RSNO Chamber, 03/11/2019
Mahler : Piano Quartet Movement
Schumann : Piano Quartet
Brahms : Piano Quartet No. 3
Lorna Rough, violin
Sophie Lang, viola
Betsy Taylor, cello
Edward Cohen, piano
There's next to no chamber music in Mahler's output; what little there was is all early work, written during his student years, and most of it is lost. This single movement, the first of a planned piano quartet in A minor, is just about the only survivor. It's a brooding, dark-hued piece, turning obsessively around a three-note cell, not, perhaps, readily identifiable as Mahler, but he was only about 16 at the time.
Schumann did not really start writing any chamber music until the 1840s, after his marriage to Clara Wieck, and he himself was in his thirties. 1842 in particular was more or less dedicated to chamber music, and from that year stem the three string quartets, the very famous Piano Quintet, and its pendant, in the same key of E flat major, the Piano Quartet (there is a much earlier piano quartet, though I believe it has had to be reconstructed for performance). It's a far more assured composition than the Mahler, quite aside from being a complete work in four movements, with a surprisingly Mendelssohnian scherzo, and a lovely andante cantabile slow movement with a singing cello line. It is also far sunnier, this being a happy period in Schumann's life, and despite the ominous scurrying figuration of the scherzo.
The composition of Brahms's third Piano Quartet was spread over some fifteen or more years, the first movement having been composed alongside the first two piano quartets, back in around 1858 or '59, and therefore written under the shadow of Robert Schumann's final years. Schumann had attempted to commit suicide in '54 and was interned until his death in '56. Brahms, who was a close friend of the family, pretty well moved into the Schumann household to assist Clara Schumann with her household and business affairs. The completed work finally appeared in 1875 (a year before the Mahler), and therefore classifies as a work of his maturity, and the period of his first major successes, alongside the Hungarian Dances, the Liebeslieder waltzes, and the 1st Symphony which gave him so much grief to complete. It is a rich, powerful piece, full of strongly contrasted, dramatic gestures, and a grandeur inspired by Beethoven. Here, too, the slow movement boasts a particularly lyrical cello part.
I don't know how often these four artists perform together in this format, but there were distinct technical problems throughout the concert. Lang is a violinist, and although it's hardly uncommon for a violinist to pick up a viola, it's not necessarily quite the same thing as a dedicated viola player. There were pitch uncertainties at times, both from her and from Rough, who wasn't always completely on the mark right at the top of the range. Betsy Taylor, however, contributed a warm, burnished tone to the ensemble, and made the most of the slow movements of the Schumann and the Brahms. Cohen was a good partner for the most part, though sometimes a little too discreet in the quietest moments of the slow movements, where he almost disappeared into the background. Of the three works, it was the Brahms which came out the best, with the most sensitive reading and the most verve in the outer movements. It was, however, a nicely selected programme, and an enjoyable afternoon concert.
[Next : 9th November]
Schumann : Piano Quartet
Brahms : Piano Quartet No. 3
Lorna Rough, violin
Sophie Lang, viola
Betsy Taylor, cello
Edward Cohen, piano
There's next to no chamber music in Mahler's output; what little there was is all early work, written during his student years, and most of it is lost. This single movement, the first of a planned piano quartet in A minor, is just about the only survivor. It's a brooding, dark-hued piece, turning obsessively around a three-note cell, not, perhaps, readily identifiable as Mahler, but he was only about 16 at the time.
Schumann did not really start writing any chamber music until the 1840s, after his marriage to Clara Wieck, and he himself was in his thirties. 1842 in particular was more or less dedicated to chamber music, and from that year stem the three string quartets, the very famous Piano Quintet, and its pendant, in the same key of E flat major, the Piano Quartet (there is a much earlier piano quartet, though I believe it has had to be reconstructed for performance). It's a far more assured composition than the Mahler, quite aside from being a complete work in four movements, with a surprisingly Mendelssohnian scherzo, and a lovely andante cantabile slow movement with a singing cello line. It is also far sunnier, this being a happy period in Schumann's life, and despite the ominous scurrying figuration of the scherzo.
The composition of Brahms's third Piano Quartet was spread over some fifteen or more years, the first movement having been composed alongside the first two piano quartets, back in around 1858 or '59, and therefore written under the shadow of Robert Schumann's final years. Schumann had attempted to commit suicide in '54 and was interned until his death in '56. Brahms, who was a close friend of the family, pretty well moved into the Schumann household to assist Clara Schumann with her household and business affairs. The completed work finally appeared in 1875 (a year before the Mahler), and therefore classifies as a work of his maturity, and the period of his first major successes, alongside the Hungarian Dances, the Liebeslieder waltzes, and the 1st Symphony which gave him so much grief to complete. It is a rich, powerful piece, full of strongly contrasted, dramatic gestures, and a grandeur inspired by Beethoven. Here, too, the slow movement boasts a particularly lyrical cello part.
I don't know how often these four artists perform together in this format, but there were distinct technical problems throughout the concert. Lang is a violinist, and although it's hardly uncommon for a violinist to pick up a viola, it's not necessarily quite the same thing as a dedicated viola player. There were pitch uncertainties at times, both from her and from Rough, who wasn't always completely on the mark right at the top of the range. Betsy Taylor, however, contributed a warm, burnished tone to the ensemble, and made the most of the slow movements of the Schumann and the Brahms. Cohen was a good partner for the most part, though sometimes a little too discreet in the quietest moments of the slow movements, where he almost disappeared into the background. Of the three works, it was the Brahms which came out the best, with the most sensitive reading and the most verve in the outer movements. It was, however, a nicely selected programme, and an enjoyable afternoon concert.
[Next : 9th November]