moods. In

a letter to Clara Schumann, Brahms explained: “Ev­

ery bar and every note must sound as if played ritardando, as

though one were luxuriating and enjoying the dissonances.” The

second intermezzo, marked Andantino unpoco agitato, is much live­

lier than the first, giving evidence of Brahms’ homage to Johann

Strauss, whom he met and befriended ata summer retreat in

Bad Ischl, Austria.

A waltza la Strauss in the middle brings

tranquility to an otherwise agitated mood. The third intermezzo,

marked Grazioso egiocoso, with its lightheartedness and dancelike

spirit, is reminiscent of Schubert, despite its Brahmsian rhyth­

mic complexities. The Rhapsody in E-flatMajor calls to mind the

young Brahms, with its passion, boldness, and youthful vigor. It is,

as stated by the late and much revered pianist Walter Gieseking, “cast in a heroic mold.” There are three contrasting themes that

are appended witha brilliant coda in the key ofE minor.

Completed on September 26, 1828, justa few weeks before

Schubert’s death, the Sonata inBflat Major, Op. 960(Opus posthu­

mous) is his last important work in this genre. It is considered by

most music scholars to bea transcendental work of great individu­

ality. The first movement, marked Molto moderato and forty-four

measures in length, is one ofthe most sedate and elongated sonata

beginnings Schubert ever wrote. The opening theme is accompa­

nied by muted harmonies that are sober and dignified. The second

theme is more melodious and delicate, and the development sec­

tion changes the mood altogether, becoming bright and cheerful.

The second movement, with its unorthodox key ofC-sharp minor

(far from the sonata’s original key ofB-flat major) is, in the opinion

of many pianists, the most exquisite slow movement ever penned

by Schubert. The third movement,

a scherzo, isa complete diver­

gence from the earlier movements. As recognized and stated by

the renowned American pianist, Leon Fleisher:“Schubert could

not remain gloomy forever, even on his deathbed.”A gay, dancing,

and sometimes humorous spirit prevails here, with the delicacy

called for in the movement’s tempo marking {Allegro vivace con

delicatezza). The finale {Allegro, ma non troppo) demonstrates

Schubert’s complete mastery of the rondo form. It is filled witha

disposition that is effervescent in character, witha briefPresto pas­

sage that brilliantly closes the sonata.

-Program notes on Ravel and Schubert by Arbie Orenstein

and Kurt Oppens, adapted and edited by Elmer Booze.

-Program notes on Brahms by Elmer Booze

The Fifty-seventh Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and E LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2296th Concert

JON KLIBONOFF, pianist

Sunday Evening, January 31, 1999

SevenO’clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
PROGRAM

Maurice Ravel

(1875-1937)

Vaises nobles et sentimentales

(1912)

Johannes Brahms Vier Klavierstiicke, Op. 119

(1833-1897) (1892)

Intermezzo in B Minor

Intermezzo in E Minor

Intermezzo in C Major

Rhapsody

INTERMISSION

Franz Schubert

(1797-1828)

Sonata in B-flat Major

D. 960 (Op. Posth.)

(1828)

Molto moderato

Andante sostenuto

Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza

Allegro, ma non troppo

Pianist Jon Klibonoff, who last appeared at the National Gallery in 1987 as pianist of the Bowdoin Trio, won first prize in the

Concert Artists Guild Competition in 1984. Since then, he has

garnered additional awards and accolades and has established a

career as orchestra soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician

throughout the United States and abroad. His most recent chamber music collaborations have been with flutist Carol Wincenc,

clarinetist David Shifrin, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Reviewing one of

Klibonoff’s recitals, a Boston Globe critic wrote: “Mastery oftouch,

color, dynamics, and style [were] aplenty, [with] a first-class interpretive intelligence.... There are concerts and concerts, but

this seemed a privileged encounter.” With his newly formed trio,

Bachmann-Klibonoff-Fridman (violin, piano, and cello, respectively), Klibonoff has begun a new adventure in chamber music

performances in New York City. Besides being trio-in-residence

at WQXR-FM for three seasons, the trio was featured in 1997 in 

a special series, presenting the complete piano chamber music

ofJohannes Brahms at the Kosciuszko Foundation.

Jon Klibonoff has recorded two CDs, Fratres and Kiss on Wood,

with Maria Bachmann for Catalyst, the contemporary music label of BMG Classics. He is also featured on a newly released

Channel Classics recording, Anxiety of Influence, in which the

Meridian Arts Ensemble performs works by Frank Zappa, Stephen

Barber, and others. His recording of a cabaret album in collaboration with baritone Douglas Webster was released by Channel

Classics in 1997. Holding degrees from the Juilliard School of

Music, where he studied piano with Martin Canin, and the Manhattan School of Music, where his teacher was Donn-Alexandre

Feder, Klibonoff is a member of the piano faculty of Hunter College. He appears at the National Gallery by arrangement with

Concert Artists Guild of New York.

Ravel’s Vaises nobles etsentimentales is a chain ofwaltzes, a musical

form that originated with Schubert’s Twelve Waltzes, Opus 18 and

was revisited by various composers throughout the romantic period. In a marginal notation, Ravel placed a quotation from Henri

de Regnier: “the constantly new and delicious pleasure of a useless occupation.” There are seven waltzes and an epilogue, in 

which previous material is quoted.

The Vier Klavierstiicke, Opus 119, composed when Brahms was

sixty years old, turned out to be his last group of piano pieces.

The set begins with an intermezzo in B minor, marked Adagio,

that shows Brahms in one of his most sensitive and melancholy