard sonatas to be so designated, earlier examples being labeled "divertimento" or "partita." Not for some time would Haydn again approach the scale of this sonata; in 1780, he described it as the "longest and most difficult" of the "Op. 30" sonatas, though the other five surely date from the later 1770s.
About the Artist
Alfred Brendel's visits to North America over the past several years have been occasions for performing the works of the great classical composers in depth--commemorative seasons devoted to the works of Beethoven and Schubert during the anniversary years of their deaths, whole cycles of all fie piano concertos of Beethoven with leading orchestras, and all-Beethoven and all-Schubert recitals. These American performances were part of a world-wide series of commemorative concerts which led critics on both sides of the Atlantic to proclaim him "the greatest pianist of his generation," "the Beethoven interpreter of our time," and "one of the elect." His international fame also rests on the multitude of recordings he has made over the years. The complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas, the five Beethoven Piano Concertos, the Brahms Concertos, fourteen Mozart Concertos and the Double Concerto, Schubert Sonatas, and works by Bach and Liszt have been added to his disco-graphy in recent seasons. His essays, "Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts," have been published in both German and English in Europe and in English in North America.
Born in Austria, Brendel began piano lessons in early childhood and made his debut at age seventeen in a program which included a piano sonata of his own composition. With a concert career which now spans the globe, he makes his home in London where he also devotes time to writing (including many of the program notes for the record jackets of his recordings) and pursuing his interest in collecting works of art and ceremonial masks.
Mr. Brendel's return to Ann Arbor is welcomed. He first appeared here in recital in 1966.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gail W. Rector, President Richard S. Berger Sarah Goddard Power
Harlan Hatcher, Vice-President Allen P. Britton Harold T. Shapiro
Douglas D. Crary, Secretary Peter N. Heydon Lois U. Stegeman
W.lbur K. Pierpont, Treasurer Paul W. McCracken E. Thurston Thikme
Important Concert Changes
Two attractions in our current season have recently cancelled their tours to the United States: the Glinka Chorus of Leningrad and the Krasnayarsk Dancers from Siberia, scheduled for January 29 and February 29 respectively. We're pleased to announce the following groups as replacements on the same dates: Roger Wagner Chorale--foremost among American choral ensembles for three decades (replacing Glinka Chorus, same date, Tues. Jan. 29 at 8:30, Hill Auditorium)
Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival--Nikolai Massenkoff, bass, and his California-based ensemble of folk dancers and balalaika players, all of Russian heritage, in a program spanning a thousand years of Russian history--ballads, war songs, love songs, dances (replacing Krasnayarsk Dancers, same date, Fri. Feb. 29 at 8:30, Hill Auditorium)
Glinka Chorus tickets should be used for admission to the Wagner Chorale, and Krasnayarsk tickets for the Massenkoff Folk Festival. Additional tickets are also available for both concerts. Ticket exchanges, if desired, may be made up to two days prior to each performance.
Concord String Quartet, with Leslie Guinn, Baritone . . . Sun. Jan. 27
Mozart: Quartet in E-flat, K. 428; Rochberg: Quartet No. 7 with Voice
(world premiere) ; Beethoven: Quartet No. IS, Op. 132. Roger Wagner Chorale (replacing Glinka Chorus) . . . Tues. Jan. 29
The Feld Ballet...........Fri.-Sun. Feb. 1-3
Orpheus Chamber Ensemble.........Fri. Feb. 8
Grieg: Holberg Suite; Mozart: Serenade No. 12 for Woodwinds, K. 388,
and Symphony No. 29; Stravinsky: "Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto.
Leontyne Price, Soprano..........Sat. Feb. 9
Zurich Chamber Orchestra.........Fri. Feb. IS
Boyce: Symphony No. 3; Moret: Suite (1979) ; Stravinsky: Apollon
Musagete; Pergolesi: Concertino No. 2.
Jean-Pierre Rampal, Flutist; Alexandre Lagoya, Guitarist . Mon. Feb. 18 Aldo Ciccolini, Pianist..........Thurs. Feb. 21
Music of Satie, Debussy, and Liszt. Founders Day Concert..........Sun. Feb. 24
The Festival Chorus, Donald Bryant, Conductor; Handel's Israel in Egypt.
Carlotta VVilsen, Soprano; Rosemary Russell, Contralto; John McCollum,
Tenor; Willis Patterson, Bass; with members of University Symphony
Orchestra.
Cuban Folk Ensemble..........Tues. Feb. 26
Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival
(replacing Krasnayarsk Dancers)........Fri. Feb. 29
Elly Ameling, Soprano..........Wed. Mar. 12
Royal Dancers & Musicians of Bhutan......Sat. Mar. IS
Jury's Irish Cabaret of Dublin........Tues. Mar. 18
Yehudi and Hephzibah Menuhin, Violinist & Pianist . . . Wed. Mar. 19
Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in A major; Bach: Partita No. 3; Franck: Sonata
in A major; Bartok: Rumanian Dances; Debussy: La Fille aux cheveux de
lin; Wieniawski: Scherzo and Tarantelle. New World String Quartet.........Wed. Mar. 26
World premiere of Leslie Bassett's recently-commissioned Quartet No. 4. Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Sergiu Comissiona . . . Wed. Apr. 2
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante for Woodwinds; Borodin: Polovtzian Dances
from Prince Igor (with the Festival Chorus) ; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2.
Sherrill Milnes, Baritone.........Mon. Apr. 14
Quartetto Italiano...........Thurs. Apr. 17
Ann Arbor May Festival........Wed.-Sat. Apr. 23-26
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Phones: 665-3717, 764-2S38