Hong Kong Sinfonietta is financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Hong Kong Sinfonietta is the Venue Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall

Principal Guest Conductor/Violin/Presenter

Christoph Poppen

7.1.2016 ( Thu) 7:30pm Chamber works by Brahms

9.1.2016 ( Sat) 7:30pm Symphonic works by Brahms

HK Jockey Club Amphitheatre, HK Academy for Performing Arts

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V Piano Colleen Lee

//Principal Guest Conductor/Violin/Presenter

Christoph Poppen

Inspired by Brahms series All About Brahms

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Hong Kong Sinfonietta Music Director: YIP Wing-sie Principal Guest Conductor: Christoph POPPEN

4Hong Kong Sinfonietta is one of Hong Kongs

flagship orchestras. With Yip Wing-sie as Music

Director, the orchestra has brought music closer

to the community, and has achieved significant

recognition locally and internationally for its

pass ionate per formances and innovat ive

programming.

Since 1999, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has

collaborated with an illustrious array of international

musicians and groups, including Vladimir

Ashkenazy, Plcido Domingo, Augustin Dumay, Fou

Tsong, Christopher Hogwood, Luciano Pavarotti,

Krzysztof Penderecki, Pinchas Zukerman, The Royal

Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, English

National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Stuttgart

Ballet and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. The

orchestra has also been a regular participant at all

the major festivals in Hong Kong including the

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Kong International Film Festival and festivals

presented by the Hong Kong Government. It also

partners regularly with Hong Kong Ballet and Opera

Hong Kong in their staged productions.

The orchestra performs year-round with over 100

performances a season and has been the Venue

Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall since 2009.

Apart from standard orchestral repertoire, Hong

Kong Sinfonietta, as an avid believer of keeping

music alive and contemporary, commissions and

performs new works every year and ventures into

crossover concerts both at the City Hall and at the

residency at ArtisTree. Launched in 2006, the HKS

Artist Associate scheme provides a platform for

intensive collaboration with local artists from

different arts disciplines to expand the horizon of

classical music. The orchestras discography includes

CDs of works by Chinese composers on HUGO and

three double-CD albums This is Classical Music on

DECCA. The third album has been awarded a Gold

Record since its release in November last year.

On the educational front, Hong Kong Sinfonietta

has pioneered specially-designed concerts for

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development. Since 2010, Hong Kong Sinfoniettas

chamber music concerts have continued to break

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perform at unconventional spaces.

On tour, Hong Kong Sinfonietta has been invited to

perform in North America in Canada and New York

City; in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in South

America; in Europe at the prestigious Festival

International de Piano La Roque dAnthron,

Les Flneries Musicales dt de Reims and

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Festival (Expo 2010 Shanghai), in Beijing at the

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Nagano and at La Folle Journe in Tokyo and Niigata.

In 2015, the orchestra was invited to perform in

Korea at the Tongyeong International Music Festival

and made its dbut in Switzerland in October.

Music Director Yip Wing-sie, one of Asias most

respected conductors, was the winner of the First

Prize and LYRE dOR in the 35th Concours

International de Jeunes Chefs dOrchestre de

Besanon, the Koussevitsky Scholarship, the Seiji

Ozawa Fellowship Award and a prizewinner in the

8th Tokyo International Conducting Competition.

She has studied with Seij i Ozawa, Leonard

Bernstein, Gustav Meier, Gennady Rozhdestvensky

and Norman Del Mar.

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5 Flute

Oboe

Clarinet

Bassoon

Horn

Trumpet

Trombone

Bass Trombone

Tuba

Timpani

Percussion

Harp

Keyboard

Akiyo UESUGI

Marrie Rose KIMMami FUKUHARA

FONG Hiu-kai Johnny CHEN Chiu-yuan

CHIN Hing-sangMinako TAGUCHI

PAW Man-hing HermannMasumi HIGASHIDESHUM Hing-cheungBenny KWAN

HUANG ShanDanilo DELFIN

Christopher RODGERSCHAN Hok-yin

KONG Tze-man Jason

LAM Wing-tsan

Akihiro MURAMOTO

CHAU Chin-tungRieko KOYAMA

Ann HUANG

Alan CHU

Violin

Viola

Cello

Double Bass

James CUDDEFORD (on leave)Concertmaster

CHEUNG Man-yui KittyAssociate Concertmaster

LE Hoai-namSecond Violin Principal

TSAI LooSecond Violin Assistant Principal

CAI Pak-yiFENG JiaEiko HOSAKAJIA Shu-chenJohn KRUERAmbrose LUILUO Wei-minPANG Hiu-wanChikako SASAKIYANG Yu-siYIP Siu-hayCHAN Shaw-nan SharonKiann CHOWMark HUI

CHAN Tsz-shun ElvisLAU Sum-yinRingo CHANCHIN KongNGAN Sing-on

CHANG Pei-chiehLaurent PERRINHO Kwok-chee KareyPARK Si-wonWU Yin-yinYIP Chun-hei Eric

Masami NAGAI Santiago COSTA MARTNEZCHENG Hiu-man Phoebe

Hong Kong Sinfonietta Music Director: YIP Wing-sie Principal Guest Conductor: Christoph POPPEN

Principal Assistant Principal Orchestral AssociateNotes

1. Guest Principal Flute: YOO Young-Joo ().2. Freelance Musicians:

CHAN Ping-chi (), CHAN Shiu-hang Olive (), CHAN Ting-yuen Timothy (), Shelagh HEATH (), Cecilia HO (),LI Xiao-hui (), Mandy LO (), MAN Hay (), Rosie MILLS GOH (), Izumi NIKAIDO (), TENG Yuk Sophia (),Winty WAN (), Anthony WONG (), WONG Chun-hong John ().

3. HKAPA students (with kind permission of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts):DU Juan Jane (), TANG Wing-shuen Rebecca (), YEUNG Kin-man Sunny ().

6 Principal Guest Conductor/Violin/Presenter

Christoph Poppen

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7Currently Principal Conductor of the Cologne

Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of the

Marvo International Music Festival in Portugal

which he founded in 2014, German conductor

Christoph Poppen begins his tenure as Hong Kong

Sinfoniettas Principal Guest Conductor this season.

From the start of his conducting career, Poppen has

established a reputation for his innovative

programming and commitment to contemporary

music. From 1995 to 2006, Christoph Poppen was

Artistic Director of the Munich Chamber Orchestra,

establishing the ensembles new profile in a short

period of time. His distinctive programmes, often

contrasting classical and contemporary styles with

numerous commissioned works, were highly

successful. In 2006, Poppen was appointed Music

Director of the Radio Symphony Orchestra

Saarbrcken and was in charge of overseeing and

artistically guiding the merger of his orchestra with

the Radio Orchestra Kaiserslautern. From 2007

until 2011, he was Music Director of the newly

formed Deutsche Radio Philharmonie.

Christoph Poppen is a frequent guest conductor

around the world and has appeared with

orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony,

Staatskapelle Dresden, Deutsches Symphonie-

Orchester Berlin, Detroit Symphony, Bamberg

Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Netherlands

Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfnica do

Estado de So Paulo, Indianapolis Symphony, New

Japan Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony

Orchestra. He also has a strong presence in Italy,

performing regularly with the countrys leading

orchestras and at festivals such as the Venice

Biennale, as well as giving masterclasses.

During the current season, Poppen continues a

close collaboration with the Cologne Chamber

Orchestra and returns to Basel and Detmold

Chamber Orchestras, Orchestra Haydn, Orchestra

del Teatro Carlo Felice, Orchestre dAuvergne,

Athens State Orchestra and Denmark Odense

Symphony. He also toured with Tongyeong Festival

Orchestra and Gidon Kremer in Korea, Japan and

Hong Kong.

Also in demand as an opera conductor, Poppen

recently conducted a new production of Glucks

Iphignie en Aulide at Staatsoper Stuttgart and led

the new production of The Abduction from the

Seraglio at Aalto-Musiktheater Essen. In 2009, he

conducted The Pearl Fishers at Oper Frankfurt

which led to an immediate re-invitation for The

Magic Flute. He has also worked closely with

Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, in projects

including The Magic Flute, La Clemenza di Tito,

Falstaff, Arabella and Otello. He was the Musical

Director for Sing for Me, Death, a new production

commissioned by the RuhrTriennale 2009 with

music by Claude Vivier.

As a prize-winning violinist, Christoph Poppen co-

founded the Cherubini Quartett in 1978. He was

appointed professor of violin and chamber music at

Hochschule fr Musik Detmold, and later at Hanns

Eisler Hochschule fr Musik in Berlin, where he was

President from 1996 through 2000. From 2001

through 2005, he was Artistic Director of the

renowned ARD International Music Competition.

Since 2003, he is professor of violin and chamber

music at Hochschule fr Musik und Theater in

Munich.

82010-2011 Piano/HKS Artist Associate 2010-2011

Colleen Lee

2010/2011200515BBC42

20032003Seiler152008

Colleen Lee was Artist Associate of the Hong Kong

Sinfonietta in 2010/2011 and was featured in the

orchestras tours to South America and Italy. Since

winning the 6th Prize at the prestigious

International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in

Warsaw in 2005, she has performed extensively

around the world and has collaborated with such

orchestras as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales,

Galacia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonic

Orchestras of Israel, China, Warsaw and Sendai as

well as Hong Kong Philharmonic. Lee has been

featured at festivals including the International

Chopin Festival in Poland, Pianoforte-Festival

Meissen in Germany and International Keyboard

Festival in New York. Her performance in Magic

Piano & Chopin Shorts at the 42nd Hong Kong

Arts Festival had garnered rave review.

Born in Hong Kong, Lee received her training at

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

under Eleanor Wong and at Hochschule fr Musik

und Theater in Hannover under Arie Vardi. Prizes

she has won included First Prize at the Third

International Seiler Piano Competition in Germany,

the 2003 Dorothy Mackenzie Artist Recognition

Award, Pro Musicis International Award and Third

Prize, Critic and Audience Prizes at the 15th

International Competition for Piano and Orchestra

in Cant, Italy. She received the Award for Young

Artist from the Hong Kong Arts Development

Council in 2008.

Lee currently teaches at The Hong Kong Academy

for Performing Arts and is the Honorary Artist-in-

Residence of Hong Kong Institute of Education.

10

Johannes Brahms1833-1897

Eduard Hanslick

40ClaraSchumann18531020

199015

Eduard RemnyiJoseph Joachim

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C1F2F5

1028 N e u eZeitschrift fr Musik

M i n e r v a

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12

Most people, when they think of Brahms, imagine

the be-whiskered elderly gentleman of many a

photograph. A man, perhaps, curmudgeonly stuck

in his ways, standing against progress in general

and as is well known the newfangled music by

the likes of Wagner in particular (although this

perception was more because the Viennese critic

Eduard Hanslick was pro-Brahms and virulently

anti-Wagner).

What we forget is the young, clean-shaven

firebrand that young Brahms actually was, even

though we do not have to look hard to find

evidence. Here is Clara Schumann who would

become Brahms mentor and friend for over 40

years, confiding to her diary one day in October

1853 after the 20-year-old Brahms had burst into

her and husband Roberts lives:

Here is one of those who comes as if sent

straight from God. He played us sonatas,

Scherzos etc. of his own, all of them

showing exuberant imagination, depth of

feeling and mastery of form. Robert says

there was nothing he could tell him to take

away or add. It is really moving to see him

sitting at the piano, with his interesting

young face which becomes transfigured

when he plays, his beautiful hands which

overcome the greatest difficulties with

perfect ease (his pieces are very difficult)

and, in addition, these remarkable

compositions. (quoted in Malcolm

MacDonalds The Master Musicians Series:

Brahms, Oxford University Press, 1990,

p15).

Brahms had plucked up enough courage to visit his

hero Robert Schumann and was invited to play

through his works. His musical talent had seen him

able to break away from the poverty of his

upbringing in Hamburg to tour as accompanist to

the violinists Eduard Remnyi and Joseph Joachim.

Thankfully Brahms meeting with Schumann went

better than his earlier meeting with Liszt (an

introduction arranged by Liszts Hungarian

compatriot, Joachim), when Brahms reputedly fell

asleep during Liszts own performance of his only

Sonata. In Dsseldorf, chez Schumann, Brahms

played through his works which included no fewer

than five sonatas (the ones we know as No 1 in C,

Op 1; No 2 in F-sharp minor, Op 2 and No 3 in F

minor, Op 5; but there were at least two other

early sonatas that were subsequently lost).

Robert was as bowled over as his wife. By the end

of the month, he had publicly acknowledged

Brahms in an article, entitled New Paths, which

was published, unbeknownst to Brahms, in

Schumanns magazine Neue Zeitschrift fr Musik.

In the issue dated 28 October he wrote:

Sooner or later... someone would and

must appear, fated to give us the ideal

expression of the times, one who would

not gain his mastery by gradual stages, but

rather would spring fully armed l ike

Minerva from the head of Kronion [i.e. the

son of Kronos = Zeus = Jove]. And he has

come, a young blood at whose cradle

graces and heroes mounted guard. His

name is Johannes Brahms, from Hamburg,

where he has been creating in obscure

silence... He carries all the marks of one

who has received a call. Seated at the

piano, he began to disclose wonderful

vistas... There were sonatas, or rather veiled

13

symphonies; songs whose poetry would be

clear even if you were ignorant of the

words, though a profound singing melody

runs through them all; individual piano

pieces of almost demonic nature and

charming form; then violin and piano

sonatas, string quartets and all so

different from one another that each

seemed to flow from a fresh spring... and

so on (ibid, p18).

And yet, having proved himself to Schumann, and

seen his three sonatas rapidly published, Brahms

never wrote another piano sonata. At the end of

his life having only turned to a relatively few sets

of variations in between times his last six

published sets of piano pieces (Opp 76, 79, 116,

117, 118 and 119) were collections of small works

rhapsodies, capriccios, intermezzi, fantasies, a

ballade and a romance but they were just 30 of

what is estimated to have been many, many more

presumably the rest Brahms destroyed.

With his larger scale works, the story is different.

Compared to the impassioned burst of activity at

the piano keyboard, Brahms was here much more

reticent. Apart from two early (and utterly

wonderful) Serenades (Opp 11 and 15 composed in

1858 and 1859), the gestation for his first concerto

and first symphony was lengthy: as we will see on

Saturday, for the latter it was nearly quarter-of-a-

century. But, even though the number of such

works is low four symphonies, four concertos,

two overtures and the Haydn Variations all these

works are mainstays of concert repertoire: a fact

probably no other composer can match.

Such a relatively small number of works is evidence

of the care Brahms lavished on their composition, as

well as the weight of responsibility he felt in

following in the footsteps of Beethoven. In a sense,

he is Beethovens true successor, even if critical

comparisons with Beethoven caused Brahms much

anguish in the creation of his major works such

extraordinary praise must have caused Brahms some

problems: how could he live up to such a

reputation? Whereas the line through Weber,

Berlioz, Liszt and particularly Wagner developed the

programmatic side of music, Brahms stuck boldly to

an abstract form with no overtly outside references

on which to hook his work. He wrote music with a

purpose of its own, not to describe a dramatic or

emotional scene. Not that emotion or drama is

absent from his music as Christoph Poppens two

concerts around New Year aims to prove.

14

//Principal Guest Conductor/Violin/Presenter

Christoph Poppen

7.1.2016 Chamber works by Brahms

ProgrammeB18 String Sextet No 1 in B-flat, Op 18

I I Allegro ma non troppo Violin: Le Hoai-nam, Pang Hiu-wan Viola: Chan Tsz-shun Elvis, Lau Sum-yin Cello: Wu Yin-yin, Ho Kwok-chee Karey

A100 Sonata for Piano & Violin No 2 in A, Op 100I I Allegro amabile

Violin: Christoph Poppen 2010/2011 Piano: Colleen LeeHKS Artist Associate 2010/2011

B115 Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op 115I I Allegro

Clarinet: Fong Hiu-kai Johnny Violin: Cheung Man-yui Kitty, Kiann Chow Viola: Ringo Chan Cello: Yip Chun-hei Eric

E40 Horn Trio in E-flat, Op 40IV IV Allegro con brio

Horn: Paw Man-hing Hermann Violin: Chikako Sasaki Piano: Alan Chu

G25 Piano Quartet No 1 in G minor, Op 25IV IV Rondo alla Zingarese

2010/2011 Piano: Colleen LeeHKS Artist Associate 2010/2011 Violin: Christoph Poppen Viola: Chan Tsz-shun Elvis Cello: Chang Pei-chieh

15

1 9 2 9

Cobbetts Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music1963

24

18368811151672526608 8710140781001083899FAESonatensatzWoO2114115120

absolute music20121947Brahms the Progressive

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B18

I

278D1212

A100

I

1886

B115

I

Richard Mhlfeld114115120FE1891

17

BD

E40

IV 1 8 6 5

Lichtenthal1884Dort inden Weiden Steht ein Haus1865216/88

G25

IV

18611116

18621116Hellmesberger Quartet1501cimbalom

Nick BreckenfieldNick Breckenfield

whatsonwhen.com13-

18

What is not mentioned above in a brief overview of Brahms life and works are his

chamber works. Tonight in a neat numerical progression we have one composer and

works requiring from two to six players.

Again his contribution is rather modest, as summarised at the start of the entry on

Brahms in Cobbetts Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music from 1929 (reprinted 1963):

The chamber-music of Brahms comprised 24 works, which probably represent

scarcely a quarter of the bulk of composition which he devoted to that branch

of his art. Works of art are like icebergs; what is allowed to see daylight is but a

fifth of the whole

What we have are the two early string sextets (Opp 18 and 36), two string quintets

(Opp 88 and 111), three string quartets (the Op 51 pair and Op 67), three piano

quartets (Opp 25, 26 and 60), three piano trios (Opp 8 existing in two, substantially

different versions 87 and 101) and horn trio Op 40. Then there are the string sonatas:

three for violin (Opp 78, 100 and 108), two for cello (or viola: Opp 38 and 99) and the

sonata movement, originally intended as a contribution to the collective FAE sonata for

Joachim and later published separately as Sonatensatz (WoO2). And finally there are the

works for clarinet, the Clarinet Trio Op 114, Clarinet Quintet Op 115 (also arranged as a

sonata) and the two Op 120 sonatas. And that is it.

Our five excerpts tonight three first movements and two final ones take us from one

of the earliest (the First String Sextet) to one of the latest (the Clarinet Quintet). Each

are absolute music and not programmatic. This is music for musics sake and Brahms

was a master of it. Yes, he follows musical rules and formulas but he was also

innovative. These might be subtle, but it is worth remembering that Arnold Schnberg,

who created twelve-tone music a couple of decades after Brahms death, was a big fan,

writing an essay in 1947 extolling, as its title suggests, Brahms the Progressive. He

also made an orchestration of Brahms First Piano Quartet the Finale of which we hear

in its original chamber version tonight.

Programme Notes

19

String Sextet No 1 inB-flat, Op 18

I Allegro ma non troppo

Brahms was 27 when he wrote the first of his twostring sextets (the second was composed five yearslater). Only one of his official chamber workshad preceded it the Piano Trio Op 8, which waslater much refashioned (although it is possible thata number of the movements that eventually settledinto his three string quartets had already beensketched) but in between had come the twoSerenades, the first of which had originally been anonet and only later expanded to full orchestra.There is no doubt he had learnt from theexperience and, in taking up a rather rare line-upfor chamber music, for two violins, two violas andtwo cellos that had only principally been utilised byLouis Spohr (and then only a single sextet), Brahmsfashioned two subtle masterpieces.

They are both big-boned works and owe much toSchuberts late chamber works. The openingmovement of the first, cast in sonata form (twocontrasting themes presented in the exposition,which then go through development only to berestated in the recapitulation before the end),opens with the cellos theme underpinned byoscillating accompaniment on one viola. If youlisten with your eyes closed you might instinctivelyfeel this is music in regular four beats, but Brahms(as he liked to do all his life) is fooling you: it is inthree beats, and that very contradiction fuels thedrama of the music, even though the secondtheme is not dramatically that different save forits tendency to highlight solo lines. It is alsointeresting to note that Brahms was happy toaccept his violinist friend Joachims advice inrecasting the opening to delay the change of key(to D-flat, originally in the 12th bar) and tostagger the introduction of all the instruments.The end of the movement the last 12 bars is,apart from the last two chords (and upbeat) pizzicato. Only then do you really get a sense of athree-beat waltz lilt.

Sonata for Piano & ViolinNo 2 in A, Op 100

I Allegro amabile

Brahms was often inspired musically on his summerholidays and both his Second and Third ViolinSonatas were started in the summer of 1886 whileholidaying in Switzerland. The Second was finishedthen and there (while the Third was not completeduntil two years later), as were various songs aboutflowers which also fed into the Sonata.

There is another song that seems to haunt the veryopening of the Sonata perhaps perversely, giventhe antipathy between Wagnerites andBrahmsians. The very first three notes echo Walthervon Stolzings prize song from Wagners DieMeistersinger von Nrnberg (which gave rise to anickname for the sonata as the Meistersinger),although any similarity is surely purely coincidental.More indicative of the movements mood is theunusual tempo indication amabile (lovable,amiable, affable). Also listen for Brahms neataural trick in using five-bar phrases, with the violinonly entering on each fifth bar of the first threephrases. The piano then again plays solo for fivefull bars, before the violin takes the theme in thesixth bar. There is no exposition repeat, though aclimax marks the end of the exposition, meltingdirectly into the development. Relaxed andeffortlessly lyrical, Brahms song inspirationsintertwine seamlessly in this, the sonatas longestmovement.

20

Clarinet Quintet in B minor,Op 115

I Allegro

Towards the end of his career, in something of anIndian summer, Brahms composed four chamberworks inspired by the clarinettist Richard Mhlfeld the Clarinet Trio Op 114, the Clarinet QuintetOp 115 and the two Op 120 Clarinet Sonatas (No 1in F minor; No 2 in E-flat). Composer and playermet first in 1891 and Brahms, obviously bowledover, composed the Trio and Quintet for Mhlfeld,who he called his Frulein Klarinette, that verysame year. The silky nature of the clarinets tonechimed with Brahms late autumnal style and allfour of his works for the instrument and its playerare suffused with a nostalgic glow.

The opening of the Clarinet Quintet has anintroduction for strings alone just four bars where the violins introduce a falling motif, latterlyunderpinned by an off-beat pulse by viola andcello. From this rises the clarinet, gently adoptingthe violinists opening motif, while the strings latteradopt a spikier, staccato, secondary idea. Thedevelopment falls into two parts, the secondslower, where Brahms is at his most subtle.Throughout, but particularly here, the texturesconstantly pare away to leave lovely duos forclarinet and, in turn, violin, viola and cello. AndBrahms constantly plays harmonic tricks betweenthe B minor of the quintet as a whole, but also itsrelative major, D. After the recapitulation properthere is another return in the final bars, theviolinists repeating their opening motif, but nowthe clarinet leads its fellow players to a hushed andgentle close.

Horn Trio in E-flat, Op 40 IV Allegro con brio

Quarter-of-a-century before the Clarinet Quintet, inearly summer of 1865, Brahms (once again onholiday, this time at Lichtenthal in the Black Forest)composed his four-movement Horn Trio. It is anunusual combination horn, violin and piano butBrahms also sanctioned performances with theusual Piano Trio formation with cello taking thehorn part and eventually, in 1884, also published itwith the viola taking the horn part.

This is the first of our two final movements, andBrahms does not disappoint: we could not havechosen two more exciting examples to end.Originally, Brahms conceived the work for a valve-less or natural horn, although he did sanctionperformances of valved instruments (like modernhorns). And the third and final movements share afolk-song theme (Dort in den Weiden Steht einHaus There in the Willows stands a House),which was a particularly favourite of Brahmsmother, who had died on 1 February.

In a performance of the whole work, the Finalebreaks the sombre mood of the Adagio thirdmovement, but the folk song gets carried throughinto the 6/8 gigue, speeded up and in a completelydifferent mood. But, as one might expect, it is themain instruments hunting associations that arereally to the fore, heard at the very start on theviolin with its steady quaver theme all-too-redolentof galloping horses, and later joined by the hornwith its subsequent halloos.

21

Piano Quartet No 1 inG minor, Op 25

IV Rondo alla Zingarese

The thrill of the hunt makes way for the thrill of thedance, and a Hungarian gypsy dance at that, in theFinale of Brahms First Piano Quartet. This wascomposed or rather completed in the autumnof 1861 (Brahms had earlier shown movements tohis musical friends: Clara Schumann, JosephJoachim and others), and it was Clara Schumannwho took the piano part in the works premire on16 November that same year, in Brahmsbirthplace, Hamburg. Exactly a year later, on 16November 1862, Brahms played it with membersof the Hellmesberger Quartet at his first everconcert in Vienna (two weeks later he played a solopiano recital), where presumably the fieryHungarian Finale went down well, given thatVienna was the capital of the Austro-HungarianEmpire, and what we know as the capital ofmodern Hungary, Budapest, is only 150 miles eastof Vienna and both straddle the Danube.

Perhaps Brahms was repaying a compliment toJoachim, who had written a Hungarian Concertowhich he dedicated to Brahms. Joachim,commenting to Brahms about this final movement,wrote: You have outstripped me on my ownterritory by a considerable way and you canunderstand why. Brahms might also have had theGypsy Rondo Finale to Haydns Piano Trio Op 1 inmind. The speed never lets up in the fervour of thefirst two distinct themes. In the first you can hearthe piano imitating the traditional Hungariancimbalom while the second is both magisterial andimposing. A little more air is allowed in during thecentral, slower section, before the first two themestake over again. If I say any more you will miss all theexcitement, so I shall end by simply pointing out thatwe will pick up the Hungarian connection atSaturdays orchestral exploration of Brahms music.

Nick Breckenfield, 2016

British programme-note writer Nick Breckenfield was theClassical Music and Opera Editor for whatsonwhen.com for 13 years

and now works for the Borletti-Buitoni Trustwhich awards young classical music artists

Poppen_HP ad_v6.pdf 1 30/12/15 9:17 am

22

/Principal Guest Conductor/Presenter

Christoph Poppen

9.1.2016 Symphonic works by Brahms

ProgrammeG Hungarian Dance No 5 in G minor

(Orchestrated by Albert Parlow)

80 Academic Festival Overture, Op 80

56a Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, Op 56a Chorale St Antoni: Andante Var I: Poco pi animato Var II: Pi vivace Var III: Con moto Var IV: Andante con moto Var V: Vivace Var VI: Vivace Var VII: Grazioso Var VIII: Presto non troppo Finale: Andante

Intermission

C68 Symphony No 1 in C minor, Op 68I I Un poco sostenuto Allegro

E98 Symphony No 4 in E minor, Op 98IV IV Allegro energico e passionato Pi allegro

23

1861D1854Otto Grimm18556/41856Detmold18591127141873211855187718831885Tragic Overture188021186913101873

24

18241888G186918802111018721310561116Anvil Polka20Ede Remnyi21

(1) (1) (2) (2)

(2) (4) (2) (3)

80University of BreslauBernhard Scholz1879311

181880

SalzkammergutJanissary Overture188115201853

GttingenRkcziMarch1819von Binzer

25

Jena

(2) (1) (2) (2)

(2) (1) (4) (3) (3) (1)

56a

BFeldpartitasKarl Ferdinand Pohl

Ignaz Pleyel187019301873passacagliaground bass126/8

26

Max Kalbeck

(2) (1) (2) (2)

(2) (1) (4) (2)

C68I

1854

D15186218681876114Otto Dessoff

C8C

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(1) (4) (2)

27

E98IV

18841885StyriaMrzzuschlagIgnaz BrllMax Kalbeck

18851025MeiningenHans von Blow189737

150Nach Dir, Herr, Verlanget Mich3020

(2) (2) (2) (2)

(1) (4) (2) (3)

Nick BreckenfieldNick Breckenfield

whatsonwhen.com13-

28

On Thursday we left German composer Johannes Brahms with furious Hungarian rhythms pounding

between piano and three string players in the Finale to his First Piano Quartet, which was composed in

1861. Tonight, keeping the Hungarian connection, we start with one of his popular Hungarian Dances,

before going on to explore some of his small canon of orchestral works.

As outlined in the biographical introduction Brahms orchestral output is relatively small, although almost all

of it finds a regular place on modern concert platforms: the four symphonies, the four concertos (two for

Brahms own instrument, the piano, one for violin and one for violin and cello), two overtures and his

Haydn Variations, as well as a choice few of his Hungarian Dances. Only the two early serenades tend to be

undervalued but they really are worth hunting out.

As it happened, the first of the serenades (No 1 in D originally for a small ensemble of just nine players, but

later orchestrated) was composed around the time of Brahms First Piano Concerto, which took him four years.

That concerto typifies the struggle Brahms faced in how to write for orchestra after, seemingly, Beethoven had

said it all. In spring 1854 Brahms friends Otto Grimm and the violinist Joseph Joachim attested to three extant

movements of a piano concerto, but by 1855 it was being described as a symphony. A year later, the year in

which Schumann died, Clara Schumann was describing it as a concerto. Here a slow movement was dropped (it

seemingly became the funeral march in his Ein Deutsches Requiem his major choral work) and was replaced

by the 6/4 Adagio we now know. It proved still an untameable beast: in 1856 Joachim had been sent the

Rondo Finale, which Brahms had been able to work on having moved away to Detmold, although he still

commented: I have neither judgment nor any more power over the work. It will never come to anything. Yet,

it was rehearsed in January 1859 in Hanover with Brahms at the keyboard and Joachim conducting, with the

first performance proper on 27 January with the Leipzig Gewandhaus.

The story does not end there, as it was to be another 14 years before the full score was published. That was

in 1873, which was still three years before Brahms allowed his First Symphony, which he had been

composing for 21 years, to be heard (see the comment above that the piano concerto had transformed into

a symphony in 1855). Given Brahms terror of being compared to Beethoven (and, hence, found wanting),

imagine what he would have felt when one critic hailed his First Symphony as being Beethovens Tenth.

Yet, after such a long and tortured compositional process, Brahms symphonic juices seemed to have been

let free. His sunny Second Symphony (another product of an idyllic summer holiday) followed quickly the

following year, 1877. And there are only two years between his Third and Fourth Symphonies, composed in

1883 and 1885 respectively.

In between the two pairs of symphonies he composed a pair of overtures that seem to represent two sides

of his character: the often-forgotten more jocular side, his Academic Festival Overture and the more sombre

Tragic Overture, which were written side-by-side on holiday (again!) in 1880. He described them as One is

full of tears, the other full of laughter. That was also the year of Brahms second published set of

Hungarian Dances, which took his total up to 21 individual pieces, originally for piano four hands and later

orchestrated by various composers. As it happened Brahms himself only orchestrated three from his early

piano set that had been published in 1869. His orchestrations of Nos 1, 3 and 10 date from 1873, which

was the year of his first major orchestral success, his Variations on a Theme of Joseph Haydn, which as we

will see are based on a theme which was probably NOT by Haydn.

Programme Notes

29

Orchestrated by Albert Parlow (18241888)

Hungarian Dance No 5 inG minorBrahms 21 Hungarian Dances, originally for piano,

four hands and published in two stages (and four

books) in 1869 and 1880, were designed for home

consumption (like the slightly later Dvork Slavonic

Dances). Brahms arranged the first ten in 1872 for solo

piano and orchestrated three himself Nos 1, 3 and

10. Soon all the others were orchestrated (some more

than once), including the last five by Brahms friend

Antonn Dvork. Nos 5, 6 and then 11 to 16 were

orchestrated by Albert Parlow, a military bandmaster

(eventually becoming director of music of the Prussian

army), perhaps otherwise best known for his Anvil

Polka (guess which instrument that uses?)

Although from Hamburg, Brahms was very much

affected by Hungarian gypsy music. When he was

20, Brahms had accompanied the Hungarian

violinist Ede Remnyi on a major tour, and another

of his great friends and colleagues was the

Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, for whom he

wrote both his Violin Concerto with its gypsy

Finale and the Double Concerto.

Surely one of the most famous of all the Hungarian

Dances, if only as an encore, the Fifth has a

swaggering gait announced by clarinets and violins

with chugging bassoons, horns, violas, cellos and

basses, that ever-so-gently speeds up. There are

two subsidiary sections, each playing with the idea

of suddenly slowing for a couple of bars before

resuming speed. It is left to the first and second

melodies to bring the dance to a close. It all goes

to show that Brahms could have fun.

Instrumentation of this piece

Strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Woodwinds: flute (1), piccolo (1), oboes (2), clarinets (2),

bassoons (2)

Brass: horns (4), trumpets (2), trombones (3)

Percussion: timpani, cymbals, snare drum, tambourine,

triangle

Academic Festival Overture,Op 80Suggested by Bernhard Scholz, the conductor of the

local Breslau Orchestral Society, the University of

Breslau (then in Germany, now in Poland and

renamed ), conferred on Brahms an

honorary Doctorate on 11 March 1879. The citation

described him as artis musicae severioris Germania

nunc princeps (the most famous living German

composer of serious music). Scholz, an ardent

admirer of Brahms music, wrote to the composer

exactly a week later: Will you write us a Doctoral

Symphony for Breslau? We expect a Festal Ode at

least. But 18 months were to elapse before Brahms

was able to announce that he had composed an

Academic Festival Overture, which he described as

a cheerful potpourri of songs la Supp, while

feeling that the title was a little stuffy.

Predictably, while he spent the summer of 1880 in

his regular summer retreat at Bad Ischl in the

Salzkammergut working on the Academic Festival

Overture, he worked on a more sombre corollary,

the Tragic Overture, describing the pair: One is full

of tears, the other full of laughter. In the

Academic Festival Overture he revelled in forging a

number of student songs into a finally wrought

and disciplined score, despite the largest variety of

percussion he ever requested (bass drum, cymbal

and triangle on top of the usual timpani). He

sometimes called it his Janissary Overture a

term used to describe Turkish-style military music

and suggested that it could work well for a military

band, although he did not feel competent enough

to make the arrangement himself. He conducted

both Overtures at Breslau on 5 January 1881 the

Academic Festival Overture receiving its premire

to great acclaim.

In his choice of themes, Brahms celebrated both

student and academic life, although he had not

been a student himself, nor held any academic

post. However, he had tasted some of the more

energetic student shenanigans some 20 years

30

earlier, in 1853 when his friend Joachim (the

violinist) had been attending lectures in Gttingen.

Here they had both enacted the initiation fox-

ride round the common-room table and, lo-and-

behold, that same theme (Was Kommt Dort von

der Hh? What Comes Here from on High?)

occurs in the Overture. It starts, however, with an

adaptation of the Rkczi March, quiet on strings

and bassoons. It has been suggested that two

following fragments are references to student

drinking songs: Vom Hohn Olymp Herab (From

High Olympus) and Fiducit (Confidence),

while these are definitely followed both by the

Landesvater (Father of the country) melody,

where the second violins take the tune, with the

firsts remaining on high, and a Thuringian folk

song which had been set to angry words by von

Binzer in 1819 as a protest at the disbanding of the

Jena Students Association (Wir Hatten Gebauet

ein Stattliches Haus We Have Built a Stately

Home). Bassoons, in duet, introduce the fox-

ride theme and the themes are cleverly recapped

and varied before being topped by the maestoso

coda, for which Brahms uses the academic song

Gaudeamus Igitur, with lyrics that obviously

appealed to his practical, no-nonsense mind: So

let us rejoice while we are young... After joyful

youth and troublesome age, the ground will have

us.

Instrumentation of this piece

Strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Woodwinds: flutes (2), piccolo (1), oboes (2), clarinets (2),

bassoons (2), contrabassoon (1)

Brass: horns (4), trumpets (3), trombones (3), tuba (1)

Percussion: timpani, cymbals, triangle, bass drum

Variations on a theme byJoseph Haydn, Op 56a

Chorale St Antoni: Andante

Var I: Poco pi animato

Var II: Pi vivace

Var III: Con moto

Var IV: Andante con moto

Var V: Vivace

Var VI: Vivace

Var VII: Grazioso

Var VIII: Presto non troppo

Finale: Andante

Brahms immediate inspiration for his first set oforchestral variations (his last in effect is the Finale tothe fourth symphony, we hear at the end) camefrom the second movement of an open-air windoctet work in B-flat, one of six Feldpartitas,discovered by Karl Ferdinand Pohl from the Esterhzyarchives at Eisenstadt. This simple chorale forSt Anthony was assumed to be by Haydn (as Haydnhad spent decades in the service of Prince Esterhzathere), although modern scholarship now suggests itwas by one of Haydns pupils Ignaz Pleyel.

Not that the attribution to the great Haydn didBrahms work any harm at all it, needless to say,was a great success from its very first performance.Brahms noted down the theme from the secondmovement (the actual music was not publisheduntil the 1930s) in 1870 and eventually produced atwo-piano set of variations in 1873, with the moreimportant orchestration following soon afterwards.It has been argued that, even though playedwithout pause, the eight variations framed by thetheme and the Finale neatly reflect symphonicform. The theme and first three variations can beregarded as a buoyant first movement; Variation IVis the slow movement; Var V to VII (two vivaces anda grazioso) acting as an "undercover Scherzo andthe last variation with the Finale acting as a fineclosing movement, complete with a five-barground bass, la passacaglia, which he had useagain to end his last symphony 12 years later.

31

The statement of the theme is left like theoriginal source for woodwind, with only lowerstrings pizzicato in addition. One of thefascinations for Brahms was the irregular length ofthe theme here five bars rather than the normalfour (hence the five-bar ground bass in the Finale).The fel icity of Brahms instrumental andcompositional inspiration in each variation needsno introduction, although it is perhaps worthmentioning that Var V, in 6/8, has been likened to aMendelssohn Scherzo, and that the Grazioso of VarVII was claimed by Brahms early biographer MaxKalbeck to represent one of St Anthonystemptations. Given the nature of the music, thattemptation seems to be feminine: the mostatrocious because it is the sweetest.

Instrumentation of this piece

Strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Woodwinds: flutes (2), piccolo (1), oboes (2), clarinets (2),

bassoons (2), contrabassoon (1)

Brass: horns (4), trumpets (2)

Percussion: timpani, triangle

Symphony No 1 in C minor,Op 68

I Un poco sostenuto Allegro

Writing a symphony is no joke! Brahms claimed.It seems that Brahms had started thinking aboutwriting a symphony as early as 1854, when hisfriend and mentor Robert Schumann went madand threw himself into the Rhine and when he firstheard Beethovens Ninth Symphony (the Choral).But the resultant sketches finally became the FirstPiano Concerto in D minor, Op 15. Eight years laterit is clear that the first movement (at least) of anew symphony was sketched (although withoutthe slow introduction that now precedes it)because he showed it to Clara Schumann. In aletter dated 1 July to their mutual friend, theviolinist Joseph Joachim, Clara described it assomewhat harsh, but I have quickly becomeaccustomed to it.

By 1868 the Finale was under way. Brahms wroteto Clara with the horn theme, using it for anextempore greeting with the words: Thus blewthe shepherds horn today. But it was to be afurther eight years before Brahms was sufficientlyhappy to publicly release the work, and even theday before the premire he was still shortening themiddle movements and debating alterations to theFinale. It eventually was heard for the first time on4 November 1876 at Karlsruhe with the orchestraof the Grand Duke of Baden, conducted by OttoDessoff.

It had the longest gestation period of any ofBrahms works, but it was definitely worth thewait. The slow introduction to the first movement un poco sostenuto was an afterthought, but it isso well conceived and written that it sounds as ifthe rest of the symphony springs from theseopening bars. Unlike the slow preludes to Haydnand Mozart symphonies, the mood and themes ofthe opening return in the slower final pages of themovement, and its ideas are firmly integrated intothe main Allegro section.

There is a note of tragedy in the tramping rhythm(pedal C on the basses with timpani reinforcement)as well as the introductions two themes whichtravel in opposite directions. While the strings striveupwards in semitone steps, the winds counteractagainst them by playing a descending theme inthirds (a prevalent motif of the symphony as awhole). Winds and pizzicato strings play a fallingseventh and then a falling sixth, keeping theatmosphere gloomy. A swelling theme for strings,then a flute, violin and bassoon slow descendingscale leads back by way of the timpani quavers tothe opening tramping theme, this time over atimpani roll. A melancholy oboe solo isaccompanied by horn, taken by flute and thencellos who quietly lead into the main Allegro.

The Allegros first four bars are a speeded upversion of the very opening theme and the fallingsevenths and sixths soon recur, with the swellingtheme not far behind all over a short-longrhythm. Quieter wind sections, with more relaxedhorn and clarinet calls, are not allowed to interruptfor long. With tension as the keynote, the music isrestless and continually moving especially with a

32

descending, triple-quaver accented figure firstintroduced by the violas, then reiteratedthroughout the whole movement, rich in bothorchestral and thematic invention. The seriousnessof musical purpose is quite breathtaking.Eventually, over halting timpani beats, the paceslackens and the coda ends with a hopeful plea inC major, after the turbulence of the movement asa whole.

Instrumentation of this movement

Strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Woodwinds: flutes (2), oboes (2), clarinets (2), bassoons (2),

contrabassoon (1)

Brass: horns (4), trumpets (2)

Timpani

Symphony No 4 in E minor,Op 98

IV Allegro energico e passionato Pi allegro

Brahms Fourth Symphony was written during thesummers of 1884 and 1885 at Mrzzuschlag inStyria. Brahms and Ignaz Brll played it through ontwo pianos to an assembled crowd, one of whom,the writer Max Kalbeck, found the Finalespassacaglia an unfitting end to a symphony and sorecommended that it be published as a separatework. He also told Brahms to drop the Scherzo andcompose two new movements to end the work.Typically Brahms simply stuck to his guns: ifvariation form was good enough for Beethoven inthe Finale of his Eroica Symphony, then it was goodenough for Brahms.

The premire was in Meiningen, rehearsed by Hansvon Blow, but conducted by the composer himselfon 25 October 1885. Present was the newlyappointed assistant conductor of the orchestra,Richard Strauss. The first audiences were unsure ofthe symphony, but the Viennese took it to theirhearts. At a performance given by the ViennaPhilharmonic on 7 March 1897, less than a month

before his death, Brahms was given a greatovation. Von Blow described it as quitestupendous and Brahms beloved ClaraSchumann was full of praise.

Adding trombones to his instrumental armoury forthe first time in this symphony, Brahms ends hisorchestral canon with a display of instrumentalpower. The Finale starts with the woodwind, whointroduce an eight-bar ground bass theme takenfrom Bachs cantata BWV 150: Nach Dir, Herr,Verlanget Mich (For Thee, O Lord, I long), onwhich the whole movement is based. The wholeedifice is constructed as a passacaglia (that is, withthe accompanying ground bass line regularlyrepeated). In total there are 30 variations, with theeight-bar ground bass skilfully preserved. Brahmsuses various combinations of instruments for hisvariations, from a beautiful single flute solo to thewhole orchestra. The movement ends with a codaof tremendous breadth and energy (Pi allegro). Inturning to an almost disused form to end his lastand most challenging symphony, Brahms showedhis skill in not only assimilating all before him, buthis ability to look forward.

Instrumentation of this movement

Strings: 1st & 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses

Woodwinds: flutes (2), oboes (2), clarinets (2), bassoons (2),

contrabassoon (1)

Brass: horns (4), trumpets (2), trombones (3)

Timpani

Nick Breckenfield, 2016

British programme-note writer Nick Breckenfield was theClassical Music and Opera Editor for whatsonwhen.com for 13 years

and now works for the Borletti-Buitoni Trustwhich awards young classical music artists

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Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will be used for issuing official receipts and other communication purposes.

DONOR INFORMATION

For Official Use Only For Hong Kong Sinfonietta Use Only (Donors Ref. #)

For Bank Use Only (Signature(s) verified)

DONATION METHOD

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I/We hereby authorize my/our above named Bank to effect transfers from my/ouraccount to that of the above named beneficiary in accordance with such instructions asmy/our Bank may receive from the beneficiary and/or its banker and/or its bankerscorrespondent from time to time provided always that the amount of any one suchtransfer shall not exceed the limit indicated above.

I /We agree that my/our Bank shall not be obliged to ascertain whether or not notice ofany such transfer or reversal notice has been given to me/us.

I/We jointly and severally accept full responsibility for any overdraft (or increase inexisting overdraft) on my/our account which may arise as a result of any suchtransfer(s).

I/We understand that I/we must maintain sufficient funds in the account one businessday (before the close of branch banking hours) before the transfer date (as specified inthe instructions received by my/our Bank from the beneficiary and/or its banker and/orits bankers correspondent from time to time) for the transfer authorized herein. I/Weagree that should there be insufficient funds in my/our account to meet any transferauthorized herein, my/our Bank will be entitlted, at its absolute discretion, not to effectsuch a transfer in which event the Bank may levy its usual charges and may cancel thisauthorization at any time without notification to me/us. For the avoidance of doubt, theBank may cancel this authorization at its sole discretion at any time without prior notice.

This direct debit authorization shall have effect until further notice or until the expirydate written above (whichever shall first occur). I/We agree that if no transaction isperformed on my/our account under such authorization for a continuous period of 30months, my/our Bank reserves the right to cancel the direct debit arrangement withoutprior notice to me/us, even though the authorization has not expired or there is noexpiry date for the authorization.

I/We agree that any notice of cancellation or variation of this authorization which I/wemay give to my/our Bank shall be given at least two working days prior to the date onwhich such cancellation/variation is to take effect.

ChequeI enclose a cheque of the above stated amount as my one-off donation to the Hong Kong Sinfonietta Limited.

I would like to support the Hong Kong Sinfonietta with HK$ __________________ monthly donation for its General Fund

Student Ticket Scheme one-off donation

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