For the convenience of concertgoers 

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:oo pm.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry of

the West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

Mailing address

2000b South Club Drive

Landover, md 20785

www.nga.gov

The Sixty-eighth Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,762nd Concert

National Gallery of Art String Quartet

National Gallery ofArt Wind Quintet

National Gallery ofArt Piano Trio

January 24, 2010 

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Program

Music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

String Quartet no. 10 in E-flat Major (“Harp”), op. 74

(1809, published 1810)

Poco Adagio; allegro

Adagio ma non troppo

Presto

Allegretto con variazioni

Sextet, op. 71 (1796, published 1810)

(Arranged for quintet by members ofthe Philadelphia Orchestra) 

Adagio; allegro

Adagio

Menuetto: Quasi allegretto

Rondo: Allegro

INTERMISSION

Piano Trio in E-flat Major (“Archduke”), op. 97 (1810)

Allegro moderato

Scherzo: Allegro

Andante cantabile 

Allegro moderato

National Gallery of Art String Quartet

The National Gallery of Art String Quartet has performed regularly at the

Gallery since its debut in 1995. In addition to standard quartet repertoire, the 

group presents rarely heard masterpieces of chamber music. The musicians

also perform under the name Sunrise Quartet. In that capacity they have been 

recognized with a Chamber Music America residency at the Duke Ellington

School ofthe Arts as well as with residencies at the Concerts at the Beach

in Delaware and the Davies Concert Series in Camp Springs, Maryland. In

January 2009 the quartet collaborated with the renowned chamber musician

and pianist Menahem Pressler, performing Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor,

K. 478, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44.

CLAUDIA CHUDACOFF

Violinist Claudia Chudacoff appears frequently as soloist and chamber

musician in the Washington and Baltimore areas. In addition to her

position as the concertmaster ofthe United States Marine Band White

House Chamber Orchestra, Chudacoffis the concertmaster ofthe Alexandria Symphony and the National Gallery of Art Orchestra. A member of

both the Sunrise Quartet and the National Gallery of Art String Quartet,

she has performed regularly in numerous venues and concert series in

Washington, DC, including the Contemporary Music Forum, the Embassy

Series, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and National

Musical Arts. She is featured on a CD of chamber music by Erich Korngold

released by Albany Records, and recently appeared with the Sunrise Quartet

in a broadcast for West Virginia public television. She has also been heard

on American Public Radio’s Performance Today.

TERI LAZAR

Violinist Teri Lazar has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the 

United States, Europe, and the Middle East. She is the concertmaster of

the Virginia Chamber Orchestra and performs with the Richmond Chamber

Players and in Currents, a chamber music series also based in Richmond.

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She earned a doctor ofmusic degree from The Catholic University of

America and teaches violin at American University, where she is a musicianin-residence. Lazar has recorded chamber music for the Albany Centaur,

Klavier, and North/South Consonance labels and has been heard on

Performance Today.

OSMAN KIVRAK

Violist Osman Kivrak is a winner ofthe National Scholarship Competition in

Turkey and the Baltimore Chamber Music Awards. He has performed at the

Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, and has toured Italy and other

parts of Europe as a chamber musician. He performs with the Richmond

Chamber Players and in Currents, and teaches at American University as a

musician-in-residence. A graduate ofThe Catholic University ofAmerica, 

where he earned a doctor ofmusic degree, Kivrak is a composer as well as a

performer. His compositions were recently recognized with awards from the

Maryland State Arts Council and the Maryland-National Capital Parks and

Planning Commission.

DIANA FISH

In 1994 cellist Diana Fish came to Washington, DC, to become a member

ofthe Marine Chamber Orchestra of “The President’s Own” United States 

Marine Band, in which she currently serves as assistant principal cellist.

She graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with

Orlando Cole, and continued her work at the graduate level at Indiana

University, where her teacher was Janos Starker. Fish has been the principal

cellist of Concert Artists of Baltimore, with whom she performed as soloist

in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for piano, violin, and cello. She has also 

appeared as soloist with the Marine Chamber Orchestra in Victor Herbert’s

Cello Concerto in E Minor. A member ofthe Sunrise Quartet and the National 

Gallery of Art String Quartet, Fish has been performing with both ensembles

for the past thirteen years.

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National Gallery of Art Wind Quintet

Since the enthusiastic public reception ofits first concert in 1995, the National 

Gallery ofArt Wind Quintet has become a regular feature ofthe Gallery’s

popular Sunday evening concerts. Founded by former National Gallery ofArt 

music director George Manos, the ensemble explores and presents masterpieces of chamber music that are rarely heard as well as the standard classics

for wind quintet. In 2007 the quintet was a featured resident ensemble at the

Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Vietri sul Mare, Italy.

SARA NICHOLS

Sara Nichols was the principal flutist ofthe Baltimore Opera for twenty-one

seasons, and is currently appearing with the Opera Theater of Saint Louis

and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. In addition to frequent appearances with the National Gallery Orchestra, she performs at WolfTrap, most

recendy in the premiere ofJohn Musto’s Volpone. She was acting assistant

principal flutist ofthe Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for two seasons.

Nichols is a member of Quintigre, the wind quintet at Towson University

in Towson, Maryland; and Pro Musica Rara, with which she performed at

the National Gallery on November 4, 2009. She is a member ofthe music

faculty of the Baltimore School ofthe Arts.

RONALD SIPES

Oboist Ronald Sipes studied with Marc Lifschey and received bachelor and

master of music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

He has played principal oboe in the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castille y Leon

(Valladolid, Spain), the New World Symphony, and the Orquesta del Estado 

de Mexico. Since moving to the Northern Virginia area in 1994, Sipes has

played with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the National 

Gallery Orchestra, the Washington Opera, and the Theater Chamber Players.

5
CHRISTOPHER HITE

Christopher Hite was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in a musical

family. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Capital University, 

where he studied with his father, clarinetist David L. Hite. He continued his

clarinet studies with Robert Marcellus, Earl Bates, Anthony Gigliotti and

Loren Kitt, receiving a master ofmusic degree from The Catholic University

of America. As a member ofthe United States Air Force Band from 1974 to

1997, he was a featured soloist on more than fifty performances worldwide.

Hite has performed regularly with many Washington area orchestras and

chamber ensembles, including The National Gallery Orchestra. Hite serves

as music director ofThe Dominion Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble that

he and his wife founded in 1999. He has also been the music director of

the Manassas Ballet Theatre since 1997. He resides in Annandale, Virginia

with his wife, flutist Angela Uperti-Hite, and their son Benjamin.

ERIC DIRCKSEN

Eric Dircksen studied saxophone and bassoon at Indiana University in

Bloomington and at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He played

utility bassoon and saxophone with the Jerusalem Symphony. He has participated in summer festivals on the Amalfi Coast in Italy and in Aspen, Dallas, 

Graz (Austria), Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and at Spoleto Festival usa in South

Carolina. In the Washington, dc, area he enjoys an active freelance career

playing principal bassoon with Washington Concert Opera, the Virginia

Chamber Orchestra, and the Washington Ballet, and extra bassoon/contrabassoon with the Washington Opera, the Alexandria Symphony, and the

Baltimore Opera. He is a member ofthe Eastwind Consort, a woodwind

chamber group that plays throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

6

MARK HUGHES

Horn player Mark Hughes studied at Boston University, New England Conservatory, and the Norwegian State Academy of Music. After his studies Hughes

spent many years in Denmark as a member ofboth The Danish National 

Chamber Ensemble and The Royal Danish Orchestra. Since returning to the

United States, Hughes has enjoyed an extensive freelance career as a member

ofThe Annapolis Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, The Maryland 

Symphony, The National Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Post-Classical 

Ensemble. He also performs regularly with The Baltimore Symphony, The

National Symphony, The Richmond Symphony, The Washington National 

Opera, and at WolfTrap.

7
National Gallery of Art Piano Trio

The newest ofthe Gallery’s resident ensembles, the Piano Trio was formed

in 2008 and has since played on several ofthe Gallery’s Sunday concerts.

In October 2009, the Trio performed a special program at the residence of

the Belgian Ambassador. In May of this year it will play a complete program

ofmusic by early twentieth-century American composers in honor ofthe

exhibition American Modernism: The Shein Collection.

LUKE WEDGE

Luke Wedge received a master ofmusic degree in violin performance from

Northwestern University and a bachelor ofmusic degree in English literature from the University of Kansas. His principal instructors included David

Perry, Gerardo Ribeiro, and Ben Sayevich. Wedge has made solo and recital

appearances in Chicago, Illinois; Lawrence, Kansas; and Washington, DC.

He is an experienced orchestral musician and has been engaged by the

National Gallery of Art Orchestra, the National Symphony, and the Ravinia

Festival, among others. A member ofthe United States Air Force Strings, he

is also a member ofthe Covington String Quartet.

BENJAMIN R. WENSEL

Benjamin R. Wensel holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music 

and the Eastman School of Music. He has performed in seminars and

master classes for members ofthe Cleveland, Guarneri, Juilliard, Miami, 

and Ying quartets; studied chamber music with Peter Salaff and members

ofthe Audubon and Cavani quartets; and participated in solo master

classes with Clemens Michael Hagen, Steven Isserlis, and Michel Strauss.

Wensel has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, the

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and

the Syracuse Symphony as well as with many local ensembles. A founding

member ofthe Tarab Cello Ensemble, Wensel performed in the premieres

ofmore than twenty new works written by established and emerging

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American composers, and participated in the ensemble’s residencies at 

Princeton University, Stetson University, and the University of South Florida.

He taught chamber music and maintained a studio at the Hochstein School

of Music in Rochester, New York, where he was the cellist ofthe Hochstein

String Quartet. Currendy a member ofthe faculty at the Washington Conservatory, Wensel maintains a private studio in Arlington, Virginia, and plays

with the newly formed Messiaen Quartet as well as the National Gallery ofArt

Piano Trio. He can be heard on recordings produced by the Bridge, Harmonia

Mundi, and Summit record labels.

DANIELLE DESWERT HAHN

Brussels-born pianist Danielle DeSwert Hahn is a freelance collaborative

pianist and coach and the music program specialist at the National Gallery

ofArt. She has worked as a pianist and coach with the Ash Lawn Highland

Opera Festival, Chautauqua Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, the

New Orleans Opera Association, Pordand (Oregon) Opera, the San Francisco

Opera Center, Sarasota Opera, and the Washington National Opera. From 

2004-2006 she was the principal repetiteur with the Baltimore Opera

Company and Washington Concert Opera.

She performs regularly in chamber music and voice recitals, including

performances at the Arts Club ofWashington, the Jewish Community Center

ofGreater Washington, the Kennedy Center, the Mexican Institute ofCulture,

the National Gallery, the Russian Embassy, and the White House. She is

principal pianist with the Inscape Chamber Music Project. She holds a master

ofmusic degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she

studied with Martin Katz, and a bachelor ofmusic degree from the University 

ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara. She also studied with Warren Jones and Anne

Epperson at the Music Academy ofthe West and was an apprentice coach with 

the Washington Opera, working with Placido Domingo.

9
Program Notes

This concert is the third in a series offive National Gallery ofArt concerts

that present masterworks from the years 1610,1710,1810,1910, and 2010. On

Sunday, January 17, the National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble and the early

music ensembles artek and Piffaro performed Claudio Monteverdi s Vespro

della Beata Vergine, commonly identified as his “Vespers of 1610.” On January 

20, organist and Gallery music department head Stephen Ackert joined

mezzo-soprano Anne-Marieke Evers and members ofthe National Gallery

ofArt Chamber Players to perform music that would have been heard in 1710

in the ducal chapel in Weimar, Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach was

the organist and composer-in-residence.

In this concert, three ofthe National Gallery’s resident ensembles present

masterworks that Beethoven produced or published in 1810. No one would 

dispute that Beethoven would certainly have been named “Composer ofthe

Year” in 1810—ifsuch an award were bestowed in those days—or indeed in

any ofthe last 20 years ofhis life (1807-1827), when his fame as a composer

was reinforced by the repeated production of one masterwork after another.

The five-concert series continues on Wednesday, January 27, at 12:10 pm

in the West Building Lecture Hall, when the Auryn String Quartet plays Alban

Berg’s Stiing Quartet, op. 3, one ofthe great chamber works written in 1910.

On Sunday, January 31, the new music ensemble Great Noise will combine

with the National Gallery ofArt Vocal Ensemble and the National Gallery of

Art Orchestra to complete the set with world premiere performances oftwo

new works, written especially for the occasion by Carlos Carillo and Armando

Bayolo, who will conduct the concert.

Beethoven’s seventeen string quartets display the composer’s remarkable craftsmanship and brilliant ingenuity, and are considered by some to

be the greatest chamber music works of all time. A genre in which he was

without equal—and by many counts still is—tire string quartets, from the

earliest to the latest, also reveal his personal struggles and artistic development. The first two groups of quartets, op. 18 and op. 59, containing six

and three quartets respectively, represent Beethoven’s “early” and “middle”

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periods. Quartet no. 10 in E-flat Major (“Harp”), op. 74, stands on its own

and cannot quite be grouped into the “late” period, as it is stylistically a

transitional work. It employs many devices that he regularly used, such as

the four-movement plan, varied accompanimental figures, and truncated

phrases. However, it also presages what was to come, such as the rhythmic

drive in the relentless Scherzo and Trio and the serious introspection in

the variations in the last section. This quartet was nicknamed the “Harp”

because ofthe ample use of pizzicato in the first movement.

Beethoven’s Sextet, op. 71, was originally written for pairs of clarinets,

horns, and bassoons, but was arranged for performance by the Philadelphia

Woodwind Quintet for the typical wind quintet instrumentation. The opus

number in this case is misleading, as the work was actually composed in

1796. Beethoven did not decide to publish it until 1810, hence its inclusion

in this concert as music that was new to the public in that year. The Sextet

exhibits well-established classical conventions ofthe time, executed with

Beethoven’s characteristic edge. Its four contrasting movements begin

with a dramatic opening of all instruments in unison. The lush and lyrical 

second movement is followed by the traditional Minuet and Trio, and a

romping rondo brings up the rear.

Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major, op. 97, was given the name

“Archduke” in honor of its dedicatee, Archduke Rudolph ofAustria. Though

Beethoven dedicated a number of his compositions to the archduke—he

was a good amateur pianist and a student of Beethoven—this particular

piece got the nickname, perhaps as much for its character as its association

with the person. He began working on this trio in 1810, and completed it

in 1811. Though it is catalogued as the seventh oftwelve, it was actually the

last one that he completed. One special feature ofthe work is that the cello

and violin are given a status equal to the piano—a novelty at the time. The

unhurried opening, majestic and noble, is never urgent, always controlled,

and full oflyricism. The “Archduke” Trio is, in the minds of critics and

performers alike, the best piano trio from Beethoven’s pen, and indeed one

ofthe finest piano trios ever written.

Program notes by Stephen Ackert and Danielle DeSwert Hahn