Schubert had as the model for his Impromptus short character pieces by

the Czech composer Wenzel Johann Tomasek (1774-1850) entitled 

Eclogues and Dithyrambs. Schubert’s two sets of Impromptus, Opp. 90

(D. 899) and 142 (D. 935), bear only slight resemblance to Tomasek’s

pieces. Writer George Jellinek describes them as “essentially songs

without words.” Opus 90, No. 1 (Allegro molto moderato), is in C minor 

and commences in a ruminating manner. The theme resembles a folk

melody as intoxicating as it is heartrending. No. 2 {Allegro), in E-flat 

major, is a stylized waltz in the nature of a scherzo, employing soaring 

triplet figures with a dancelike staccato interlude. No. 3 {Andante), in Gflat major, is vintage Schubert. Musicologist Maurice J. E. Brown notes:

“The chief beauty of [this] Impromptu is the way in which Schubert uses

the four falling notes of his slow tune in endlessly varied devices: to give

fresh contours to his melody, to introduce touches of color by placing 

them in unexpected keys, [and] to build up a climax. On the last page all

three of these techniques combine to produce an unforgettable close to

the songlike piece.” Impromptu No. 4 {Allegretto), in A-flat major,

contains glossy passages in thirds that are brilliantly conceived and

represent “a dance in the moonlight—with the feet scarcely touching the

ground” (Artur Schnabel).

Dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick (1779-1849), a cellist and an

ardent, well-informed connoisseur of Beethoven’s works, the Sonata No.

23 in F Minor, Op. 57, began its embryonic development as Beethoven 

was working on his opera, Fidelio. The subtitle, “Appassionato,” is said

to have been applied by the publisher, not by Beethoven. Writer Romain 

Rolland contends that the subtitle is unusual, “because it happens to

apply. This is, indeed, an impassioned work; the fact that its title has

brought it an unusual degree of popularity does not in the least 

undermine its power or its stature.”

Following the classic sonata-allegro format, Op. 57 has been described

as more “normal” in layout than Beethoven’s previous efforts in this

genre. The contrast between the first two themes is profound: an

explosive, rhythmically driven opening theme is juxtaposed with a

smooth and elegant secondary theme. This contrast produces a diversity 

of moods and quicksilver changes, moments of tranquility followed 

immediately by a brief deluge. All these features heighten the musical 

drama, with an added tonal coloration expressed in the “contralto” voice

range chosen for the second theme. The second movement {Andante con

moto) has a single mellifluous theme that is both attractive and dignified, 

with a set of four imposing variations. Surprisingly, the last variation 

does not end on a tonic chord. Instead, there is a jolting dissonance that 

leads without interruption to the finale {Allegro ma non troppo). This last

movement relies on the sonata-allegro form, as did the first. However, it

takes on the character of a moto perpetuo, bringing the sonata to a

brilliant and forceful conclusion.

Program notes by Elmer Booze

The use of cameras or recording equipment during

the performance is not allowed. Please make sure that all

personal electronic devices are turned off.

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, 103.5 FM.

This is the last concert ofthe season at the National Gallery.

Concerts will resume on Sunday, 7 October 2001,

with a performance by the National Gallery Orchestra,

George Manos, conductor.

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

liM

2390th Concert

PAUL BADURA-SKODA, pianist

Sunday Evening, 24 June 2001

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission free
PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 

(1756-1791)

Mozart

Franz Schubert 

(1797-1828)

Fantasia in D Minor 

KV. 397 (1782)

Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, maman”

KV. 364(1781-1782)

Sonata in A Minor, Opus posthumous 164

D. 537 (1778)

Allegro ma non troppo 

Allegretto quasi andantino 

Allegro vivace

INTERMISSION

Schubert Four Impromptus, Op. 90

(D. 899)(1827)

No. 1 in C Minor 

No. 2 in E-flat Major 

No. 3 in G-flat Major 

No. 4 in A-flat Major

Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata No. 23 in F Minor (“Appassionata”)

(1770-1827) Op. 57 (1804-1805)

Allegro assai

Andante con moto

Allegro ma non troppo

The National Gallery welcomes for the third time the return of pianist 

Paul Badura-Skoda, who first performed in this concert series in 1995.

Bom in 1927 in Vienna, his unusual musical talent was discovered early

and was encouraged by his family and his teachers. In 1945 he entered 

the Vienna Conservatory. Two years later he won the first prize in the

Austrian Music Competition, which was a scholarship for Edwin 

Fischer’s master classes in Lucerne, Switzerland. Within a few years,

Badura-Skoda became Fischer’s assistant and, after Fischer’s death,

carried on the master classes in Vienna, Salzburg, Edinburgh, and Siena.

In addition to the classes with young artists, he has devoted much time

and enthusiasm to the strenuous process of adjudicating important piano 

contests. He has become a regular and celebrated guest at the world’s

most prestigious music festivals. The legendary conductors under whom 

he has performed concertos include Wilhelm Furtwangler, Josef Krips,

Karl Bohm, George Szell, and Georg Solti. In partnership with Jorg 

Demus, Badura-Skoda played and commented on all of Beethoven’s

piano sonatas for West German Television in the composer’s bicentenary 

year (1970). Performances of Beethoven cycles followed in Mexico, 

Chicago, Paris, Vienna, and Barcelona. In the Mozart bicentenary year 

(1991), he played Mozart’s complete sonatas in a series of four evenings. 

He subsequently presented the same program in Germany, Spain,

France, Japan, Canada, and the United States. In the course of his career

Badura-Skoda has recorded more than two hundred long-playing records 

and dozens of compact discs, including complete cycles of piano sonatas

of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. In 1993 the French government 

bestowed upon him one of its highest medals of honor, naming him a

Chevalier de la legion d’honneur. Paul Badura-Skoda appears at the

National Gallery by arrangement with Gerhild Baron International 

Artists Management of Vienna, Austria.

In spite of a busy teaching and playing schedule between 1781 and

1784, Mozart found time during those years to compose some of his best 

chamber music. Among the outstanding examples are the six String

Quartets, dedicated to Haydn, two Duets for Violin and Viola, KV. 423

and KV. 424, and the Quintetfor Piano and Winds, KV. 452. Only a few

piano works were produced during that period. Most were fantasias, and

notable among them is the Fantasia in D Minor, K. 397. These works

were left unfinished by Mozart, and K. 397, according to Erik Smith,

writing in The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, was

completed by an employee of the publisher Breitkopf and Hartel with

“ten unsuitable and perfunctory bars.” Nevertheless, this short

(approximately seven minutes long), dramatic work is filled with an

emotional intensity that resembles an opera scene for solo piano.

Evoking this image without the benefit of lyrics, background sets, or

costumes, it is a tribute to Mozart’s genius.

The variation form, as developed by Mozart, stemmed from his career 

as a virtuoso improviser on popular songs such as Ah vous dirai-je,

maman. This simple and catchy theme has never lost its popularity and is

known to children in English-speaking countries as Twinkle, Twinkle,

Little Star. Mozart endows it with twelve variations, packed with

technical difficulties and brilliant passage work. Fancy trills, arpeggios, 

silvery scales, and wide leaps are in evidence, as well as imaginative 

harmonies, appearing in variations eight and eleven, that presage the

music of Beethoven.

One of the paradoxes of Franz Schubert’s career is that he introduced 

innovations in musical romanticism that did not apparently influence 

Beethoven or any of his other contemporaries, yet these innovations had

a profound impact on later romantics, such as Schumann, Brahms, and

Bruckner. One reason for this “delayed reaction” is the fact that many of

Schubert’s works were undiscovered and unpublished until long after his

death. The Sonata in A Minor, Opus Posthumous 164, is a prime

example, having been written in 1817 but not published until 1851. Even

after its publication, the sonata received little attention from critics and

performers until the mid-twentieth century. Schubert’s circle of friends 

and admirers consisted of people who were famous only in Vienna, such

as the poets Franz von Schober and Johann Mayrhofer, and the

playwrights Johann Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund. These associates, 

although they were fond of Schubert’s music and loyal to him, were not

of sufficient fame and influence outside of Vienna to be vehicles for the

dissemination of his compositions.