February 2002 (continued)

10 The New England

Spiritual Ensemble

17 The Ciompi String

Quartet

with William Ransom,

pianist

24 Babette Hierholzer,

pianist

Traditional American Negro 

Spirituals

Ravel: String Quartet

Mark Kuss: Elegy (2001)

Saint-Saens: Piano Quintet in

A Minor

Music of Robert and Clara 

Schumann

The use ofcameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed. Please he sure that all

electronic devices are turned off.

For the convenience ofconcert goers

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

Selectionsfrom concerts at the Gallery

can he heard on the second Sunday of each month

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

During the months ofJanuary and February 2002,

recent performances by the National Gallery Orchestra

can he heard Wednesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. on WET A, 90.9 FM.

The Sixtieth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2401st Concert

HAVARD GIMSE, pianist

Sunday Evening, 16 December 2001

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission free
PROGRAM

Edvard Grieg from Norwegian Peasant Dances

(1843-1907) Op. 72 (1902-1903)

No. 14: Tussebrurefaerra pa Vossevangen 

(Procession of the Goblin Bride)

No. 16: Kivlempyeme (The Maidens of Kivle)

No. 8: Myllargutens Bruremarsj

(Bridal March of the Miller’s Boy)

No. 2: Jon Vaestafaes springar

(Jon Vestafae’s Springdance)

Jean Sibelius Kyllikki (Three Lyrical Pieces)

(1865-1957) Op. 41 (1904)

1. Largamente; allegro

2. Andantino

3. Commodo

Frederic Chopin

(1810-1849)

Sergei Prokofiev 

(1891-1953)

Nocturne No. 1 in F Minor 

Op. 55 (1830-1831)

Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor 

Op. 31 (1837)

INTERMISSION

Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major 

Op. 84(1939-1944)

Andante dolce

Andante sognando 

Vivace

One of Scandinavia’s most internationally prominent pianists, Havard

Gimse, is a graduate of the Norwegian State Academy of Music in Oslo.

He also studied under Jiri Hlinka in Norway and later continued his

studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Academy of Music in Berlin,

where he received his diploma in 1995.

As a soloist, Gimse has performed with the Oslo Philharmonic 

Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stavanger Symphony

Orchestra, and the National Youth Symphony of Norway. Outside his

homeland, he has appeared as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, 

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Janacek

Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, Finnish Radio Symphony, and Belgian

National Philharmonic Orchestras. Gimse’s 1994 New York Lincoln

Center debut as soloist with orchestra was deemed “splendid” by The

New York Times. Havard Gimse is a welcome guest performer at the

Valdemossa Chopin Festival and the Edinburgh Festival, among others,

and has a variety of recordings to his credit, including a two-volume CD

of piano music by Sibelius on the Naxos label. As a chamber musician,

he has recorded and performed with soprano Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, 

violist Lars Anders Tomter, mezzo-soprano Randi Stene, violinist Arve

Tellefsen, and cellists Truls Mprk and Age Kvalbein.

Jean Sibelius’ Kyllikki, Op. 41 (Three Lyrical Pieces) takes its name

from the principal female character in the Finnish national myth. The

principal male character in the myth, Lemminkainen, abducts Kyllikki

and takes her as his wife. While he is away at war, he is led to believe

that Kyllikki has broken the promise she made to him to avoid

socializing with other girls. Upon his return from war, Lemminkainen 

seeks to punish Kyllikki by marrying the daughter of Pohjola from the

Northland, despite his mother’s strong objections. The dramatic swings

in the story are reflected in the changing moods of the three pieces. The

first opens ominously and introduces a motif that serves to link later

sections of the work. The Andantino begins with the tone of a

melancholy folk song, which becomes more intense and eventually 

returns to the motif of the opening piece. The third piece (Commodo)

introduces a lighter mood than the previous two, but the dark drama of

the myth is reflected in its somber central section.
The use of the title Nocturne for piano music originated with the

Irish pianist/composer, John Field (1782-1837). Field’s nocturnes are

atmospheric and nostalgic and indulge in an occasional coloratura

passage for the right hand, but they conform to a rather limited pattern of

a simple melody with chordal accompaniment that presents little by way

of dissonance or rhythmic variety. It was Chopin who carried the

nocturne to great depths of introspection and subjectivity and who made

the genre famous. His nocturnes are the musical equivalent of

nineteenth-century French poetry and call to mind the words of Alfred 

de Musset (1810—1857): “The most beautiful songs are the saddest 

ones.”

The most familiar of Chopin’s four scherzos is No. 2 in B-flat Minor,

Op. 31. Heard frequently in concert, its popularity has been passed on

from generation to generation by teachers, students, and the general

public. Written when Chopin was thirty-one years old, it is a work of

enduring grandeur. Schumann spoke of it as “so tender, so bold, [and] as

full of love as of scorn.” It corresponds to the traditional song form (AB-A). The opening segment (A) features an extravagant array of

thematic material, brimming with ideas of striking originality. 

Particularly noteworthy is the use of silence as a dramatic device. The

trio section (B) unveils one of Chopin’s most sensuous melodies. The

opening material (A) returns and leads to a dynamic coda of resounding 

brilliance.

Prokofiev’s nine piano sonatas were strongly influenced by the works

of Scriabin and Rachmaninov and featured a startling new style that

loosened the musical tie with “Old Russia.” Despite the fact that it is less

audacious than most of its predecessors, the Eighth Sonata was a

bewildering experience for its first audiences. The first movement is

virtually void of form as it meanders through a series of menacing 

interjections, and the second is unpredictable and whimsical in tone. The

closing Vivace, however, is full of energy and is the easiest for an

audience to grasp on first hearing.

Program notes by Elliott Conklin

Concerts at the National Gallery ofArt

December 2001 through February 2002

December

23 Alessandra Marc, soprano Christmas Concert

Joseph Holt, pianist

30 James Tocco, pianist Brahms: Sonata No. 1

Corigliano: Etude-Fantasy

Rachmaninoff: Moments musicaux

January

6 National Gallery Orchestra Gala Viennese New Year Concert

George Manos, conductor

13 Liang Chai, violinist

David Du, pianist

20 Eugenia Zukerman,

flutist

Rachelle Janck, pianist

27 The Iceland Trio

February

3 The Debussy String

Quartet

with James Dick, pianist

Geminiani: Sonata No. 1

Beethoven: Sonata No. 9

Corigliano: Sonatafor Violin and

Piano

Program in honor of Dr. Martin

Luther King

Works by William Grant Still and

other composers

Piano trios by Sveinsson, 

Beethoven, and Brahms

Shostakovich: String Quintet No. 5

Franck: Piano Quintet in F Minor

Haydn: Quartet, Op. 20, No. 2