Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20 [1799]

In 1792, the 22-year old Beethoven made his way from provincial Bonn to Vienna, the musical capitol of Europe, encouraged by his patron Count Waldstein to “receive the spirit of Mozart from Haydn’s hands”. An accomplished pianist and violist, Beethoven plunged into composition and counterpoint lessons from leading musicians, including Haydn for a brief period. His first published works were a set of piano trios and piano sonatas; Beethoven gradually worked his way through several string trios and other smaller works before tackling the major forms of the string quartet and symphony.

The watershed years of 1799-1800 saw the completion of his great Pathétique piano sonata, the six revolutionary string quartets of Opus 18, and his First Symphony, Op. 21. A self-presented concert held at Vienna’s Burgtheater on April 2, 1800, included the world premiere of the symphony and his new Septet, Op. 21. While the audience was unsure what to make of the symphony, the Septet was an instant and lasting success; so much so that Beethoven later resented its popularity, saying that it overshadowed some of his more mature works.

The Septet broke entirely new ground in its use of single woodwind instruments mixed with strings, and in the freedom of the relationship between the different voices. Sometimes the winds support the strings, and vice versa. Virtuosic wind solos are accompanied by the strings, as well as concerto-like passages for the violin accompanied by the rest of the ensemble. In form, the Serenade conforms to the classical “divertimento/serenade” tradition, with lots of movements (six) and it’s balancing of serious and playful moods.

The first movement is quite symphonic, with it’s grand, slow introduction, Adagio, which leads into the main section, Allegro con brio. The second movement is a lovely, Adagio, followed by a traditional Minuet. Fourth comes a charming set of variations, Andante, on the popular Rhineland song “Ach Schiffer, lieber Schiffer”. Next is a dazzling “scherzo”, marked Allegro molto e vivace. The final Presto also comes with a slow introduction, which introduces a measure of symmetry to the work. Overall, the part writing is brilliant and virtuosic. Beethoven cared little about the technical demands of his music; when a well-known violinist complained to him about a difficult string quartet part Beethoven replied “I don’t care about your damned fiddle!”

The popularity of Beethoven’s Septet inspired many composers to write similar works in the first half of the 19th century, including Schubert, who added a second violin in writing his marvelous Octet of 1824, By 1850, the genre had largely been superceded, and today this work is seldom performed due to it’s rather odd combination of instruments.

Belinda Reynolds (b. 1967 )
Bridges [world premiere]

Bridges was commissioned by the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and funded by the San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Grants Fund. I titled the work to reflect both how the piece is constructed and under the circumstances it was conceived. First, Bridges refers to how the opening melody is interspersed throughout the different instruments, each passing it to one another. This process continues throughout the work as I devise canons of all sorts to restate the material. The result is a feeling of the music bridging in upon itself both harmonically and melodically. The other use of Bridges refers to the three bridges of the Bay Area and how the talented musicians of the SFCO cross these countless times during their day as they go from one rehearsal/performance to another. Their dedication, stamina, and high artistry are an inspiration to us all in the music community.     [notes by Belinda Reynolds]

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897)
Serenade #2, Op. 16 [1860]

Encountering the “Three B’s” (really Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms) as a developing musician, Bach comes first: a little minuet, then a concerto, later if you get really good a solo Suite or Partita. Beethoven comes next; every youth orchestra plays his symphonies and every young quartet, wisely or not, tackles his string quartets. Brahms is last; his music is unplayable by anyone but an expert. The music is serious and beautiful, full of rhythmic difficulties and other, more subtle complexities. Unlike Bach, Brahms wrote no pieces for beginners, no pedagogic manuals or systems. Unlike Beethoven, whose works have an emotional and dramatic accessibility so appealing to younger players, Brahms can seem severe and inaccessible. But oh!, what riches await those with the skill and patience to solve Brahms’ musical puzzles, to unlock his secrets.

Born in the north German industrial city of Hamburg in 1833, Brahms’ father was a double bass player of modest attainments. He hoped that his son would become an orchestral musician but Johannes blossomed in a pianist instead of a string player. As a teenager, he earned money playing in the nightclubs and bordellos that lined the Hamburg waterfront. At the age of twenty he met the famous violinist Joseph Joachim, who was to become a lifelong friend. Joachim introduced Brahms to Franz Liszt and the Schumanns. Clara Schumann was one of the outstanding pianists of the time, and her husband Robert a well-known composer and outspoken critic.

The meeting between Brahms and the Schumanns was a turning point in the young composer’s life. Welcomed into their home as a guest, Schumann shocked the musical world by proclaiming Brahms “one of the elect” in an article in a well-known journal. The schizophrenic Schumann later threw himself into the Rhine in an attempt to take his own life, and was thereafter committed to an insane asylum where he died in 1856. Brahms and Clara Schumann were emotionally attached, possibly lovers, and remained devoted to each other for the remainder of their lives. Clara did not remarry, and Brahms died a bachelor.

Brahms’ career took him to Detmold in 1857, where he spent several years as a court musician and teacher. His two wonderful, early Serenades were written for the court orchestra there, as was his turbulent Piano Concerto No 1 in D minor.

After an unsuccessful application to direct the orchestra in his home town of Hamburg, Brahms settled in Vienna in 1862. Still the musical capitol of Europe Ð home to Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and so many others Ð Vienna had one foot planted in her glorious past and the other towards an uncertain future. Brahms became the director of the city’s Singacademie, and by the end of the decade had firmly established himself as one of the city’s leading musicians. The death of his mother in 1865 inspired his first mature composition, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem).

Brahms served as director of Vienna’s most prestigious musical organization, the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, from 1872 to 1875. In 1876, at the age of 43, he was finally sufficiently satisfied with an orchestral work to call it his First Symphony. It was immediately hailed as “Beethoven’s Tenth”; when someone spotted a similarity in themes between this work and Beethoven’s ninth, Brahms replied “Any donkey can see that!”

Growing up in the shadow of the great Beethoven, Brahms was very careful about what he let the public see, and hear. Many early works, including an estimated dozen string quartets, were destroyed as unfit to be published! As his fame grew, Brahms methodically recycled letters, musical drafts, and other documents he did not want to leave to posterity.

While not a great musical innovator like Beethoven, Brahms was an expert craftsman whose works achieve a synthesis of minutely-worked-out detail and passionate emotion, a mixture of North German austerity with the sensuous charm of Vienna. In his lifetime, Brahms was snubbed as old-fashioned by “modernists” such as Wagner, Liszt, and Berlioz, but later generations embraced his music not only as a continuation of the great current of Viennese classicism but for his innovative handling of rhythm and form. The best indicator of Brahms’ enduring greatness is the presence of so much of his music at the center of the “classical repertoire”: his four symphonies, overtures and orchestral works, chamber music, violin and piano concertos, sacred and choral music, solo piano works, and over 200 songs continually appear on concert programs throughout the world and are cherished by performer and audience alike.

Serenade No. 2, Op. 16, written for the court orchestra at Detmold in 1859, and premiered in Hamburg in 1860, is very unusual in the fact that there are no violin parts. This unique arrangement allows the woodwind color to predominate, burnished by the warm tones of the viola, cello, and double bass. The first movement, Allegro moderato, is sunny and gracious, and about as happy as the music of Brahms ever gets! A sinuous chorale soon gives way to a melody in flowing triplets; these elements allow Brahms his favorite “three against two”rhythmic patterns, which add complexity to the quiet, easy flow of the music. The second movement is a romping Scherzo in C Major, and about as exuberant as the music of Brahms ever gets! In the middle “trio” section, the woodwinds sing fluidly above the percussive notes of the strings, and then the initial Scherzo music returns. The third movement is a gorgeous and emotional Adagio non troppo in the minor mode, followed by a Quasi Menuetto in D Major. A graceful and folksy Rondo: Allegro, filled with surprises, closes this wonderful piece.

Program notes © Benjamin Simon 2008