BREVARD MUSIC CENTER | OVERTURE
FRANK BRIDGE (1879-1941) Novelletten, H. 44
When Schumann composed his Novelletten, Op. 21 for the piano in 1838, he wanted to write “straight from the heart” — no formal restrictions, no musical conventions. The cycle of eight pieces provides insights into Schumann’s emotional world at the time — which was focused on the love of this life, Clara Wieck (his eventual bride). Bridge presumably also wanted to write “straight from the heart” when he composed his Novelletten in 1904. While we have no indication about Bridge’s frame-of-mind during their composition, it is clear that he must have been equally happy. The three miniatures espouse a sunny disposition. Expertly written for the string quartet (Bridge was an excellent violinist and would join the Joachim Quartet as violist just two years later), each movement expresses a different sentiment: the first serenity, the second wonder, and the third joy.
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80
It is amazing how far-reaching rumors can be. While Georg Knepler described Mendelssohn’s last string quartet a “requiem of an era,” the Wikipedia article turned that into “an homage to his sister Fanny who had died on 17 May of that year [1847] and it bore the title ‘Requiem for Fanny.’” Many program notes along the way have fallen prey to these rumors, presenting Mendelssohn’s last instrumental work not only as a “requiem for Fanny” but as a clear sign that Mendelssohn somehow knew of his impending death. Let me try to set the record straight. Felix and Fanny were the closest of siblings. They had received the same musical education and would share everything with each other — musically and otherwise. On May 14, 1847, Fanny died suddenly after suffering a stroke. Felix, upon learning of his sister’s sudden death, “shrieked and fainted.” He spent most of the following summer with his family in southern Germany and Switzerland, in order to come to terms with Fanny’s death. During this time, he found solace first with drawings and watercolors (he was an excellent painter). He also composed a set of sacred choral works and the F minor String Quartet. While this is clearly one of his darkest and most disturbing works, composed during the aftermath of his sister’s death, the work does not bear the title
70
Overture
“requiem for Fanny.” It is conventional in design and does not offer any hints for a program. It is the work of a grieving artist, whose sorrow made for a darker-than-usual tone. As is the case with all of Mendelssohn’s works, it is a polished, refined work, full of depth and rich in expression — the true nature of which is only found in the music itself, or as Mendelssohn once wrote, “music fills one’s soul with a thousand better things than words.”
EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907) String Quartet in G minor, Op. 27
If Mendelssohn’s last string quartet was somewhat of a departure from his earlier string quartets with its darker tone, Grieg’s only completed string quartet is a general departure altogether from the Romantic quartet style. Among a variety of innovative elements, two stand out: its cyclic design, and the reimagining of the sound capabilities of a string quartet. Borrowing from his own music (as many composers before him had done), Grieg took parts of his song Spillamæd (Minstrels), heard at the very beginning, and made it not only the motto of the work, but closely related most everything else to it. In doing so, Grieg created a tightly composed quartet that invites critical listening. Grieg wrote, “I have recently finished a string quartet. It is in G minor and not planned to be meat for small minds! It aims at breadth, vigor, flight of imagination, and, above all, fullness of tone for the instruments for which it is written.” One of Grieg’s novel ways of writing for the string quartet was the extensive use of double-stops (playing on two strings at the same time). In fact, his publisher C.F. Peters refused to publish the work because of the complexity of the double-stops. The richness and variety of sounds Grieg elicits from the ensemble was inspiring to many composers, including Debussy who would compose his own string quartet soon thereafter — in the same key and with a variety of similar features. -Siegwart Reichwald