Beethoven’s Variations in G Major on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu, ”

Op. 121a, was presented to the publisher Breitkopf & Hartel on 19 July

1816. At that time, Beethoven described the work to the publisher as

“variations with an introduction and opening for piano, violin, and

violoncello on a familiar [Wenzel] Muller [1759-1835] theme. They are

among my earlier compositions, but are not among those to be rejected”

(Ludwig van Beethoven, The Bicentennial Edition, 1770-1790). The

theme is based on a popular tune of the day, Ich bin der Schneider

Kakadu (I am Kakadu, the Tailor), from one of Muller’s most engaging 

and often performed musico-dramatic works (Singspiele), entitled Die

Schwestern von Prag (The Sistersfrom Prague).

By the time Joaquin Turina’s Trio No. 2 in B Minor, Op. 76, was

composed, he had long since finished his period of studying and living in

France, and was a repatriated Spanish citizen. He had moved to Paris in

1905 to study with Vincent d’lndy (1851-1931) and Manuel de Falla 

(1876-1946), and had returned to Spain in 1914. Noting that this trio is a

late work, written in Spain, the writer Alexis Rouart says: “The

influence of Cesar Franck [1822-1890], via d’lndy, is still apparent in

the cyclic form, the chromatic sequences, and in the opposition rather

than the development of his themes. The composer was a gifted pianist, 

and this is reflected in the particularly grateful piano role of the trio. But

it is left to the strings to convey the most poetic and Spanish part of the

music.”

Written to pay tribute to his friend, the great Russian pianist Nicholas 

Rubinstein (1835-1881), Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50,

unleashes a flood of emotions in two lengthy movements. The first,

Pezzo elegiaco: Moderato assai, is cast in sonata-allegro form with three

contrasting themes, rather than the usual two. The cello states the

opening theme, full of fervor and pensiveness, after which a livelier and

more extroverted second theme is stated by the piano. A deliciously 

bittersweet string duet between the violin and the cello follows, one of

Tchaikovsky’s most lyrical outpourings. The recapitulation recalls the

first and second themes in the major mode, followed by a return to the

minor mode via a heavyhearted string duet. The movement closes with a

recall of the opening theme by the piano in a distended configuration.

The trio’s second movement (A: Tema con variazioni: Andante con

moto\ B: Variazione finale e coda: Allegro risoluto e con fuoco) uses a

theme that carries a folksong flavor (Rubinstein was said to be fond of

folk music). From this theme, Tchaikovsky constructs a series of

variations that are not only ingenious but also deeply emotional. Most 

notable among them are the third (Allegro moderato), the sixth (Tempo

di valse), and the tenth (Tempo di mazurka). The ninth variation carries a

rare tempo indication, Andante flessibile, ma non tanto, hinting that 

Tchaikovsky may have been frustrated with performers who carried 

expressiveness to an extreme. After the main theme makes an encore 

appearance in the form of an epilogue, Tchaikovsky closes the trio with a

tranquil marche funebre as a final gesture of reverence for his late

departed friend and teacher.

Program notes by Elmer Booze

The Fifty-ninth Season of

THE WILLIAM NELSON CROMWELL and

F. LAMMOT BELIN CONCERTS

National Gallery of Art

2357th Concert

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, 103.5 FM.

Admissionfree

Sunday Evening, 15 October 2000

Seven O'clock

West Building, West Garden Court

AMADEUS TRIO

TIMOTHY BAKER, violin

JEFFREY SOLOW, cello

MARIAN HAHN, piano
PROGRAM

Ludwig van Beethoven Variations on “ Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu”

(1770-1827) Op. 121a (1803; rev. 1816)

Joaquin Turina Trio No. 2 in B Minor for Violin, Cello,

(1882-1949) and Piano, Op. 76 (1933)

Lento; allegro molto moderato 

Molto vivace

Lento; andante mosso, allegretto, allegro moderato

INTERMISSION

Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Trio in A Minor, Op. 50

(1840-1893) (1882)

1. Pezzo elegiaco: Moderato assai

2A. Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto

2B. Variazione finale e coda: Allegro risoluto e

con fuoco

Celebrating ten seasons of rave reviews and overwhelmingly enthusiastic 

audiences, The Amadeus Trio is generally acknowledged as occupying 

a position among the foremost piano trios in the world. During the spring

of 1992, the trio gave its Lincoln Center debut in Alice Tully Hall. That 

performance elicited spontaneous applause and shouts from its audience 

between movements—a treatment rarely accorded any debut in New

York. Other prestigious venues in which the trio has performed include

San Francisco’s Herbst Theater, Los Angeles’ Ambassador Auditorium, 

and Carnegie Hall. The Amadeus Trio made its Kennedy Center debut in

1995; Joseph McClellan of The Washington Post hailed the concert as

“chamber music at its best!” Under the Helicon record label, The

Amadeus Trio recently recorded a CD of works by Dvorak and Smetana 

that will be released this fall. The Amadeus Trio appears by arrangement 

with BesenArts, Robert Besen, director, of New York City.

Violinist Timothy Baker was a scholarship student of the famous 

pedagogue, Ivan Galamian, at the Juilliard School of Music, from which

he graduated in 1976. Subsequently, he was accepted into the studios of

some of the world’s most renowned musicians, including Nathan 

Milstein, Felix Galimir, and Robert Mann. In 1991 he was invited by the

Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform a solo recital in Greece in honor 

of the orchestra’s first visit to that country. Baker recently performed the

world premiere of Elizabeth Vercoe’s Rhapsody for Violin and

Orchestra with the Berkshire Symphony and played three concertos 

during a single concert with New York’s Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra at

Weill Recital Hall. A much sought-after chamber musician, he has

performed as guest artist with An die Musik, the American Chamber 

Players, the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, the New Arts Trio, and

the American Chamber Ensemble. Baker, who owns and performs on the

famous “Guitar” Stradivarius violin made in 1726, is currently artist-inresidence at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Cellist Jeffrey Solow, a native of Los Angeles, studied with Gabor 

Rejto, and as a young artist won the Young Musicians Foundation’s first 

Gregor Piatigorsky Award and the Young Concert Artists Award. He

later became an assistant to Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of

Southern California. In addition to solo works for cello, Solow’s active

repertoire includes more than twenty concertos. His impassioned and

compelling cello playing has enthralled audiences throughout the United

States, Europe, Latin American, and the Orient. As a recitalist, he has

appeared twice at the National Gallery, as well as at the Phillips

Collection and other prestigious venues throughout the United States,

Europe, and Asia. His chamber music collaborations continue at many

national and international festivals, including the Chamber Music

Festival of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the

Yong-Pyeong Festival in Korea, and the Newport Music Festival in

Rhode Island. Recognized worldwide for his uncommon abilities as a

teacher, Solow is professor of cello at Temple University in

Philadelphia.

Pianist Marian Hahn, whose playing has been described as

“ passionate, poetic, and quite breathtaking” (St. Paul Pioneer Press and

Dispatch), gave her New York recital debut as a Concert Artists Guild 

winner. She won first prize in the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin

Competition and was a top prizewinner in the Leventritt International 

Competition, the Busoni Piano Competition in Italy, and the University 

of Maryland International Piano Competition. Besides being a member 

of The Amadeus Trio, Hahn tours nationally with the Amabile Piano

Quartet. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in religion from Oberlin 

College and a master of music degree from the Juilliard School of Music.

She studied piano under John Perry, Ilona Kabos, Leon Fleisher, and

Benjamin Kaplan. Marian Hahn resides in Baltimore, where she is a

member of the piano and chamber music faculty at the Peabody 

Conservatory of Music. She also serves on the faculty of the Kneisel

Hall Summer Chamber Music School in Maine.