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December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. François Devienne (1759-1803) Flute Concerto No. 7 in E minor December 15, 2024: THE VIRTUOSO FLUTIST. DENIS BOURIAKOV, FLUTE. A RECITAL FOR FLUTE AND ORCHESTRA, with Erin Bouriakov, Flute. Musicians From The New York Philharmonic. Michael Parloff, Conductor. Versatile musician François Devienne held numerous orchestral and chamber music positions as bassoonist and flutist, and he was accomplished enough on both instruments to have performed frequently as concerto soloist in his own works and those by others. Devienne also composed prolifically—concertos (flute, bassoon, and horn), sinfonies concertantes (works for more than one soloist with orchestra), comic operas, and hundreds of chamber works. Devienne was also a member of the military band of the Paris National Guard, which involved teaching children of French soldiers. He served as an adminstrator of the organization’s educational facet, which in 1792 became the Free School of Music of the National Guard—changed to National Institute of Music the following year and the Paris Conservatory two years later—and thus Devienne was one of the founders of the fledgling Paris Conservatory. He also authored an important method book for flute and is renowned for raising the level of works for wind instruments in the late eighteenth century. Devienne’s operas were performed at the Théâtre Montansier and at the Théâtre Feydeau (whose orchestra and that of the Théâtre Favart merged to become the orchestra of the Opéra Comique). Devienne’s most successful opera, Les visitandines received more than 200 performances between 1792 and 1797. He died much too young in 1803 at Charenton, a Parisian home for the mentally ill. Fortunately, though many of his manuscripts have disappeared, most of his hundreds of works were published. His music consistently favors a single melodic line with subordinate accompaniment and rarely thematic development or counterpoint, and his instrumental music contains plentiful opportunities to showcase the performer’s technique. Of Devienne’s twelve flute concertos, No. 7 in E minor, composed c. 1787, is often considered the best. At the time, concertos began with an orchestral exposition before the soloist entered, but Devienne allows the flute to enter the action earlier than normal: after the first theme in the minor home key, the flute enters by doubling the violins on the gentler second theme in the parallel major. Then, to avoid a predictable solo exposition beginning with the first theme, Devienne ingeniously puts the flute’s entrance into the spotlight with yet a third theme. These three themes form the basis of the movement, which grows ever more dazzling. The long flowing lines of the slow movement over sparse accompaniment suggest the style of gentle aria for one of Devienne’s operatic heroines. The most unusual feature of the movement is the introduction of a cadenza (extended improvisatory-sounding passage for the soloist), which is more typical in a fast movement. The finale unfolds as a lively rondo in the charming refrain alternates with contrasting episodes that become more intricate and viruosic as the movement progresses. The final return to the refrain builds to a dazzling conclusion. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

February 20, 2022 – Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano PABLO SARASATE (1844-1908) Navarra, Op. 33 for two violins and piano February 20, 2022 – Paul Huang, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Juho Pohjonen, piano Pablo de Sarasate won international admiration for his violin playing, characterized by an unusually sweet and pure tone, technical perfection, and a wider vibrato than was common at the time. He dazzled audiences all over Europe, Russia, and North and South America. The esteem in which he was held by many composers is revealed by the large number of compositions dedicated to him: Bruch’s Second Violin Concerto and Scottish Fantasy, Saint-Saëns’s First and Third Violin Concertos and Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Lalo’s First Violin Concerto and Symphonie espagnole, Dvořák’s Mazurek, Joachim’s Opus 11 Variations, and Wieniawski’s Second Violin Concerto. Sarasate was also one of the first violinists to make recordings—in 1904—which are remarkable despite the drawbacks of early recording techniques. Sarasate was at his best as a composer when he relied on folk tunes or other composers’ themes. His most popular compositions are his Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), four books of Spanish Dances, Fantasy on Themes from Carmen, his Introduction and Tarantella, and the present Navarra. He naturally drew on the folk dances of his native Spain, even when creating his own melodies in a folklike character. He generally did little to alter his basic presentation of these themes, but then subjected them to virtuosic variations to show off his skills. Most of his works begin with a slow, rhapsodic section followed by a lively section of showstopping brilliance. In Navarra, published in 1889, Sarasate pays tribute to his birthplace of Pamplona in the Navarre region of Spain. His motivation for composing for two violins and piano (the accompaniment was later orchestrated) is unknown, but both violin parts are extremely virtuosic, with the added dimension that all these pyrotechnic passages—whether in parallel thirds, trills, or contrary-motion arpeggios—require exact synchronization. Part of Sarasate’s inspiration was the Spanish music of the gaitas, a small recorder-like instrument whose range and style he imitates in harmonics, tremolo (fast repeated notes), and lightning passage work for the violins. Together the two soloists play an introductory recitative that launches a lively dance. The middle section changes key and adopts a singing style before breaking out in unabashed virtuosic filigree. The opening dance resumes in yet more brilliance to which Sarasate adds a showstopping coda. By Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Seven Variations on Bei Männern from Mozart's Magic Flute for cello and piano September 29, 2024: Edward Arron, cello; Jeewon Park, piano Beethoven composed works in the popular vein just as industriously as he created his most soul-searching and original masterpieces of “art” music. Every famous and not-so-famous composer of his day, as in preceding generations, considered improvising or writing sets of variations practical tools of the composer’s art. Beethoven’s skill at improvising on a theme given to him on the spot was legendary, but he was also enough of a businessman to know that writing down and publishing variation sets was a lucrative business, especially if the varied theme were a popular tune from an opera that was making the rounds. Beethoven especially admired Mozart’s operas, though he was equally adept at varying less elegant themes, thereby rescuing them from ultimate obscurity. In the 1790s Beethoven had composed variations on tunes from three great Mozart operas: “La ci darem” from Don Giovanni for two oboes and English horn, “Se vuol ballare” from Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) for violin and piano, and “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) for cello and piano. In 1801 he was again drawn to The Magic Flute—and the same cello-piano combination—this time for a set of variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” (A man who feels love), originally an exquisite duet between the comic birdcatcher Papageno and Princess Pamina. Beethoven’s immediate stimulus was probably a revival produced around that time by Emanuel Schikaneder, the opera’s librettist and original portrayer of Papageno. Beethoven’s manuscript for the “Bei Männern” Variations shows a crossed-out dedication, probably to Countess von Fries, whose husband had just received the dedication of the Violin Sonatas, opp. 23 and 24. Evidently changing his mind, the composer inscribed the work instead to Count Johann Georg von Browne-Camus, whom Beethoven had described as “the Maecenas of my Muse” in the dedication of his String Trios, op. 9. Beethoven dedicated a number of works to the count, whose generosity extended even to presenting him with a horse for dedicating to his wife the Variations on a Russian Dance from Wranitzky’s “Das Waldmädchen.” As in many of his variation sets, Beethoven follows tradition by including variations of contrasting tempos and characters, a minor-key variation, and an elaborate and extended final variation. He preserves Mozart’s tender quality in the presentation of the theme—even suggesting the two singing roles by switching the melody between the piano right hand and the cello. He does, however, leave the stamp of his personality by making some subtle, fascinating changes in Mozart’s rhythm and articulation. The quiet but sprightly first variation breaks the mood and immediately shows that piano and cello are to be equal partners as they begin in counterpoint. The virtuosity for both is stepped up in the next variation, whereas the third calls for sweetness and grace. Variation 4, the minor-mode variation, presents a haunting kind of melancholy, featuring the cello in its lower range. The capricious fifth variation provides a foil both to this and to the Adagio variation that follows. Here the tenderness returns with an added layer of poignance and elegant figuration. The extended final variation offers a procession of characters from dancelike to stormy, and injects a last moment of reflection just before the energetic concluding chords. —©Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

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2021-2022 SEASON June 5, 2021 Dear Friends, Greetings and welcome back to Parlance Chamber Concerts! I am delighted to announce the resumption of our live events during the 2021-22 season. Nine Sunday afternoon concerts will showcase the talents of thirty-five of the world’s most extraordinary performing artists . There will be many notable Parlance debuts, eagerly anticipated returns, and musical riches for you to savor throughout our 14th season. Sunday, September 26 at 3 PM : PCC’s celebratory Opening Gala will feature fifteen remarkable artists in a program of perennial favorites. Highlights will include the ever-popular Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi and a star-studded performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. Sunday, October 17 at 3 PM : Our second concert, Haydn Seeking , will illuminate the wit, eloquence, and profundity of Joseph Haydn . The brilliant Haydn interpreter pianist Roman Rabinovich will collaborate with the superb Escher String Quartet in a survey of the master’s sparkling works for keyboard, piano trio, and string quartet. As a special treat, the multitalented Roman Rabinovich will accompany his own delightful animations in his short film, Imaginary Encounters with Haydn . Sunday, November 14 at 3 PM : The dazzling Schumann String Quartet will make their Parlance debut. Hailed worldwide for their fire, energy, and supreme technical accomplishment, this fast-rising ensemble will perform three best-loved string quartets by Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Mozart . Sunday, December 5 at 3 PM : It will be an honor to welcome back America’s foremost organist, Paul Jacobs . The inimitable virtuoso will introduce and perform a selection of towering masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach , composed and arranged especially for the King of Instruments Sunday, February 20 at 3 PM : Two scintillating violinists, Paul Huang and Danbi Um , will collaborate with the superlative Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen in an exhilarating afternoon of musical treasures by Beethoven , Erich Korngold , Pablo Sarasate , and others. The musical centerpiece will be Afterword , a mesmerizing new work created especially for the ensemble by the award-winning young American composer Chris Rogerson . Sunday, March 13 at 3 PM : Impressions of Debussy and Ravel will showcase glittering musical highlights from La Belle Époche. Three of today’s most charismatic young musicians, violinist Kristin Lee, cellist Nicholas Canellakis, and pianist Michael Brown will perform Claude Debussy’s beguiling violin and cello sonatas in alternation with Maurice Ravel’s ravishing duo for violin and cello — Ravel’s elegy to Debussy — and his kaleidoscopic piano trio. Sunday, April 24 at 3 PM : It will be a thrill to welcome the celebrated Canadian master pianist Marc-André Hamelin to our stage. Renowned for his compelling artistry, jaw-dropping technique, and inventive programming, his Parlance debut will include works of CPE Bach , Prokofiev , Scriabin , and a culminating performance of Beethoven’s Olympian “Hammerklavier ” Sonata . Sunday, May 8 at 3 PM : Our 14th season will conclude with a special, multimedia event, Meeting Mozart . I will connect the biographical facts of Mozart’s life with three magnificent works to be performed by a distinguished ensemble of Mozartians: violinist Arnaud Sussmann, pianist Anna Polonsky, violist Paul Neubauer, and cellist Fred Sherry. Sunday, June 19 at 3 PM : The star-studded Zukerman Trio will return for an all-Beethoven afternoon. The legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman will be joined by the passionate cellist Amanda Forsyth and the eloquent pianist Shai Wosner , for performances of Beethoven’s “Spring” violin sonata , G-minor cello sonata , and soaring “Archduke” Trio . I look forward to welcoming you back soon to Parlance Chamber Concerts! Michael Parloff 2021-2022 SEASON Sun., Sept. 26, 2021 Gala Opener Featuring The Four Seasons Sun., Oct. 17, 2021 Haydn Seeking Sun., Nov. 14, 2021 Schumann String Quartet Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Mozart Sun., Dec. 5, 2021 Paul Jacobs, Organ Welcome Bach! Sun., Feb. 20, 2022 Paul Huang & Danbi Um, violins Juho Pohjonen, piano Sun., Mar. 13, 2022 Impressions of Debussy and Ravel Sun., Apr. 24, 2022 Marc-André Hamelin, piano The "HAMMERKLAVIER" Sonata Sun., May. 8, 2022 Meeting Mozart Sun., Jun. 19, 2022 Zukerman Trio Beloved Beethoven Artist Roster Parlance Program Notes LOCATION At West Side Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe Street Ridgewood, NJ 07450 For map and directions, click here . CONCERT AMENITIES Whee lchair Accessible Fr e e Parking for all concerts

SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2016 AT 3 PM Escher String Quartet BUY TICKETS ESCHER STRING QUARTET “The Escher players seemed to make time stand still, effortlessly distilling the essence of this introspective music with expressive warmth and a natural confiding intimacy.” — Chicago Classical Review FEATURING ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE BUY TICKETS The Escher String Quartet is one of the fastest-rising young chamber ensembles. Championed by the Emerson Quartet, the Escher Quartet is one of the few ensembles to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. Within months of its inception in 2005, the Escher Quartet was invited by both Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman to be Quartet in Residence at each artist’s summer festival. Today the quartet is in demand worldwide and serves as Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The Escher Quartet takes its name from the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher. The quartet members were inspired by Escher’s method of intricate interplay between individual components to form a cohesive whole. PROGRAM Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quartet in D, K. 575 (Prussian No. 1) Program Notes Leoš Janáček Quartet No. 1 (Kreutzer Sonata) Program Notes Franz Schubert Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 (Death and the Maiden ) Program Notes Escher String Quartet - Beethoven Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, Mvt 2 (CMS) Escher String Quartet - Shostakovich Quartet No. 8, Mvt. 2 (CMS)

NICHOLAS CANELLAKIS, CELLO Hailed as a “superb young soloist” (The New Yorker), Nicholas Canellakis has become one of the most sought-after and innovative cellists of his generation, captivating audiences throughout the United States and abroad. In The New York Times, his playing was praised as “impassioned” and “soulful,” with “the audience seduced by Mr. Canellakis’s rich, alluring tone.” In the spring of 2015, Mr. Canellakis made his Carnegie Hall concerto debut, performing Leon Kirchner’s Music for Cello and Orchestra with the American Symphony Orchestra in Isaac Stern Auditorium. Mr. Canellakis is an artist of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with which he performs regularly in Alice Tully Hall and on tour. As a member of The Canellakis-Brown Duo, his collaboration with pianist/composer Michael Brown, Mr. Canellakis performs numerous recitals throughout the country each season. A frequent performer at Bargemusic in New York City, he has also been a guest artist at many of the world’s leading music festivals, including Santa Fe, La Jolla, Music@Menlo, Ravinia, Verbier, Mecklenburg, Moab, Bridgehampton, Sarasota, and Aspen. He is the co-artistic director of the Sedona Winter MusicFest in Arizona. Mr. Canellakis was a winner of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two international auditions. He was also selected to be in residence at Carnegie Hall as a member of Ensemble ACJW, in which he performed in Weill and Zankel Halls and worked to enhance music education throughout New York City. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and New England Conservatory, where his teachers included Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, and Paul Katz. Mr. Canellakis is on the faculty of the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Filmmaking is a special interest of Mr. Canellakis. He has produced, directed, and starred in several short films and music videos, including his popular comedy web series “Conversations with Nick Canellakis.” All of his videos can be found on his website at www.nicholascanellakis.com .

December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Piano Trio in D major, op. 70, no. 1, “Ghost” December 13, 2015 – Kristin Lee, violin; Paul Watkins, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano In the fall of 1808 when Beethoven began writing his two Piano Trios, op. 70, he was living in rooms generously furnished to him by Countess Marie Erdödy. (For more background about their relationship see the notes for the Cello Sonata above.) Beethoven participated in the first performance of the Opus 70 Trios at Countess Erdödy’s home around Christmas in 1808, and sent them off to his publisher with a dedication to her. At one point he changed his mind and wished to dedicate them to Archduke Rudolph, but in the end let the dedication to the Countess stand. It had been ten years since Beethoven had composed his Opus 11 Trio for clarinet (or violin), cello, and piano, and twelve years since he had composed his last major works in the piano trio genre—his three Opus 1 Trios, which had served as his public entrée. By 1808 he was at the pinnacle of his productivity and popularity, and the Opus 70 Trios are surrounded by the masterpieces he presented on that famous marathon concert in December 1808—the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the C major Mass, the Choral Fantasy —and equally important works such as his Coriolan Overture and A major Cello Sonata. The first of the Opus 70 Trios came to be called the “Ghost” because of a comment made after Beethoven’s death about the amazing slow movement. Carl Czerny, Beethoven’s former pupil, wrote in 1842 that the Largo assai ed espressivo “resembles an appearance from the underworld. One could think not inappropriately of the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet.” The nickname stuck for the entire Trio, and only afterwards it was discovered that Beethoven may have had something supernatural on his mind, because sketches for this movement appear near those for a Witches’ Chorus for a projected Macbeth opera. The forthright unison opening of the first movement sounds almost as if Beethoven derived it from the first movement of the his Piano Sonata, op. 10, no. 3, and injected it with new energy. He contrasts this immediately with a sweeter phrase begun by the cello. Beethoven allows himself an expansive development section with quite a bit of counterpoint after his extremely concise exposition. The tranquil coda relies on his sweet second phrase until a bright recall of the opening idea ends the movement. The celebrated “Ghost” movement is one of those marvels that fired the Romantic imagination with its alternating-repeating fragments, plaintive melodic lines, sudden contrasts, agitated tremolos, unsettled harmonies (diminished seventh chords), and above all the eerie floating descents of the piano right hand and rumbling bass notes in the left. As with many of Beethoven’s most startlingly original movements, the overall sonorities mask the quite traditional aspects of his structure, in this case a simple three-part form with coda. Beethoven opted to return to a three-movement format for this Trio, and hence there is no scherzo. The sonata-form finale returns to the light of day, with a cheerful main theme that keeps halting and digressing. This good-natured meandering flows so naturally that occasional harmonic surprises are swept right along without ceremony. Just before the conclusion, a clever diversion with pizzicato effects, seamless splitting of the melody between the two strings, and piano right-hand glitter gives added urgency to the cadential flourish. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) I follow you with Joyful Steps from St. John Passion for soprano, 2 flutes, and continuo April 3, 2016: Ying Fang, soprano; Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway, flutes; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; Paolo Bourdignon, harpsichord The St. John Passion has always stood somewhat in the shadow of the more extensive St. Matthew Passion, which is the work that reawakened public interest in Bach when Mendelssohn revived it in 1829. But the less elaborate St. John Passion, Bach’s first large-scale vocal work for Leipzig, holds it own well-deserved place in the repertoire. Passion performances alternated annually between the Nikolaikirche and the Thomaskirche, but Bach agreed to perform the St. John Passion in the Nikolaikirche, whose turn it was in 1724, only after they agreed to make more room in the choir loft and repair the harpsichord. He performed the work again the following year, after making revisions, in the larger Thomaskirche. In fact, a definitive version does not exist because he made further revisions for performances in 1732 and 1749. Bach (or his anonymous librettist) drew his text for the St. John Passion not only from St. John’s Gospel, but from the famous Passion poem by Barthold Heinrich Brockes, texts by Christian Heinrich Postel and Christian Weise, and even from St. Matthew’s Gospel. The work, like the St. Matthew Passion, tells the story of Christ’s arrest, trial, crucifixion, and entombment through narrative from the Gospel text dispersed among recitatives of the Evangelist and Jesus, as well as lesser characters, and several brief choruses. These he intersperses with arias for personal reflection of believers and well-known chorale tunes with new harmonizations, framing the whole with monumental choruses. The lovely soprano aria “Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten” occurs in Part One following the Evangelist’s recitative narrating that Peter followed Jesus, and thus makes a believer’s personal statement that “I will follow likewise.” Bach represents this musically by having the voice enter and the flutes following together at a short interval. But the believer also needs Christ’s “drawing” and “shoving” to follow the right path, which Bach introduces through chromaticism and hesitations. The return of the joyful opening section rounds out the ternary form symmetrically. © Jane Vial Jaffe Text and Translation Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten Und lasse dich nicht, Mein Leben, mein Licht. Befördre den Lauf, Und höre nicht auf, Selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten. —after Christian Weise I follow you likewise with joyful steps and will not leave you, my life, my light. Convey your path, and do not stop, continue to draw me, shove me, urge me on. Return to Parlance Program Notes

October 5, 2014 – Arnaud Sussmann and Erin Keefe violins; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 October 5, 2014 – Arnaud Sussmann and Erin Keefe violins; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Rafael Figueroa, cello; Gilles Vonsattel, piano In 1862 Brahms was seized with ideas for a string quintet of the Schubertian type—string quartet with second cello. Plagued with customary self doubts, and bearing in mind the friendly advice of violinist and composer Joseph Joachim that the ideas were too strong for the sonority of a string quintet, Brahms destroyed his first attempt, recasting it as a Sonata for two pianos in 1863–64. Brahms premiered this version with Carl Tausig early in 1864. Still unsatisfied, and heeding the advice of Clara Schumann, to whom it sounded like an arrangement, Brahms again rewrote the work in the summer of 1864 as a quintet for piano and strings. (This history brings to mind the composer’s First Piano Concerto, which also evolved through various forms.) Brahms’s Piano Quintet was published in 1865 after at least one private trial performance in November 1864; the first public performance took place in Leipzig on June 22, 1866. The Quintet has become one of the most famous and best-loved works in the chamber music repertoire. Repeated hearings do nothing to dull the sense of its power and beauty. The Piano Quintet version has attracted the most performers, but Brahms thought enough of the two-piano version not to destroy it—a major vote of confidence where he was concerned. He had it published, moreover, with the separate opus number 34b, though not until 1872, seven years after the Quintet version was published. It seems that the dedicatee, Princess Anna von Hessen, had been holding onto the loaned manuscript all that time. The opening figure, played in unison, displays a winding melodic shape that is constantly varied but recognizable throughout the work—a faster variation of the figure follows immediately in the fifth measure. Another idea that permeates the Quintet is the melodic half step, which first appears in forceful chords punctuating the rapid piano notes. All of the ideas in the second theme area treat this germinal half-step idea, often in lyrical fashion. The distant new key of the second theme, characterized by downward leaps, creates a remarkable tonal contrast with the opening section. In fact, much of the drama of this movement is inextricably linked with Brahms’s use of harmonic tonal centers. When the second theme area returns in the recapitulation, he employs an especially remote key (F-sharp minor) rather than the home key so as to delay the effect of the return, but also introducing yet another half-step relationship. In the coda, a beautiful calm passage—Brahms indulging in his beloved contrapuntal writing—suggests the possibility of an ending in the major, but this is fiercely obliterated by the minor home key. The slow, rocking motion of the second movement proves tremendously soothing after the stormy first movement. Its simple ternary form again exploits the same kind of key relationship as the first movement. Brahms also indulges in his fondness for parallel thirds and sixths throughout the movement. When the first section returns it is lovingly rescored. The Scherzo begins with a shadowy, eerie theme, only to be banished by a joyous if short-lived chordal outburst. So stunning is this effect that the motivic connection between it and the preceding staccato theme in a different meter might be overlooked. Typical and ingenious of Brahms, both of these are also related to the opening melodic motive of the first movement and its variants. Following a noble trio section with broad melody, he repeats the Scherzo literally. The ending of the Scherzo section—and thus the ending of the movement—shows a marked similarity to the ending of the finale of Schubert’s C major Quintet, D. 956, op. 163, which Brahms came to know well while he was writing his own Quintet. Again it emphasizes the all-important half step. The great English music scholar Donald Francis Tovey wrote that “the savage [half-step] at the end of the scherzo, comes straight from the end of Schubert’s Quintet, and from nowhere else in the whole history of final chords.” Brahms’s experiment with form for the last movement of the Quintet looks forward to his own First Symphony finale. Here, following Schubert’s lead, he fashioned a sonata form in which the recapitulation also serves as development, the whole being framed by a slow introduction and an immense fast coda. The jolly, folk-tinged first theme, which follows a somber introduction, again shows similarities with the opening theme of the Quintet. The Presto coda, one of the movement’s most remarkable features, encapsulates the entire movement, turning the main theme into a storm of staccato triplets and further varying the second theme. Its final section of syncopations is “straightened out” only at the very end by the forceful closing gesture. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

November 20, 2016: Frank Huang, concertmaster; Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey; cello GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898-1937) Lullaby November 20, 2016: Frank Huang, concertmaster; Sheryl Staples, principal associate concertmaster; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey; cello Sometime around 1919 George Gershwin worked on a short piece for string quartet in the course of his harmony and orchestration studies with Edward Kilenyi. Though popular with his friends, the piece was put aside after Gershwin siphoned off its main motive for an aria in the one-act opera Blue Monday , which was pulled from the stage after its premiere in 1922. The manuscript of the quartet lay forgotten on his brother Ira’s shelf for four decades until harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler reminded Ira of its existence. Adler obtained permission to arrange the piece for harmonica and string quartet, in which version the piece was introduced at the Edinburgh Festival in 1963. It was a short step for Adler, now with the help of Morton Gould, to make an arrangement for harmonica and string orchestra, but it was not until October 28, 1967, that the Lullaby was publicly performed in its original version for string quartet. Ira and Arthur (another brother) published the piece the following year, and it has had equal success with both string quartets and string orchestras. George Gershwin’s ability to cross over between jazz and “art music” has always been considered one of his great claims to fame, and the Lullaby, written as a “classical” piece, enhances that claim. The Lullaby is designed in three main sections framed by a short introduction and coda. Softly sustained chords and violin harmonics lead to the first main section, which features a gently syncopated accompaniment. The central section itself contains three parts, marked Semplice, Recitativo, and Dolcissimo. The return to the main section is altered and shortened and the piece closes with a unifying return to the harmonics of the introduction with a little tossed-off pizzicato for impish finality. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes

December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 December 5, 2021: Paul Jacobs, organ Bach’s astounding proficiency as an organist not only earned him legendary renown in his lifetime but contributed immeasurably to his unique position for posterity as an idolized composer of boundless inventiveness, mind-boggling intellect, and technical wizardry. His more than 250 compositions for organ span his entire lifetime, from his earliest pieces written as a student with his father’s cousin, organist Johann Christoph Bach, to an organ chorale, one of his last pieces, composed when he was nearly blind. Most originated during his employment at the Duke of Weimar’s court, 1708–17, the last period of his long life when he held an actual post as organist. The present Prelude and Fugue in D major is thought to be an early Weimar work from about 1710. This was a time during which he had absorbed influences from German predecessors such as Buxtehude, Böhm, and Pachelbel, as well as Italian masters such as Legrenzi and Corelli, but before he encountered Vivaldi’s works, which brought about a significant style change c. 1713–14. Bach’s early organ works show an impassioned exuberance if a generally less polished harmonic and polyphonic technique. Bach’s organ works can be easily categorized in two groups—those based on chorale melodies and those freely invented, such as toccatas, fantasias, preludes and fugues. The two categories do not separate music intended for church—the vast majority of his organ works—from that for any other purpose such as teaching or recitals, rather, there was considerable crossover. The Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532, is one of those formally varied, exuberant “free” pieces, which unfolds on an especially large scale. The Prelude consists of a brilliant and wide-ranging introduction, a contrapuntal “Alla breve” (two beats to a bar) in Italian style with slowly shifting harmonies, and a slow section that ends with recitative-like passages in preparation for the Fugue. The fugue subject shows Bach’s fascinating inventiveness in shaping something extraordinary out of repetitions and sequences (the same material at a different pitch). He was clearly fascinated by this remarkable subject because he reused it in his Toccata in D major, BWV 912, which may date from around the same time. © Jane Vial Jaffe Return to Parlance Program Notes