Sydney Soloists

Friday, 4 June at 8pm

Michael Dauth (violin), Roger Benedict (viola), Catherine Hewgill ('cello),
Diana Doherty (oboe), Francesco Celata (clarinet), Robert Johnson (horn),
Matthew Wilke (bassoon), Alex Henery (double bass), Bernadette Balkus (piano)

Programme

HAYDN – Trio in D for violin, 'cello and piano, Hob deest

MOZART – Quintet in E flat for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano, K 452

SCHUBERT – Quintet in A for violin, viola, 'cello, double bass and piano, op 114,
D 667, die Forelle (the Trout)

About the artists

The Sydney Soloists, now in its 14th year, is a chamber orchestra made up of virtuoso chamber musicians drawn from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, together with freelance players. Many are section leaders, and a number have appeared for the Society as members of other ensembles. Clarinettist Francesco Celata is their organizer. The flexibility of the Sydney Soloists is such that they can perform in small and large formats. They have played for the Sydney Mozart Society in formats of nine, thirteen, seven and again, in this concert, nine players.

Programme Notes

HAYDN – Trio in D for violin, ‘cello and piano, Hob deest

Allegro molto – Andante

This very short trio consists of two movements: a lively allegro molto that leads into a theme and variations. The authenticity of the work was in doubt until the discovery of a collection of authentic sources in the Archbishop's archives at the Bohemian castle of Kromeríz. While Haydn was employed by Count Morzin, at Kromeríz Castle, he taught keyboard to the beautiful Countess, which may explain his sudden interest in composing piano trios during that period.

Among the manuscripts in the Kromeríz collection is that of this trio in D. The first movement was entirely unknown. The piano solo setting of the second movement is the five variations on an original theme, Hob XVII:7, published by Breitkopf in 1766 and acknowledged by Haydn as his own work.

The musicologist, HC Robbins Landon, refers to this two-movement piano trio, no 15, as a "hybrid work". It is not included in Hoboken's Thematic and Bibliographic Catalogue of Haydn's works, and thus carries the designation deest.

MOZART – Quintet in E flat for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano, K 452

Largo – Allegro moderato / Larghetto / Rondo: Allegretto

Mozart's quintet for piano and wind instruments was completed at the end of March 1784, two days before it first performance. Mozart described it in a letter to his father as "the best work I have ever composed" and said, following its first performance on 1st April, that "it called forth the very greatest applause". Alfred Einstein writes that "the delicacy of feeling with which Mozart touches the boundaries of the concertante field can only be admired, not surpassed; and the particular charm of this work consists in its feeling for the tonal character of each of the four wind instruments, of which none is disproportionately prominent – not even the clarinet, which shares the leadership in true fraternity with the oboe; and in the fact that none of the instruments is subordinated – not even the horn".

The rather long, solemn, largo that introduces the work, has a concertante style which sets the tone of the work. This is followed by a quick allegro moderato section whose opening theme, played softly on the piano until it is interrupted by a loud tutti episode, is followed by a section characterized by irregular phrasing and offbeat accents. In the larghetto movement, the wind instruments take the lead in announcing the themes while the piano weaves elaborate decorative arpeggios around them. The rondo finale is opened by a theme on the piano which is then echoed by the wind. This finale concludes with a written-out cadenza in tempo for all instruments – a cadenza section in the tempo of the movement, in which parts are actually written out for each instrument.

SCHUBERT – Quintet in A for violin, viola, 'cello, double bass and piano, op 114, D 667, die Forelle (the Trout)

Allegro vivace / Andante / Scherzo: Presto / Tema con variazione: Andantino / Finale: allegro giusto

The name of Franz Schubert is commonly associated with lieder, but his symphonic and chamber music is well known, too. The "trout" quintet is especially well known, probably because the principal melody of his song, Die Forelle, is used as the theme of its theme-and-variations movement. The song, which was based on a poem by Christian Daniel Schubart, was published in 1817; the quintet was composed in 1819, but not published until ten years later.

This quintet is no ordinary piano quintet – first, the usual second violin is replaced with a double bass; secondly, it has five movements rather than the usual four. It may therefore be looked on as occupying a position between an unconventional piano quintet and a modified serenade of the Mozart variety. This combination of instruments was, in fact, used by Hummel for his quintet arrangement of his septet, both published in 1816.

Triplets abound in the first two movements of this work. The listener’s attention is engaged at once by a chord followed by a rising phrase, using two triplets; a phrase which occurs throughout the first twenty-four bars of the opening movement, giving the mood a Schubertian buoyancy. There are many later bars in which the viola and ‘cello (and finally, piano) parts consist solely of four triplets. This triplet-buoyancy is continued in the second movement, in which you will hear many abrupt key-changes.

The opening and closing sections of the scherzo, as Roger Covell says, “gain a special character through a series of cat-like pounces”. This movement is marked by closely worked thematic material.

The fourth movement opens with a simplified theme from the song, Die Forelle, stated by the violin in twenty bars with accompaniment from the other strings but no piano. The first of the five lengthy variations is led by the piano, accompanied by the upper strings. The viola and, to some extent, the ‘cello lead Variation 2 with decorative elaborations from the violin. Variation 3 is led by the lower strings over a rapid piano line, while triplets return in Variation 4. Variation 5 departs from the strict theme of the song a little more than the other variations. The movement ends with an allegretto section.

The finale opens with a march-like figure which frequently re-appears in various guises.