74th Season • 1

74TH SEASON 

OF CONCERTS

FEBRUARY 21, 2016 • NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Bennewitz Quartet

2 • National Gallery of Art

PROGRAM

3:30 • West Building, West Garden Court

Bennewitz Quartet

Jakub Fiser, violin

Stepan Jezek, violin

Jin Pinkas, viola

Stepan Dolezal, cello

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

String Quartet no. 30 in E-fiat Major ("Joke"), op. 33/2, H. 3/38

Allegro moderato

Scherzando and Trio

Largo

Finale; Presto

Slavomir Horinka (b. 1980)

Songs of Immigrants

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)

String Quartet no. 73 in G Major, op. 106

Allegro moderato

Adagio ma non troppo

Motto vivace

Finale; Andante sostenuto — Allegro con fuoco
The Musicians

The critically acclaimed Bennewitz Quartet is one of the top international chamber ensembles, a status confirmed by their victories in two prestigious competitions — the Osaka

International Chamber Music Competition in 2005, and the international string quartet

competition, Premio Paolo Borciani, in 2008. As early as 2006, the German Frankfurter

Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that "the music was remarkable not just for its clarity of structure,

but for the beautiful tonal palette and purity of intonation in its execution. Only very rarely 

does one experience such skillfully crafted and powerful harmonies... .Great art.”

The Bennewitz Quartet especially enjoys playing and performing on the Czech

domestic music scene. Particular highlights have included their cooperation with the Czech

Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Jiff Belohlavek for a performance of Bohuslav

Martinu's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra. Last year they performed with the Prague

Radio Symphony Orchestra the Czech premiere of John Adams's Absolute Jest. The members 

of the quartet also use their choice of repertoire and concert programming to actively promote Czech music, including excellent but overlooked composers, such as Jan Ladislav Dusfk,

Anton Rejcha, Pavel Haas, Viktor Ullmann, and Erwin Schulhoff. The Bennewitz Quartet has

the privilege of working with outstanding artists, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Alexander

Melnikov, Vadim Gluzman, Isabel Charisius, Danjulo Ishizaka, and others.

Their long-term cooperation with the Coviello Classics label includes a recording of

Leos Janacek's two string quartets and Bela Bartok's fourth. The second recording in the

series, released in spring 2010, contains both of Bedrich Smetana's quartets. The ensemble

followed this with a recording of Dvorak's complete Cypresses cycle on the Hanssler Classic

label and expects to release a new recording with quartets by Antonin Dvorak on the

SWRmusic label.

The quartet is named after violinist Antonin Bennewitz (1833-1926), who was a

seminal figure in the creation of the Czech violin school.

4 * National Gallery of Art

Program Notes

In 1781, after a lapse of ten years, forty-nine-year-old Joseph Haydn returned to the string

quartet, composing a set of six quartets that were published the following year as Opus 33.

The publication bore a dedication to the "Grand Duke of Russia,'' and so these quartets are

most commonly known as the "Russian quartets." Their other nickname, "Gli Scherzi" (The 

Jokes), refers to the fact that Haydn replaced the traditional title "Minuet" with the Italian

word "Scherzo," meaning joke or playfulness. Perhaps the most famous of the set is the

second quartet in E-flat, known as the "Joke" quartet. The beginning is good-natured; it is an

Allegro moderato with a bumptious violin tune over a steady "oom-pah" accompaniment, with

the subsidiary themes based directly on the same rhythmic figure. The main point of interest

in the development is a little flight of fancy for the first violin, a few measures of busy solo

passagework that could almost pass for a cadenza had this section not been introduced

with standard accompaniment in the exposition.

Next comes the Scherzando in three-quarter time, a standard minuet whose theme

is vaguely from the same rhythmic figure underlying the first movement. It also contains a

slightly comic figure that may give this movement its joke-like (scherzando) heading. Haydn

keeps the tune in the tonic, refusing to modulate, making the subject's repeats intentionally

monotonous and therefore humorous. The Trio section contains a charming, rustic dance

tune. The slow movement is a Largo. The stately melody rises from the cello to the top of 

the ensemble and undergoes a mild transformation in combination with a second, hesitant

chordal theme. Otherwise, the subjects are varied only through subtle, expressive details; at

one point, Haydn places a different directive over twelve out of eighteen consecutive notes.

The Presto, a rondo finale, is built upon a quick, repeated-note tune of four giddy, two-bar

clauses. After a couple of variations the music pulls up short for a brief, bleak adagio passage,

whereupon the inane theme starts up again. But now in the coda — and here comes the joke —

the tune is split into its four tiny components, with a two-bar rest after each one. And just when

the melody seems finally to have spurted its final section, Haydn inserts a four-measure

rest, suggesting that the work is over, but then has the quartet blurt out the tune's first

clause again, taking the audience by surprise and leaving the movement hanging in mid-air

with an unfinished phrase.

Slavomfr Horfnka is an incredibly inspirational man and artist. His creative roots

reach beyond the usual limits of classical music and enable him to reflect more deeply and

directly on the issues and problems of society today. The original idea behind his Songs

of Immigrants was to explore how far a string quartet, a typical ensemble in the European

musical tradition, could interpret the original music of other nations. The challenge was 

to find a suitable formula to clearly delimit and embody the musical material while also

steering the work towards a deeper message. The dialogue between the composer and the 

members of the Bennewitz Quartet was an important part of the creative process. However,

the key influence on the final form of the work was a migrant shipwreck. In Horfnka’s own 

words: "On October 3, 2013, just off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, a tragic

event took place, which fundamentally influenced my conception of the piece, and brought

into focus the means by which I realized it. The vast majority of the 370 people [on board]

who drowned came from Eritrea. The material used in my piece therefore comprises the

traditional music of various ethnic groups living in Eritrea, the sounds of nature and wildlife

74th Season • 5
living on Lampedusa, and documentary sound recordings played rough and unedited on

tape recorders operated by the quartet players. My compositional method draws entirely

on analysis of recordings of ethnic music and documentary footage, which I either blend

in various ways with live music, or 'resynthesize' using the quartet. I would describe my

approach to composition as 'documentary.'"

The binding element of the whole piece is the sound of the sea. It appears several

times, either as authentic audio recordings on tape, or as a result of special playing techniques used by the string quartet. The piece includes a range of recorded documentary

material related to the tragic event at Lampedusa: a tape of the rescue operation led by

local residents, the recorded sounds of the divers exploring the shipwreck, and Pope

Francis's prayer for the victims.

These authentic recordings are blended with passages of traditional Eritrean music

and its various musical instruments and forms, performed by the string quartet. To achieve

a true-to-life rendering of the sounds and colors of African music, the composer uses a

range of non-traditional instrumental techniques, including quarter-tones and sixth-tones,

which are present in the original music. The result is an interesting, colorful, and completely

innovative piece —at once music and documentary— that not only evokes the tragedy but

also acquaints listeners with the musical world of African nations.

In 1895, Antonin Dvorak returned from the United States, where he had written a quartet

and a quintet for strings as well as his ninth symphony, From the New World. Once home,

he composed two more string quartets. The String Quartet no. 73 in G Major, op. 106, was

his penultimate chamber work. Although Dvorak had greatly enjoyed new experiences and

popularity in the United States, he also felt homesick. After returning to his beloved Bohemia,

he wrote of his great joy at being home and of the ease of working on the G-major quartet.

The opening Allegro moderato presents a simple, fragmentary motif— an upward leap

followed by a cheerful cascade of notes. The development takes it into various tonal territories,

including minor keys, and turns a small gesture into a substantial theme. A second theme is 

playful, with a prancing triplet accompaniment, and its development becomes the basis of

the final cadence.

The slow movement alternates major and minor treatments of the theme, demonstrating the way contrasting emotions can coexist. Rich chords beneath a simple but mellifluous aria express deep contentment. When the melody moves into minor, the accompaniment

takes on a poignant urgency.

The scherzo uses the cross-rhythms of the Czech folk dance known as the skocna.

Instead of the usual ABA structure, this movement has two trios arranged in mirror fashion,

making the outline ABACABA. Moods range from lively to lyrical, and keys travel as widely — 

from B minor to A-flat major to D major and back to B minor.

In the Finale, a brief slow introduction leads into a fiery presentation of the theme. As

with the scherzo, internal symmetry balances the movement, with recurring episodes as well

as recurring rondo themes. To enhance the cyclic organization even further, the prancing theme

and the upward leap from the first movement make brief appearances.

Program notes contributed by the Bennewitz Quartet

6 " National Gallery of Art

Upcoming Events of the SeventyFourth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

BEETHOVEN TRIO FEST

Complete instrumental trios of Ludwig

van Beethoven in four days. Sponsored by

the Billy Rose Foundation.

Concerts in the West Building,

West Garden Court

Members of Inscape

Beethoven Trios

February 25, Thursday, 12:00 and 2:00

Mendelssohn Piano Trio

Beethoven Trios

February 26, Friday, 12:00 and 2:00

DEKA Trio

Beethoven Trios

February 27, Saturday, 12:00 and 2:00

North Carolina Symphony Trio

Beethoven Trios

February 28, Sunday, 12:00 and 2:00

West Garden Trio

National Gallery of Art Orchestra

Dingwall Fleary, guest conductor

Triple Concerto

February 28, Sunday, 4:00

General Information

Admission to the National Gallery of Art

and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording equipment

during the performance is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic

devices are turned off.

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to the

National Gallery of Art through The Circle. 

Reserved seating is available in recognition

of their support. Please contact the

development office at (202) 842-6450 or

circle@nga.gov for more information.

www.nga.gov

www.instagram.com/ngadc

www.twitter.com/ngadc

www.facebook.com/nationalgalleryofart

The department of music produced these

program notes. Copyright © 2016 Board of

Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Cover Francois Boucher, Allegory of Music

(detail), 1764, National Gallery of Art,

Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

Back cover West Building, East Garden

Court, Photo by Rob Shelley, National Gallery

of Art, Washington