The Program
GEORGE PERLE
Critical Moments 2
About the Composer
Pulitzer Prize-winner George Perle was one of the first American
composers to pick up on the atonal music of the Second Viennese
School. Born in New Jersey, Perle earned a bachelor's degree from
DePaul University and a doctorate from New York University. At
times during his life, Perle's reputation as a theorist and scholar
was greater than his reputation as a composer. His many books and
articles were among the first to thoroughly analyze atonal
music.
Although Perle intensely studied the music of Schoenberg, Webern,
and Berg, he only applied some elements of 12-tone serialism in his
own compositions. By combining serialist elements (like set class
and inversion) with aspects of tonal composition (like key centers)
Perle created his own composition method called 12-tone
tonality.
About the Work
Perle composed Critical Moments 2 for eighth
blackbird in 2001. The instrumentation of this work—flute (doubling
alto flute), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), violin, cello,
piano, and percussion—mimics that of Schoenberg's Pierrot
lunaire, with the quasi-spoken vocal part replaced by
percussion.
Perle describes the piece as being made up of "nine short,
self-contained, and strikingly individual movements." With his use
of dynamics and instrumentation, he masterfully creates beautiful
sonorities. In some movements, sudden dynamic changes in each
instrument's part produce unexpected waves of music. Other
movements call for smooth, effortless sounds that flow between
instruments and are at times highlighted by the percussion.
A Closer Listen
Each movement features and develops a small musical idea or set.
The listener can often hear the musical idea—stated at the
beginning—take on different forms as the movement progresses. In
the first movement, the violin begins with a six-note idea made up
of two pitches. Before the violin finishes that theme, the cello
echoes a variation of the same thought. This duet is developed
throughout the movement with the addition of the other instruments,
growing more agitated as new pitches are introduced. By the end,
the excitement subsides and the violin and cello play a form of the
duet reminiscent of the opening.
As a result of combining serial and tonal composition methods,
there are peaceful, tonal moments that get interrupted by dissonant
musical gestures throughout the work. This can best be heard in the
fourth movement when a tonal dancelike duet between the clarinet
and cello is interrupted by dissonant outbursts in the other
instruments. The final bar of this movement brings the consonance
versus dissonance theme to an unexpected close.
—Shelley Monroe Huang
© 2012 The Carnegie Hall Corporation
JEAN FRANÇAIX
Wind Quintet No. 1
About the Composer
French composer-pianist Jean Françaix was born into a musical
family and started his musical education at an early age. Françaix
studied privately with the legendary composition instructor Nadia
Boulanger, who supported, performed, and promoted his compositions.
In addition to being a composer, Françaix was also an excellent
pianist, winning first prize at the Paris Conservatoire in 1930.
Not only did Françaix perform his own compositions, but he also
collaborated with famous musicians of the time.
Maurice Ravel once said of Françaix, "Among the child's gifts, I
observe above all the most fruitful an artist can possess—that of
curiosity." As the young Françaix was called curious, the composer
in maturity would be considered humorous. Best known for his
satirical works, Françaix said, "My desire is to communicate joy
rather than sorrow." Many of his pieces—whether for chamber,
orchestra, theater, ballet, opera, or film—exhibit an element of
humor.
About the Work
The Wind Quintet No. 1 is the first of two written by Françaix and
part of a large collection of chamber music that includes winds.
This work displays his quirky, yet controlled sense of humor with
surprising hiccups or extra beats in the music, accents in unusual
places, and quickly alternating musical ideas. Françaix also plays
with the expectations of the audience in his use of structure. He
may write a new musical idea that doesn't pick up momentum until
the third iteration, while another new musical thought may surprise
the audience without warning.
A Closer Listen
Although the work starts, like many others, with a slow
introduction, it quickly becomes evident that this piece is quite
different. The energetic section that immediately follows features
tongue-in-cheek humor with the use of the stopped horn along with
chromatic runs in the oboe. The Presto second movement sounds like
a crazed merry-go-round. Suddenly, all momentum vanishes and the
ensemble plays a quirky waltz with unexpected accents and much
rubato.
The third movement, a theme and variations, is based on a
beautiful, leaping melody that is first heard in the oboe. The
following five variations each have their own character that
features and challenges the players in varying ways. The peaceful
quality of the movement is forgotten once the triumphant finale
begins. Showcasing the technique of the players, the flute and
clarinet create waves of sound under the determined melody of the
oboe and horn.
—Shelley Monroe Huang
© 2012 The Carnegie Hall Corporation
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
About the Composer
Starting in 1874, Brahms toured Europe for many years as a pianist
and guest conductor, mostly performing his own compositions. While
this brought him recognition as a composer, the performances also
allowed Brahms to evaluate new works before publication.
Late in 1890, after years of touring, Brahms declared he was
finished composing. In a letter to his publisher, Brahms wrote,
"With that scrap of paper, you can take your farewell from my
music—because quite generally, it is time to stop." Thankfully,
Brahms did not retire as he declared he would. Instead, he went on
to compose several momentous works of chamber music.
About the Work
Clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld was one reason Brahms chose to
postpone retirement. Inspired by the player and the instrument,
Brahms composed four pieces of chamber music for clarinet. Written
in 1891, the Op. 114 Clarinet Trio and Op. 115 Clarinet Quintet
became Brahms's first chamber works that included winds. These
works were premiered on the same concert: Brahms described the
quintet as "a much bigger lot of foolishness," although many
listeners preferred it to the trio.
The premiere of the quintet was extremely successful. One of the
best ensembles in Europe, the Joachim String Quartet joined
Mühlfeld for this performance, breaking the quartet's
long-established tradition of performing only with string players.
The piece was met with thunderous applause and Mühlfeld declared it
to be one of Brahms's masterpieces.
A Closer Listen
Although in good health, Brahms was heavily weighed down by death
in the last years of his life; many of his friends and family
passed away within a short period of time. This heaviness is
expressed in the minor key and formal structure of the clarinet
quintet. The opening of the piece is written for strings
with the clarinet entering later. The sweet, lyrical melody of the
clarinet is only intensified by the suspensions and harmonies in
the strings.
The second movement also contains a beautiful and sustained
clarinet melody that floats above the rest of the ensemble. The
emotional middle section of the movement includes a virtuosic,
recitative-like clarinet line. The third movement begins with a
lilting introduction that leads to the fastest music in the entire
work. This section includes quick, detached notes and plucked
pizzicato notes under a sweeping melody that is passed around the
ensemble.
The piece concludes with a powerful and unusual slow movement in
the form of a theme and variations. It is rare to have a slow
movement bring a piece to a close; they normally appear in the
inner movements of a composition. The final variation recalls
material from the first, giving the piece a sense of closure.
—Shelley Monroe Huang
© 2012 The Carnegie Hall Corporation