The answer to the mystery of the final chord of the second movement 

lies in the link to the third movement (Allegro assai vivace ma serioso).

This mystery chord serves to facilitate the return to the original key of F

minor and its agitated universe. From the opening measure of this

movement, which is actually a scherzo, a dotted rhythmic figure projects 

an immense drive, propelling the listener into a constant ride at full

speed up to the trio section. At this juncture, a charming melody offers a

serene and most welcome reprieve.

The fourth movement (Larghetto; allegretto agitato) commences with

a slow introduction of solid harmonic movement, suggesting that the

work might end without further unsettling changes of key. Almost 

without warning, however, the highly inflammatory final theme enters

and assumes the dominant role. With an unrelenting rhythm and a

change of key to F major, the theme carries the sonata away from the

serioso character. The work ends in a coda that is extraordinary even for 

Beethoven, with a compelling crescendo on the F major scale. Visibly

upset upon hearing this sonata, Vincent d’lndy (1851-1931) decried the

ending as “an error of genius...a Rossinian operatic finale,” while the

English writer Gerald Abraham (1904-1988) poetically described the

work as “perhaps the most brilliant[ly] pure quartet writing ever 

conceived by a musician.”

Brahms was one of two pianist-composers who transcribed the

Chaconne from J. S. Bach’s Partita for Solo Violin, BWV 1004, for solo

piano. The other was Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924). The Busoni

transcription is the more frequently played of the two, but it is by no

means easier. Brahms’ version is for left hand alone, which is one reason

for its infrequent performance. Although it is more faithful to Bach’s

original score than Busoni’s transcription, the Brahms Chaconne makes

no apologies for being a pianistic tour de force.

Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), an Austrian-born American pianist 

who lost his right arm at the Russian front in World War I,

commissioned Erich Korngold to write the Suite for Piano Left Hand

and Strings, Op. 23. Conceived in five movements with an

adventuresome harmonic palette, the suite is a colorful work that projects 

a great deal of drive and verve, while at the same time presenting sounds

that are both cacophonous and enigmatic. The opening movement 

(Praludium und Fuge) begins with a conspicuous cadenza for solo piano

that fills the role of the prelude. It is resolute, richly chromatic, and

ambiguous in its tonality. The fugue also has an uncertain tonal base, in

addition to a highly chromatic subject. Its luminous melody utilizes

materials from the Praludium. The Walzer is Viennese in conception, 

with harmonic dissemination resembling that of the Praludium, but it

retains its inherent romantic sentiments. The Groteske is a scherzo and

trio that alternates between the time signatures 4/8 and 3/8 and features a

piano cadenza similar to that in the opening movement. The fourth piece,

Lied, is a heartrending song entitled Was du mir hist? from Korngold’s

Songs, Op. 22. The final Rondo; Variationen opens with an engaging 

principal theme, announced by the cello, that brims with emotional 

intensity and vigor. After a series of ingenious and exciting variations on

the theme, a brilliant and fiery coda brings the suite to a successful close.

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

Program notes by Elmer Booze

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed.

2368th Concert

BORROMEO STRING QUARTET

For the convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30 p.m.

NICHOLAS KITCHEN, violin WILLIAM FEDKENHEUER, violin

MAI MOTOBUCHI, viola YEESUN KIM, cello

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can be heard on the second Sunday ofeach month

at 9:00 p.m. on WGMS-FM, 103.5.

During the month ofJanuary, recent performances

by the National Gallery Orchestra can be heard

Wednesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. on

“Music from Washington,” WETA-FM, 90.9.

with GARY GRAFFMANN, piano

Sunday Evening, 14 January 2001

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court 

Admission free
PROGRAM

Alfred Schnittke Quintet for Piano and Strings

(1934-1998) (1972-1976)

Moderato 

Tempo di valse

Andante 

Lento

Moderato pastorale

Ludwig van Beethoven Quartet No. 11 in F Minor (“Serioso”)

(1770-1827) Op. 95(1810)

Allegro con brio

Allegretto ma non troppo

Allegro assai vivace ma serioso

Larghetto; allegretto agitato

INTERMISSION

Johann Sebastian Bach Chaconne in D Minor

(1650-1750) from Partita No. 2, BWV 1004, for Solo Violin

arranged by Johannes Brahms for piano left hand

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Suite for Piano Left Hand and Strings

(1897-1957) (1923)

Praludium und Fuge

Walzer

Groteske

Lied

Rondo; Variationen

Taking its name from a region in northern Italy where it played its first

concerts together, the Borromeo String Quartet was founded in 1989

by four young musicians from the Curtis Institute of Music. In just

eleven years, the quartet has won recognition as one of the most

exceptional ensembles of its generation. Winner of the 1991 Young

Concert Artists International Auditions, the quartet played its New York

debut on the Young Concert Artists Series at the 92d Street Y and its

Washington, DC, debut at the Kennedy Center. In 1992 the quartet 

received an invitation to join the faculty of the New England 

Conservatory, where it now serves as quartet-in-residence. Exhibiting a

distinctive style and personality, the Borromeo String Quartet has been

honored with two prestigious awards: second prize at the International 

String Quartet Competition in Evian, France (1990), and the Cleveland 

Quartet Award (1998).

Born in New York of Russian parents, Gary Graffman began playing 

the piano at age three. At age seven, he was accepted by the Curtis

Institute of music for study with the renowned Isabelle Vengerova. After 

graduating from that school, he worked intensively for several years with

Vladimir Horowitz and at the Marlboro Music Festival with Rudolf

Serkin. In 1979 Graffman’s performing career was curtailed by an injury

to his right hand. The reduction in his concert activity provided him with

a remarkable opportunity to expand his horizons beyond the stage, most

notably as director of the Curtis Institute, his alma mater. Among the

many awards he has received are the Handel Medallion of the City of

New York and the Governor’s Arts Award of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania. A Steinway artist, Graffman has made a series of highly

acclaimed recordings for the Columbia (CBS) and RCA labels. Gary

Graffman and the Borromeo String Quartet appear at the Gallery by

arrangement with ICM Artists, Limited, of New York City.

Alfred Schnittke began composing the Quintet for Piano and Strings

soon after his mother’s death and dedicated it to her memory. The

opening movement explores a subdued dynamic range, from triple

pianissimo to mezzo forte. The pianist produces tone clusters and the

sounds resulting from depressing the pedal and a group of notes on the

keyboard at the same time, separated by periods of silence. In the second

movement, the strings introduce a new degree of tension through the use

of quarter tones that result in tonal overcasting. In the third movement

(Andante), the tension of the previous movement is released with

aqueous outpourings from the strings, but the movement soon

accelerates, with motives built on the illusive quarter tones. The

choralelike fourth movement (Lento) expresses a wide dynamic range,

starting very softly and graduating to extreme loudness, affecting a

disconsolate upheaval within the ensemble. The final movement

(Moderato pastorale) reposes in the format of a passacaglia. Although

the repeated horn motive is devoid of a palpable tune, the feeling of grief 

and nostalgia at the loss of a loved one is undeniable.

Designated by Beethoven as a “serious” work, the Quartet No. 11 in F

Minor, Op. 95, is the shortest of his string quartets. As stated by Kerman

and Tyson in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, it is

“unmatched in Beethoven’s output for compression, exaggerated 

articulation, and a corresponding sense of extreme tension.” The first

movement (Allegro con brio) explodes immediately and most decidedly 

with a repetition of five notes by the four instruments in unison that

becomes emblematic for the entire movement. A brief melodic diversion 

follows, offsetting the previous aggressive theme. The unabashed 

principal motive returns with even more striking force in the coda, then

gently whimpers away as a closing statement.

The second movement (Allegretto ma non troppo) begins somewhat 

innocently with a downward and upward six-note scale played by the

cello. The scale fans out into a splendid and capacious melody. An

intriguing aspect of the movement is its ambiguity of key. Although the

key signature indicates D major, this is never firmly established, and a

surprise ending adds to the confusion. The movement ends quietly, in a

manner that seems to favor D major, but there is a sudden insertion of an

upward leap to a diminished seventh, transforming the final chord from

major to diminished. Why the suspense? Was there more to be said?