short movements of a lyrical (hence its title) rather than symphonic

character.” Eschewing the classical forms, Berg replaces them with

the dramatic and psychological aspects of the work. It is in this suite

that Berg uses for the first time the twelve-tone system formulated by

his mentor, Arnold Schoenberg (1874—1951). As a prime example of

the new composing techniques that originated from the New Viennese

School, Lyric Suite has taken its place as a gem among twentieth-century

chamber works.

Beethoven was in Baden, Austria, near Vienna, when his String Quartet

inAMinor, Op. 132, was completed in late July 1825. The first movement

(Assai sostenuto; allegro) commences with an unhurried eight-measure

introduction that presents a short phrase ofjust four notes (G#, A, F, E)

in the cello. TheAllegro section begins with the introduction’s four-note

phrase in a change ofsequence (F, E, G#, A). The development section

repeats the four-note phrase in its original arrangement. What starts out

as a restless opening theme for the development section changes to a

more restful second theme. After the occurrence of the recapitulation,

the movement closes forcefully with repeated notes in the violins. The

second movement (Allegro ma non tanto) is a scherzo of an unusual nature

for Beethoven. It beginsjovially and playfully, as one might expect, only 

to dovetail into a gracious and atmospheric trio, in which the “impression

of disembodied gaiety is accentuated” (Desmond Shawe-Taylor, music

critic for London’s New Statesman andNation).

While he was working on the A Minor Quartet, Beethoven was stricken

with a severe abdominal inflammation, delaying completion of the

work. On his return to health, he wrote a Song ofThanksgiving to the Deity

on Recoveryfrom an Illness. He ascribed that tune to the third movement

of the quartet, transposing it to the ancient Lydian mode. The mode

corresponds to the scale of F major, with B-natural used in place of

B-flat. The fourth movement {Alla marcia, assai vivace), employing a

strong masculine rhythm coupled with a favorite march, is the return

to a happier time for Beethoven, who grew stronger each day following

his illness. The finale {Allegro appassionato) is believed to have been

sketched earlier than the other movements. The date of the sketches

and the fact that it was originally in the key of D minor imply that

it was intended as an instrumental finale for the Ninth Symphony. It

was displaced in favor of a choral setting of Friedrich von Schiller’s

An die Freude {Ode to Joy).

Program notes by Elmer Booze

The use ofcameras orrecording equipment

duringtheperformance is notallowed.

Forthe convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until6:30p.m.

The Fifty-eighth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery ofArt

2348th Concert

HUGO WOLF QUARTET

JEHI BAHK, violin REGIS BRINGOLF, violin

WLADIMIR KOSSJANENKO, viola FLORIANBERNER,cello

Sunday Evening, 14 May 2000

Seven O’clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
PROGRAM

Alban Berg

(1885-1935)

Lyric Suite for String Quartet

(1925-1926)

Allegretto gioviale

Andante amoroso

Allegro misterioso; Trio estatico

Adagio appassionato

Presto delirando; tenebroso

Largo desolato

INTERMISSION

Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet in A Minor

(1770-1827) Op. 132, No. 15 (1825)

Assai sostenuto; allegro

Allegro ma non tanto

Canzona di ringraziamento (Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenden an die Gottheit, in

der lydischen Tonart): Molto adagio

Alla Marcia, assai vivace

Allegro appassionato

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can be heard on the second Sunday ofeach month

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

Founded in 1993, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has established a

reputation as a sensitive, refined ensemble that knows how to combine

technical excellence with the innovative use of timbre. The quartet

honors by its name the celebrated Austrian composer Hugo Wolf

(1860-1903), acknowledged as one of the greatest masters of the

German Lied. From the beginning the four members, violinist Jehi

Bahk (born in Vienna, 1971), violinist Regis Bringolf (born in

Lausanne, 1970), violist Wladimir Kossjanenko (born in Alma-Ata,

1968), and cellist Florian Berner (born in Vienna, 1973), have devoted

themselves enthusiastically to chamber music. Having spent several 

years coaching with such illustrious ensembles as the Amadeus, LaSalle, 

and Alban Berg Quartets, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has pursued the

goal ofjoining the international elite of string quartets. Press reviews 

have been most encouraging: “The Hugo Wolf Quartet has mastered

the light and dark sides of music by means of a precarious balancing

act in the mysterious and pale introduction of Beethoven’s Opus 59k,

No. 3, as well as in the lightness that pervades Haydn’s penultimate

quartet” (Miinchner Abendzeitung). “They penetrate the expressiveness

of Beethoven with passion and verve” (Siiddeutsche Zeitung). “Haydn’s

ebullient and sparkling Rider Quartet, with its exquisite conceptions,

was especially pleasing, due to the dancelike Allegro and the Minuet. The

Largo possessed plain seriousness without pathos and the closingAllegro

offered a thrilling ride over hill and dale.” (VorarlbergerNachrichten). The

quartet has performed in many of Europe’s finest venues, including

the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, the Salzburg Mozarteum,

the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and

the Cite de la Musique in Paris. In 1999 the quartet toured japan

for the first time. The Hugo Wolf Quartet appears at the National

Gallery by arrangement with Till Donch Kunstlermanagement of

Vienna, Austria.

Composed in Berg’s maturity and cast in six movements, Lyric Suite

for String Quartetwas given its premiere performance on 8 January 1927

in Vienna by the Kolisch Quartet. The second of only two quartets

written by Berg (the first is his Op. 3, written in 1910), Lyric Suite

is a succession of movements alternating between fast and slow

tempos. The fast tempos increase progressively in speed: Allegretto

gioviale (the first movement), Allegro misterioso (the third), and Presto

delirando (the fifth), while the slow movements reverse the process by

sequentially slowing down: Andante amoroso (the second movement),

Adagio appassionato (the fourth), and Largo desolato (the sixth). Berg’s

analytical notes for Rudolf Kolisch explain that each link joining

the separate sections is not mechanical, but galvanized by the large

unfolding through the hyper-disposition increase within the whole

composition. A work with enormous psychological implications in its

overall mood and concept, Lyric Suite, as described in a letter by Berg

to Anton Webern on 12 October 1925, was conceived as “six rather