motive blossoms with the assistance of phosphorescent arpeggios

in the keyboard accompaniment, which cleverly aids in sustaining

the movement’s atmospheric ambiance. The fourth movement

{Presto agitato) brings forth the excitement ofthe energetic Brahms.

This highly spirited finale is all brawn without an apology for its

manliness. However, in the midst ofthe movement’s quasitarantella

dash, the piano is given the quieter second theme, which appears

twice and projects an effective contrast to the blazing trail initiated

earlier. An emotionally charged coda brings the movement toa bril­

liant conclusion.

Debussy had plans to compose six sonatas for six small groups

of chamber instruments. However, only three of the six were

completed, due to the composer’s failing health toward the

end of his life. Fortunately for violinists, one of the three was

the Sonata inG Minorfor Violin and Piano. The first movement

{Allegro vivo) featuresa contrast between the first and second

subjects. This movement was initially rejected by Debussy,

but he later relented and allowed it to remain in the sonata.

The second movement(Intermede: Fantasque et leger) has been

described by Edward Lockspeiser,a British critic and musi­

cologist, as“a harlequinesque interlude,a sort of ironic ser­

enade with many touches ofa tender, benign melancholy in

which the violin seems to make fun of its natural lyrical char­

acter.” The third movement {Finale: Tres anime) opens witha

hint of the first movement’s theme before adapting the rondo

form ina rambunctious manner.

Although the exact date of composition of Paganini’s Cantabile

inD Majorfor Violin andPiano is unknown, his reason for writing

it is well documented. Paganini had only one pupil, Camillo

Sivori, and for him he wrote several pieces, including the

Cantabile. The work, originally scored for violin and guitar

(played in concert by the composer) was later was revised and

edited for violin and piano.

Of Fritz Kreisler’s many transcriptions, Paganini’s La

campanella is one of his most challenging. Its formidable pyro­

technics are not for the faint-hearted. It is frequently chal­

lenged, however, by concert violinists, to the delight of their

audiences. Kreisler, whose concert career began in 1889 and

lasted until 1947, was unsatisfied with the violin repertoire

suitable for the concert stage, and attempted to fill the gap

with more than two hundred transcriptions and original works

of his own. Not wanting to see his own name written so many

times on his programs, Kreisler attributed many of these works

to fictitious composers and took credit for onlya few of them.

The“composers” whose works he had“discovered” were sup­

posed to have lived between the seventeenth and nineteenth

centuries. His plan worked well fora while, until music critic

Olin Downes of the New York Times, after thorough research

ofwhat Kreisler claimed were original manuscripts, determined

that none ofthem existed. Challenged by the critic in the press,

Kreisler was obliged to own up to his deceit and take credit for

the works in subsequent programs. The minor scandal caused

by the revelation only served to enhance the popularity of the

repertoire with the public.

-Program notes by Elmer Booze

The use ofcameras orrecording equipment

during theperformance is not allowed.

Forthe convenience ofconcertgoers

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

The Fifty-eighth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and E LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2320th Concert

OLEH KRYSA, violinist

TATIANA TGHEKINA, pianist

Sunday Evening, 24 October 1999 

SevenO’clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
PROGRAM

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No.5 inF Major, Op. 24

(1770-1827)(“Spring”) (1800-1801)

1. Allegro

2. Adagio molto espressivo

3. Scherzo: allegro molto

4. Rondo: allegro ma non troppo

Johannes Brahms Sonata No.3 inD Minor, Op. 108

(1833-1897) (1886-1888)

1. Allegro

2. Adagio

3. Un poco prestoe con sentimento

4. Presto agitato

INTERMISSION

Claude Debussy Sonata inG Minor for Violin and Piano

(1862-1918) (1816-1817)

1. Allegro vivo

2. Intermede: fantasque et leger

3. Finale: Tres anime

Yevhen Stankovych Ukrainian Triptych

1. Lullaby

2. Wedding

3. Improvisation

Niccolo Paganini Cantabile

(1782-1840)

Paganini-Kreisler La campanella

A prominent student of David Oistrakh, the distinguished

Ukrainian violinist Oleh Krysa made his American debut in

1971 at Carnegie Hall with

a performance that won glowing

reviews from the critics. It was heralded by the NewYork Times

as

“a performance to makea violinist’s reputation, had he come

without one.” Krysa won major prizes in such international com­

petitions as the Wieniawski, the Tchaikovsky, and the Montreal,

while capturing the gold medal in the Paganini Competition.

The press enthusiastically reported that“he must have been

born witha violin in his hands.” After an absence of eighteen

years, his appearances in 1990 at both Carnegie Hall and The

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts resulted in repeated

critical acclaim that confirmed his reputation asa master of his

instrument. After completing his postgraduate work, Krysa be­

gan his teaching career as chairman of the violin department at

the Kiev Conservatory. In 1973 he took the same position at

the Gnesins Musical and Pedagogical Institute in Moscow. Two

years later he returned to the Moscow Conservatory as profes­

sor ofviolin, where he remained until 1988. In addition to per­

forming in major music centers throughout the world and with

leading orchestras and ensembles, Krysa has appeared at many

music festivals. Included among them are Moscow Stars, Prague

Spring, Warsaw Autumn, Wiener Fest, Lockenhaus, SchleswigHolstein, Internationale Bachakademie, and the Oregon Bach

Festival.A champion of contemporary music, Oleh Krysa has

worked closely with Alfred Schnittke, Valentin Silvestrov,

Myroslav Skoryk, and Vyacheslav Artomov. He has premiereda

number of their works, some of which were written specifi­

cally for him. He has recorded on the Melodiya, Bis Triton,

Lydia, Polygram-Polska, and Russian Disc Labels. His latest

releases include violin concertos by Bloch, Shostakovich, and

Mozart, as well as violin sonatas and other works by Bartok,

Brahms, Prokofiev, Ravel, and Szymanowski. Krysa is married

to pianist Tatiana Tchekina, who has been his partner in most

of his recitals and recordings over the years.A professor of vio­

lin at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and artist-in-residence at the Ukrainian Institute of New York City,

Oleh Krysa appears at the National Gallery by arrangement

with Shupp Artists of Port Jefferson, New York A native Moscovite, pianist Tatiana Tchekina comes from a family of singers. She studied at the Kiev and Moscow Conservatories with Vsevolod Topilin and Boris Zemliansky. She

has performed with her husband, violinist Oleh Krysa, in solo

and chamber music recitals throughout the former Soviet

Union, Europe, the United States (includinga 1990 recital at

the National Gallery), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and

Korea, receiving consistent critical acclaim. In addition to the

festivals listed in Mr. Krysa’s biography, Tchekina has appeared

at Finland’s Kuhmo and Korsholm Festivals, the Lake

Winnipesaukee (New Hampshire) Music Festival, and

Australia’s Townsville Festival. Her collaborative recordings

includea piano quartet by Dvorak with the Winnipesaukee

Chamber Players and violin and piano sonatas by Ives and

Lyatoshynsky for Russian Disc, as well as duo recordings with

Oleh Krysa. The press has been most favorable in the praise of

her talents:“Obviouslya first-rate artist in her own right”(The

MontrealStar); “An especially forceful, responsive partner”(The

Washington Post)',“Tchekina had her movements of glory in 

Lyatoshynsky’s Sonata [for Violin and Piano]. Her virtuosic pas­

sages were wonderfully executed” (.Musical Opinion Supplement,

London); and“distinguished musician herself and pianist of

notable talents”(Canberra Times).

Beethoven’s Violin SonataNo.5 in FMajor, Op. 24,(“Spring”), is

among several of his celebrated youthful works spawned dur­

ing his strolls through the Vienna Woods that began in midNovember of 1792. In addition to the “Spring” Sonata, that

period gave rise to the Violin SonataNo. 4, the Piano Sonatas, Op.

26(“The Funeral March”), Op. 21(“Moonlight”), and Op. 28, and

the String Quartet, Op. 29. While Beethoven did not give the

title“Spring” to this sonata, the milieu of his vacation retreat

was conducive to the euphoric state of mind that it expresses.

The work is wonderfully sunny and optimistic in its projec­

tion, as is Beethoven’s description of his surroundings: “My

hearing does not trouble me here. In the country every tree

seems to say to me‘Holy, Holy’.... No mortal can love the

country asI do; for woods and trees and rocks return the echo

a man desires.”

Brahms included four movements in his Sonata No.3 inD Minor,

Op. 108, instead ofthe three found in his two earlier violin sonatas.

This sonata is considered to contain the unrivaled soul of Brahms’

musical delivery. The first movement (.Allegro) follows the general

layout of the sonata-allegro form, with an aristocratic first anda

sorrowful second theme separated by an impulsive bridge. The sec

­

ond movement (Adagio) hasa luscious song-like melody that has

been described as mahogany-colored. The movement hasa highly 

palpable pulse, but closes witha serene ending.

The third movement (Scherzo: Unpocopresto econsentimento) is light

and airy, commencing witha tiny bud ofa motive on the piano. The