Brahms tried and rejected so many ideas when composing that he

sometimes had enough material left over after completing one composition

to begin a new one. Consequently, he composed a number of works that

appear in pairs in the same genre. As expressed by Alfred Frankenstein (1906-

1981), the American writer on music and art, the two works in such pairs

usually “comment on each other.” Brahms’ Quartetsfor Strings, Op. 51, Nos. 1

and 2, are a perfect example of this phenomenon, as they were written in

the same year. The quartet on this program, No. 2, is intimate, well

disposed, and Viennese in flavor, in contrast to its sibling, which has a 

more daring and intellectual character. The first four notes of the quartet,

A-F-A-E, represent the motto: frei, aber einsam (free, but lonely),

according to Brahms’ friend and colleague, the Hungarian violinist

Joseph Joachim (1831-1907). This sequence of notes does not appear

again in any of the subsequent movements. The second movement

(Andante moderato) is tripartite (ABA) in form and reaches a level of

introspection and profundity that is unmatched throughout the other

movements. The third movement (Quasi minuetto: Moderato) is

thoroughly diverting, as pleasure is mixed with sadness by means of a 

contrasting middle section (Allegretto vivace) that is typical of Brahms.

The fourth movement (Finale: Allegro non assai) is a rondo in waltz

time (3/4) with a coda, marked Piii vivace, that brings the quartet to a 

scintillating close.

Program notes by Elmer Booze

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed.

For the convenience ofconcertgoers

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

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can be heard on the second Sunday ofeach month

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

Fifty-ninth Concert Season at the National Gallery ofArt

2000-2001

Under the Direction of George Manos

Sundays at 7:00 p.m. in the West Building, West Garden Court

PERFORMERS

February

4 Juliana Osinchuk, pianist

11 Razumovsky String Quartet

18 Leila Josefowicz, violinist

John Novacek, pianist

25 The Chamber Music Society

of Lincoln Center

David Shifrin, artistic director

PROGRAMS

Clementi: Sonata, Op. 47/2

Philip Munger: Fragile Vessel

Faure: Impromptus

Poulenc: Impromptu

Saint-Saens: Allegro

appassionato

Shostakovich: Quartet in F

Major, Op. 73 (1946)

Tchaikovsky: Quartet in D

Major, Op. 11

Falla: Suite populaire espagnole

Shostakovich: Sonata, Op. 134

Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Suite

Novacek: Four Rags

Vieuxtemps: Souvenir

d’Amerique

Rorem: Autumn Music

Chausson: Concertofor Violin,

Strings, and Piano in D Major

Mendelssohn: String Quartet

No. 2, Op. 87

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2370th Concert

PENDERECKI STRING QUARTET

JEREMY BELL, violin JERZY KAPLANEK, violin

CHRISTINE VLAJK, viola PAUL PULFORD, cello

Sunday Evening, 28 January 2001 

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission free
PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 

(1756-1791)

Quartet in G Major, K. 387

(1782)

Allegro vivace assai

Minuetto: Allegro 

Andante cantabile 

Molto allegro

Iannis Xenakis 

(b. 1922)

Tetras for String Quartet 

(1983)

Washington premiere performance

INTERMISSION

Johannes Brahms

(1833-1897)

String Quartet in A Minor 

Op. 51, No 2 (1873)

Allegro non troppo 

Andante moderato 

Quasi menuetto: Moderato 

Finale: Allegro non assai

During the month ofJanuary, selectionsfrom concerts

by the National Gallery Orchestra can be heard

Wednesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. on

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

Founded in Poland, the Penderecki String Quartet honored the preeminent Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki, by taking on his name

in 1986 after winning a special prize for the best performance of his

Quartet No. 2 at a competition. The long-standing association with

Penderecki has resulted in authoritative interpretations of his complete 

works for string quartet on CD, recorded in England by United Records.

Other recorded works include quartets by Brahms, Shostakovich, 

Schnittke, and Britten on the Marquis label. The members of the

Penderecki Quartet are on the faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University in

Waterloo, Ontario.

Violinist Jeremy Bell, a Toronto native, is the newest member of the

ensemble. He studied with David Zafer, George Neikrug, and Joyce 

Robbins and has worked with members of the Orford, Juilliard, Tokyo,

Fine Arts, and Orion Quartets. As concertmaster and associate 

concertmaster, he has made many appearances with the KitchenerWaterloo (Ontario) Symphony and the New Zealand National 

Symphony. He has also appeared as principal violist with Fes Violons du

Roy in Quebec City.

Violinist Jerzy Kaplanek has been a member of the Penderecki

Quartet since 1987. A native of Poland, he graduated from the

Conservatory of Music in Bytom and the Karol Szymanowski Academy.

He continued his education in the United States, working with Efim

Boico at the Chamber Music Institute of Milwaukee, with Sylvia 

Rosenberg in New York City, and with Daniel Heifetz at the University 

of Maryland, College Park. He has performed with the Blue Rider 

Ensemble and with such notable chamber musicians as Vladimir 

Feltsman, Francine Kay, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi.

Violist Christine Vlajk holds degrees in performance and music

education from the University of Colorado and the University of

Wisconsin. She has won numerous awards, including the Friedlander 

Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of

Music, fellowships to attend the Banff and Aspen Music Festivals, and,

as a member of the Montclaire String Quartet, first prizes at the Evian,

Carmel, and Coleman International Competitions.

Cellist Paul Pulford was born in Guelph, Canada, and studied with

Peggie Sampson and George Neikrug. Before joining the Penderecki

String Quartet, he was a member of the Orford and Brunswick String

Quartets. He heads the chamber music and orchestral programs at

Wilfrid Faurier University and has taught at the Banff Centre, Acadia 

University, the University of New Brunswick, and University College 

Cork in Ireland.

Written in 1782 between his opera Die EntfUhrung aus dem Serail, K.

384, and his “Haffner” Symphony, K. 385, Mozart’s Quartet in G Major,

K. 387, is a Meisterstiick in the genre, as are the two works that surround

it. Mozart’s judicious use of counterpoint in this quartet underlines its

propinquity with the Haffner Symphony. The opening movement 

{Allegro), exhibiting a sunlit and joyous disposition, highlights his

genius in writing complex music that retains melodic expressiveness and

deftness of clarity. The second and third movements {Menuetto: Allegro

and Andante cantabile) are examples of alluring sensuality in Mozart’s

music, while at the same time acting as precursors of the oncoming era

of romanticism. The finale {Molto allegro) looks back to the influence of

Haydn, with its opening statement in a fugal setting. This fugal

extravaganza heightens the sanguine spirit of the work and closes it with

great success.

Tetras is the Greek word alluding to the number four. Tetrasfor String

Quartet was commissioned by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation of

Portugal for the Arditti Quartet. It is a work that employs neither 

polyphony nor counterpoint. “The musicians play without vibrato....The

density and intensity of the work is all that matters. Rather than use [a]

musical line, Xenakis uses throbbing, shifting, sliding, gliding,

sputtering masses of dense sound to communicate the forces of his

ideas” (Eric Salzman). As musicians who have played this work will

attest, Tetras requires the highest virtuosity and unlimited energy. The

demands are exceptional in terms of accuracy of rhythm and pitch.