Spotlight on the Cello: Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann
January 7 , 2008 - 9 p.m.
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Beethoven Cello Sonatas
Scholars studying the music of Ludwig van Beethoven have noted that his development as a composer is easily traced in his works for cello and piano. Consisting of five sonatas and three sets of variations, these pieces demonstrate how, over a period of roughly 20 years, the composer explored strategies for combining these two instruments. In fact, the pairing of cello and piano was in itself somewhat novel. During the 1700s, the violin, with its lyrical soprano “voice,” was the string instrument most commonly chosen as a featured instrument in chamber works. As the century drew to a close, however, the cello became a substitute for the violin, its “tenor” adding a rich, dark timbre.
Since there are virtually no compositional models for the earliest of Beethoven’s cello and piano works—the two op. 5 sonatas—he is therefore credited with pioneering a musical partnership that would highlight the cello while at the same time bring the keyboard out of its supporting role as accompanist. These groundbreaking works later served to inspire Beethoven’s followers, such as Mendelssohn and Chopin, to create their own sonatas for piano and cello.
Beethoven’s cello and piano compositions are intimately connected with several people who influenced his life, and three of them were excellent cellists. The dedicatée of the op. 5 sonatas, for example, was King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, who was known for his skill on the instrument. Perhaps more significant to the sonatas’ history, however, was the lead cellist at Friedrich Wilhelm’s musical establishment, Jean-Louis Duport, who premiered the sonatas in 1796 with Beethoven at the keyboard. 1
When Beethovan departed from the court, the king rewarded him for both the sonatas and their performance with a gold snuff box filled with Louis d’ors—not just an ordinary gold snuff box, Beethoven would later report, but the kind that was presented to dignitaries. More important to the composer’s personal life, however, were the dedicatées of the op. 96 sonata and the two sonatas comprising op.102: Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein and Countess Marie Erdödy, respectively. Gleichenstein, a talented cellist, had met Beethoven in Vienna in 1797 and quickly became one of the composer’s most valued friends and supporters.
When Beethoven announced in 1808 that he was planning to leave Vienna to accept a position in the court of Napoleon’s brother, King Jerome of Westphalia, Gleichenstein rallied other Viennese aristocrats, among them Countess Erdödy, to try to arrive at some financial arrangement that would pay Beethoven to remain in the Habsburg capital. It was Gleichenstein who drafted the now-famous legal agreement signed by three nobles (Prince Lobkowitz, Prince Kinsky and Archduke Rudolph) ensuring the composer a lifetime annuity of 4,000 florins. In return, he simply was to compose and perform in Vienna. For her part, the Countess was a devoted friend as well.
Born Anna Marie Niczky, she married Count Peter Erdödy of Hungary, eventually settling in Vienna. The Countess, a talented pianist, frequently hosted musical performances in her home, and Beethoven was among the many musicians who performed there. In 1808, the very year in which the composer was threatening to abandon the adoring Viennese aristocracy, he was given rooms in the Erdödy apartment where he would remain for the next year. Because of their close friendship, the Countess has often been put forth as the composer’s mysterious “immortal beloved.”
Chronologically, Beethoven’s compositions for cello and piano begin with the op. 5 sonatas that the composer premiered at the Prussian court. Next from the same year came two sets of variations, one on “See the conqu’ring hero comes” from Handel’s oratorio "Judas Maccabeus" and the other on Papageno’s aria “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte." Mozart’s opera served as inspiration for another set of variations some five years later, this time employing Pamina and Papageno’s duet “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen.”
In 1809, Beethoven dedicated the op. 69 sonata to his friend Gleichenstein, and in 1815 he penned his final composition for cello and piano, the two sonatas of op. 102, for Countess Erdödy. Of course, compositions in other genres stemmed from the same time period in Beethoven’s life, among these his sole opera "Fidelio" (1804-1805), the “Archduke” piano trio (1810), and eight of the nine symphonies (1801-1812).
It is interesting that the years from which these piano/cello works date coincide exactly with the time from which the composer first noticed his increasing deafness to the point when he lost his hearing entirely. Musicians and composers, of course, “hear” music in their heads; nevertheless, the innovative harmonic elements in these duets underscore Beethoven’s remarkable genius even more, given his disability.
Like so many of Beethoven’s works, the Sonata in F Major, op. 5, no. 1, begins with a slow introduction, an Adagio sostenuto in which both cello and piano play briefly in unison. This quick passage gives way to an elegant theme introduced first by the cello and then taken up by the keyboard. Both break into a vivacious Allegro in which melodic duties are shared equally. Fitting tightly within a classical structure, the movement’s surprising melodic and harmonic wanderings nevertheless presage the music of the Romantics.
The second movement is a delightful and energetic rondo, an Allegro vivace in which both instruments find ample occasion to present the melody or accompany it unobtrusively with supporting harmonies. No work for an amateur cellist, this! Rather the score speaks to the abilities of both the Prussian king for whom it was written and the talented cellist who premiered it at his court.
The first sonata in the op. 102 pair begins softly with a delicate melody begun by the cello but which moves with seamless ease to the piano. This gentle Andante seems almost at a close when the instruments introduce a powerful Allegro vivace which employs them both in the exposition of a rich theme. The dark, romantic overtones of this movement demonstrate the extent of Beethoven’s exploration of these instruments over the twenty years he composed for them and also show clearly that the composer was now sowing the seeds for a style period that would witness its fullness in the works of Schumann and Brahms.
The second movement’s Adagio, which meshes into the concluding Allegro vivace, offers stunning meanderings from key to key before firmly settling into the tonality of the sonata, C Major. The virtuosic techniques required for this movement, which is rife with bits of fugue and inventive rhythms, speaks to the ability of the amateurs and dilettantes who would have played this music in their own salons. Clearly, a pianist as talented as the Countess Erdödy, to whom the sonata was dedicated, would have enjoyed the technical romp Beethoven set forth in this score.
Although Beethoven disapproved of the morals in Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte, he heartily approved of the treatment of love in Die Zauberflöte. He also must have liked the lighthearted song given to Papageno, “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen,” in which the bird catcher expresses his longing for a loving partner. The sweet, square little tune became the material for twelve variations shared between the cellist and pianist.
As usual in such sets, the early variations quote the original theme quite exactly; later ones begin to explore the material and manipulate it so deftly that only the harmonic contour is recognizable. As in his other compositions for cello and piano, Beethoven was careful in these variations to distribute the musical activity evenly, allowing for a balanced sharing of melody and accompaniment. At times, each instrument presents the melody as a solo while at other times joining in as lively support. All told, the statements of Papageno’s song vary from playful and rapid-fire to elegiac and mournful. Most noteworthy is the final variation, a true tribute to Mozart and Beethoven’s adopted city, for the composer turns the tune into a waltz, transforming this simple Singspiel number by spinning it out with an amazing array of harmonic turns.
No other score for these cello and piano works demonstrates quite as clearly as does the autograph manuscript of op. 69 how Beethoven labored over revisions to satisfactorily work out the division of labor between the instruments. Perhaps this attention to detail spoke of his regard for Gleichenstein, the cellist for whom the sonata was composed. Giving the baron “the first word,” the cello begins the theme but is quickly joined in its statement by the piano. Throughout the opening Allegro, Beethoven carefully exploits the lyric voice of both instruments.
The following Scherzo is a playful exercise in syncopation that contrasts with the duo’s dramatic expressiveness in the Allegro. The concluding movement begins with an elegant Adagio that truly merits the directive cantabile — “in singing style.” It quickly breaks into an Allegro vivace, a perfect ending for a composition that has demonstrated every possible technique and expression of which its two instrumental voices are capable.
—Denise P. Gallo, Music Division, Library of Congress
1. Some early sources claimed that the cellist for the sonatas’ premiere at the Prussian court was Jean-Louis’ brother, Jean-Pierre. Scholars, however, now are in agreement that it was Jean-Louis. (Return to text)
Franz Schubert, Notturno
The mature chamber works of Schubert, including an Adagio movement in E-flat Major and the Piano Trios in B-flat Major and E-flat Major, were all written during the last nine years of his life (1819-1828). The autograph of the Notturno, found in the Austrian National Library, bears only the tempo marking Adagio; the title "Nocturne" ("Notturno" in later editions) was added when it was published as op.148 by Diabelli in 1845.
Robert Schumann, Five Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102
Despite occurrences of "stupid hypochondria" and "dumb melancholy" during the year 1849, Schumann produced close to 40 works for various instruments and combinations, among them the Fünf Stücke im Volkston (Five Pieces in the Folk Style) for cello, op. 102 and the Drei Romanzen (Three Romances) for oboe or violin or clarinet, op. 94. Many of them were forms of Hausmusik, works that were more accessible and commercially successful. Conventional wisdom has denigrated these late Schumann works as inferior, a judgment more than likely based on the composer's mental and emotional condition at the time rather than on the works themselves.
But as Kay Jamison points out,1 episodes of depression and mania occurred throughout most of Schumann's adulthood, a condition that today would be described as a bipolar affective disorder.2 The affliction appears to have been in part hereditary. His father suffered a nervous breakdown the year he was born, his mother had recurrent bouts of depression and his sister committed suicide. The illness seems to have been handed down to Schumann's children—one son became insane in his 20s and was confined to an asylum, while another became a morphine addict.
With regard to Schumann's late works, recent evaluations of musical and documentary evidence belie what a biographer 3 calls "the myth that portrays the late works as a necessary complement to the final illness." Schumann's last diary entries show no sign of dementia; more importantly, "an unbiased look at the late music will disclose qualities too frequently overlooked: a heightened intensity of expression, a rigorous limitation of thematic materials and a visionary prefiguration of features associated with later composers including Bruckner, Reger and even Schoenberg." Cellist Steven Isserlis—who regards late Schumann as one of his musical "enthusiasms"—wrote:
There's a generally accepted idea that [Schumann's] late music is weak; I disagree VEHEMENTLY! Some of it is strange, definitely, and maybe not as immediately appealing as his earlier works, but the more one knows it, the more one gets to love it. 4
—Tomás C. Hernández, Music Division, Library of Congress
1. Kay Redfield Jamison, Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, 1993 (Return to text)
2.
Peter Ostwald, Schumann: Music and Madness, 1985 (U.S. edition, Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius) (Return to text)
3. John Daverio, Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age," 1997. (Return to text)
4. Steven Isserlis Web site
(Return to text)
Explore What's Behind the Music
Beethoven Cello Sonatas Consisting of five sonatas and three sets of variations, these pieces demonstrate how Beethoven explored strategies for combining cello and piano over a period of roughly twenty years. View the score |
Franz Schubert, Notturno The autograph of the Notturno was found in the Austrian National Library. The title "Nocturne" (Notturno in later editions) was added when it was published as op.148 by Diabelli in 1845. View the score |
Robert Schumann, Five Pieces in Folk Style Schumann produced close to forty works for various instruments and combinations in 1849, among them the Fünf Stücke im Volkston (Five Pieces in the Folk Style) for cello, op. 102. View the score |
Beaux Arts Trio The Library of Congress has a long perspective on this most distinguished ensemble, considered "the gold standard of piano trios"—the Beaux Arts has been performing at the Library of Congress for more than half a century. Read More |
Miklós Perényi Since his triumph at the Casals International Violoncello Competition of 1962, the Hungarian violoncellist and composer Miklós Perényi has been an active teacher in Budapest and a performer in concerts and festivals all over the world. His extensive repertoire covers the 17th to the 21st Centuries. Read More |
Steven Isserlis British-born cellist Steven Isserlis is equally at home drawing the audience into his circle of friends for chamber music or in recital; delving into the historical archives to emerge with a forgotten gem; or on the concert platform with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras. Read More |
András Schiff The Library of Congress has a long perspective on this most distinguished ensemble, considered "the gold standard of piano trios"—the Beaux Arts has been performing at the Library of Congress for more than half a century. Read More |
Jeremy Denk Winner of the 1998 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Jeremy Denk made his New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall. Read More |
About the Artists
The Beaux Arts Trio celebrated its 50th Anniversary Season in 2004-2005. Since its public debut on July 13, 1955 at the Berkshire Music Festival, known today as the Tanglewood Music Festival, the trio has maintained its freshness, while preserving its distinctive musical heritage. Founded by Menahem Pressler, Daniel Guilet and Bernard Greenhouse, the trio has evolved from the replacement of Guilet in 1969 with violinist Isidore Cohen, and the replacement of Greenhouse with cellist Peter Wiley in 1987.
In June 1992, the trio made its debut with violinist Ida Kavafian in two extraordinary performances of Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig under Maestro Kurt Masur. Menahem Pressler created yet another legendary collaboration when he named violinist Young Uck Kim and cellist Antonio Meneses as new members in 1998; together they played for three seasons. British violinist Daniel Hope was announced as the trio’s newest member in April 2002. Chosen as Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year in 1997, the trio was recently awarded the 2006 Concertgebouw Prize. Through the years it has played a major and ongoing role in the programs of important cultural and educational centers throughout North America. the trio’s annual international engagements include appearances at the festivals of Edinburgh, Lucerne, Vienna, Helsinki, Warsaw, Hong Kong and Israel, as well as performances in the chamber music series of the world’s major foreign cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.
The Beaux Arts Trio’s many landmark projects include its participation in the “December Evenings” Festival in Moscow and a performance at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Several contemporary composers have written pieces for the trio, including A Slow Pavane by Mark-Anthony Turnage commissioned by the Concertgebouw in honor of the trio’s 50th anniversary. The extensive Beaux Arts Trio extensive discography encompasses the entire piano trio literature,earning several coveted awards, including the Prix Mondial du Disque, three Grand Prix du Disques, the Union de la Presse Musicale Belge Caecilia Award and the Gramophone Record of the Year, the Stereo Review Record of the Year Award and a Grammy nomination.
Miklós Perényi is an internationally praised Hungarian violoncellist. He was born in 1948 into a musical family and by the age of seven he was studying the cello seriously. In 1962, Perényi was a prize winner at the Casals International Violoncello Competition in Budapest.
Since 1980, Miklós Perényi has been a professor at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, but he has also been an active performer with appearances at many of the international music festivals. He was awarded the Kossuth Prize in 1980, and the Bartok-Pasztory Prize in 1987.
Miklós Perényi has played regularly with a number of distinguished musicians in acclaimed sonata and chamber music concerts. These include Zoltán Kocsis, Dezso Ránki, András Schiff, the Takács Quartet and the Keller Quartet.
British-born cellist Steven Isserlis is equally at home drawing the audience into his circle of friends for chamber music or in recital; delving into the historical archives to emerge with a forgotten gem; or on the concert platform with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, such as Boston Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; and conductors, among them, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Ton Koopman and Christoph Eschenbach. His chamber concerts are renowned, not only for the quality of performance but also for his ingenuity and innovation in programming. Projects in the past few seasons have included a “Taneyev and Friends” series at the Wigmore Hall, a Brahms series at the Salzburg Festival, a festival entitled “Sleeping Beauties” with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and a highly-acclaimed Saint-Saëns festival in London. Isserlis is also well-known for his musical enthusiasms, which, in addition to the late music of Schumann, include the lesser-known music of Carl Frühling, performers such as cellist Daniil Shafran, violinist Jacques Thibaud and Chorale Gabriel Fauré. Among his non-musical enthusiasms are the Marx Brothers, the 19-century novelist Wilkie Collins and the children’s book "The Land of Green Ginger" by Noel Langley.
The Nippon Music Foundation of Japan has kindly loaned the Feuermann Stradivarius of 1730 to Steven Isserlis.
Pianist and conductor András Schiff was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953. He began piano lessons at the age of five and continued his musical studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest.
Recitals and special projects take him to all of the international music capitals and include cycles of the major keyboard works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartok. He has worked with most of the major international orchestras and conductors, but now he performs mainly as a conductor and soloist. In 1999 he created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, which consists of international soloists, chamber musicians and friends.
András Schiff has been awarded numerous international prizes. He became an Honorary Member of the Beethoven House in Bonn in June 2006. In May 2007 he was presented with the renowned Italian prize, the "Premio della critica musicale Franco Abbiati," in recognition of his Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle. In October 2007 he was given The Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, sponsored by the Kohn Foundation.
Schiff was also rewarded the Bartok Prize in 1991 and the Claudio Arrau Memorial medal from the Robert Schumann Society in Dusseldorf in 1994. In March 1996, Schiff received the highest Hungarian distinction, the Kossuth Prize, and in May 1997, he received the Leonie Sonnings Music Prize in Copenhagen.
Schiff has established a prolific discography, including recordings for ECM New Series, Teldec and London/Decca. He has received several international recording awards, including two Grammy awards for Best Classical Instrumental Soloist (without orchestra) for the Bach English Suites, and Best Vocal recording for Schubert's Schwanengesang with tenor Peter Schreier.
Winner of the 1998 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Jeremy Denk made his New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall. Since then he has as recitalist and orchestral soloist in major venues and has been a featured artist-in-residence on NPR’s Performance Today. Denk has participated in many premieres, including Mark O’Connor’s Fiddle Sonata (with the composer on fiddle) at the Library of Congress, Leon Kirchner’s Duo No. 2, Ned Rorem’s "The Unquestioned Answer," Jake Heggie’s Cut Time with the Eos Orchestra, Alternating Current (written for him by Kevin Puts) and Libby Larsen’s Collage: Boogie with the American-Soviet Youth Orchestra and Zubin Mehta. Denk has collaborated with several leading string quartets, among them the Borromeo, Brentano, Colorado and Shanghai, and has appeared at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto Festival in Italy and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, among others. He has spent several summers at the Marlboro Festival and has toured with Musicians from Marlboro. A chemisty and music graduate of Oberlin, where he was a student of Joseph Schwartz, Denk continued his studies with Gyorgy Sebok at Indiana University and Herbert Stessin at Juilliard. He is on the piano faculty at Bard.
Last Updated: 01/14/2008