LCCMF 10.05 — OurConcerts.live

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR (1875-1912): Quintet in F-sharp minor for clarinet and strings (1895)
Allegro energico
Larghetto affettuoso – Molto espressivo
Scherzo. Allegro leggiero
Finale. Allegro agitato – Poco più moderato - Vivace

David Shifrin, clarinet
Bella Hristova and Soovin Kim, violins
Misha Amory, viola
Clancy Newman, cello

BEDŘICH SMETANA (1824-1884): Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15 (1854-55)
Moderato assai – Più animato
Allegro, ma non agitato
Finale. Presto

Bella Hristova, violin
Clancy Newman, cello

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Quintet in F-sharp minor for clarinet and strings (1895)

Considered a musical genius during his short life, Coleridge-Taylor was born in 1875 to an English mother and a Sierra Leonean father. He grew up in London and attended the Royal College of Music, where he was one of the school’s first Black students. At just 20 years old he completed the Clarinet Quintet, a fully mature work that belies the composer’s young age.

Brahms had composed his clarinet quintet four years before, and it was considered so momentous a work that no composer could escape its influence. Coleridge-Taylor was eager to try, however. Upon hearing the result, his teacher Charles Villiers Stanford exclaimed “You’ve done it, me boy!”

Many have noted the influence of Dvořák rather than Brahms in this clarinet quintet. Several themes in the work have a hint of Eastern European folk music, including the opening theme of the first movement. Forceful pizzicato and modal harmonies add to this impression. The particular combination of clarinet and strings brings out the warmth of Coleridge-Taylor’s sound world, and the tranquil second movement is particularly striking. The strings are muted for the majority of the movement while the clarinet shines as the main melodic player.

The third movement is a brisk scherzo, with pizzicato returning as a prominent part of the texture. The clarinet carries the melody during the more lyrical trio section. The fourth movement opens with a lively, folk-like melody in the clarinet which is quickly taken up by the strings. A tender moment occurs near the end, when the clarinet re-introduces the melody from the second movement. Then the tempo picks back up, propelling the piece toward its joyful conclusion.

Unlike most works of chamber music, all four movements are near the same length, with the second movement clocking in slightly shorter than the others. This clarinet quintet is a work of beautiful balance and warmth, showcasing a confident young composer at the beginning of his career.

BEDŘICH SMETANA Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15 (1854-55)

Smetana composed his Piano Trio in G minor early in his career, at the age of 30, and at a time of intense personal loss. His eldest daughter, Bedřiška, who at four had already shown remarkable musical potential, had just died of scarlet fever. Another daughter, Gabriela, had perished the year before. Smetana began work on the Piano Trio shortly after Bedřiška’s death and dedicated the piece to her memory.

When the piece was premiered in 1855, both the audience and critics were lukewarm in response. It wasn’t until Smetana played the trio for Liszt, a composer he had long admired, that the work gained wider renown. Upon hearing it Liszt was deeply moved, and he arranged for additional performances in Germany and Austria.

The somber work has three movements, all in G minor. The first movement begins with a striking theme that cries out from the violin’s throaty G string. This intense mood of mourning persists, with the occasional lighthearted moment. Midway through the movement, a beautiful, improvisatory-sounding piano solo appears. It is soon cut off by the return of the tragic violin solo.

The second movement is a scherzo with two distinct trio sections. The first has a wistful, childlike mood, while the second sounds noble, almost severe. Some listeners have interpreted these two contrasting sections as portraits of Bedřiška as a child and as the woman she may have become. Smetana, however, said nothing during his lifetime of a specific programmatic meaning to this movement or the trio as a whole, beyond its dedication to Bedřiška.

The finale begins turbulent and virtuosic, a rondo with beautiful contrasting sections. One of these commences with a soaring theme in the cello, which the piano then explores in a flourishing passage reminiscent of its solo in the first movement. Despite a slow, elegiac section near the close of the piece, the last moments are a forceful burst of G major. Rather than seeming hopeful, however, this final phrase sounds almost manic with grief.