One of fifteen string quartets by Shostakovich, the String Quartet

No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Opus 108 was written in memory of his first

wife, Nina Vasilyvna. Completed shortly after her death, it began

what is now recognized as Shostakovich’s long period ofself-withdrawal. The austerity of the work is offset by the composer’s remarkable use of color well as textural cultivation. Although

Shostakovich makes free use of dissonant harmonies and intricate

contrapuntal designs, he never completely abandons tonality.

Frank Bridge established his place as an outstanding English composer and conductor in his own lifetime, and his reputation was 

even further advanced after his death by the adulation of his pupil,

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). Bridge was introduced to the violin by his father and later matriculated at the Royal College ofMusic,

where he studied composition with Sir Charles Stanford (1852-

1924). He became a member of the Joachim String Quartet and

the English String Quartet, performing on the viola. As a conductor, Bridge performed at Covent Garden and the Promenade Concerts. He received several prizes, among which was a stipend from

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Bridge toured the U.S. in 1923, conducting his own works with various orchestras.

Eschewing the classical sonata’s traditional format ofthree movements in the fast-slow-fast relationship, Bridge’s String QuartetNo.

Z presents his musical thoughts in a fast-fast-fast format. A slow 

tempo is finally introduced at the beginning ofthe last movement,

Molto adagio; allegro vivace. This movement brings a symmetry to

the quartet with its use of motivic elements borrowed from the

opening movement’s second and first subjects, in that order. Repeated notes and trills bring the movement to a joyous and triumphant conclusion.

-Program notes by Elmer Booze

Thefinalconcert ofthe National Gallery’s 1991-1998season

takesplace next Sunday, June 28, when the National Gallery

Chamber Players Wind Quintetperforms works by Anton Reicha,

Paul Taffanel, andPercy Grainger. The 1998-1999 season will

begin on October 4, 1998, with aperformance by the

National Gallery Orchestra, George Manos, conducting.

Forthe convenience ofconcertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:30pm.

The Fifty-sixth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2216th Concert

NATIONAL GALLERY CHAMBER PLAYERS

STRING QUARTET

CLAUDIA CHUDACOFF, violin ERIC deWAARDT, viola

DEANNA LEE BIEN, violin DIANA FISH, cello

Sunday Evening, June 21, 1998

at Seven O’Clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission Free
PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quartet in C Major, K. 465

(1756-1791) (“Dissonant”) (1785)

Adagio-Allegro

Andante cantabile

Menuetto: Allegretto

Allegro molto

Dmitry Shostakovich Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp Minor

(1906-1975) Opus 108 (1960)

Allegretto

Lento

Allegro

INTERMISSION

Frank Bridge Quartet No. 2 in G Minor

(1879-1941) (1915)

Allegro ben moderato

Allegro vivo; andante con moto; tempo I

Molto adagio; allegro vivace

Consisting primarily of members ofthe National Gallery Orchestra, the National Gallery Chamber Players String Quartet,

under the artistic direction ofGallery music director George Manos,

has acquired a splendid ensemble reputation since its debut performance in 1995. In addition to the standard string quartet literature, the National Gallery Chamber Players make it a point to

perform rarely heard masterpieces of chamber music.

Besides her several solo appearances with the National Gallery Orchestra under George Manos, Claudia Chudacofif, a graduate of

the Eastman School of Music, has appeared with the Toledo Symphony, the Louisville Ballet, the Ann Arbor Symphony, and most recently in a performance of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto with the

U.S. Marine Band White House Chamber Orchestra.

Violinist Deanna Lee Bien joined the National Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 1992, after completing four seasons with the St. 

Paul Chamber Orchestra. She made her solo concert debut at age

nine with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra in her native Seattle,

Washington. Since then, she has made numerous solo appearances

with the Seattle Symphony, the Juilliard Orchestra, and ensembles

in Aspen, Colorado and Los Angeles. Ms. Bien was a prizewinner in

the 1988 Washington International Competition and the 1985 Los 

Angeles Young Musicians Foundation Debut Competition.

Violist Eric deWaardt, a native ofDelft, Holland, studied the viola

with Ramon Scavelli, William Lincer, and the Cleveland Quartet’s

Atar Arad. He has performed as principal violist with the Spoleto

Festival Orchestra, the Heidelberg Festival Orchestra, and the Columbus, Ohio Symphony Orchestra. An active recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. deWaardt has presented recitals in Holland and in

many Washington venues, including The Jewish Community Center of Rockville, Maryland, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Embassy of the Netherlands.

Cellist Diana Fish came to Washington in 1994 as a member of

the Marine Band’s White House Chamber Orchestra. She graduated from the Curtis Institute ofMusic as a student ofOrlando Cole

and later did graduate work at Indiana University, where her teacher

wasJanos Starker. Afounding member oftheWhitneyTrio, Ms. Fish

has performed throughout the country, including chamber music performances at the National Gallery and the Phillips Collection.

The String Quartet in CMajor, K 465 was completed on the 14th of

January 1785, one month after Mozart was initiated as a Freemason.

The quartet is one of a pair that he counted as his first works as a

“brother.” This quartet is also one offive that are collectively identified as the “Haydn Quartets” (K. 387, 421, 428, 458, 464, and 465),

which were directly influenced by Haydn’s Six String Quartets, Opus

33. In September 1785, after completing the quartets over a threeyear period, Mozart sent Haydn a complete set of parts, with the

dedication: “They are the fruit of long labor and sustained effort....

May you be able to receive them with favor, and show yourself a

father, a guide, and a friend to them.”