"We are all tremendously excited to present this program of three chamber masterworks to the audience of Cooperstown.  Haydn, Bartok, and Mendelssohn are three of the most important composers of the string quartet genre and represent three contrasting styles and time periods.  Haydn, considered the "grandfather" of the string quartet, is known as the composer who really took the string quartet form to new heights.  In his opus of over seventy string quartets, Haydn showcases the endless possibilities of the quartet genre with his brilliant and often clever use of voicing, texture, and harmony.  In the aptly named "joke" quartet in Eb major op. 33 no 2 that we will be performing, his witty side comes to the forefront.  The fun is especially apparent in the brief finale which provides a striking contrast to the serene beauty of the slow movement which precedes it.   

 

With Bartok's first string quartet, we move in a completely different direction.  From the light, crystalline sounds of Haydn, we move into the hyper-romantic world that Bartok was exploring at the time.  The first movement is an expression of anguish revolving around his unrequited love for a woman named Stefi Geyer.  The movement opens with a mournful fugue, features a gypsy-like viola/second violin melody, and then returns to the fugue which builds to a climax of unrelenting chords.  This sense of building and development pervades the entire quartet.  The second movement begins without pause and continues to build momentum through the introduction of different folk-like melodies and rhythms.  After a transition that features a desperate cello cadenza and soaring first violin melody, the third movement begins and never lets go.  The music drives relentlessly with pulsing rhythmic figures, tempo changes, and a remarkable fugue in the middle of the movement.  

We close the program with the joyous Mendelssohn String Quartet op. 44 no 1 in D major, a piece we all feel works well in the summer festival setting.  When one thinks of musical prodigies, Mozart usually comes to mind first.  But Mendelssohn was definitely not far behind.  By the time he was 15, Mendelssohn was composing symphonies, speaking multiple languages, proficient on many different instruments, and even painting water colors.  Unlike many composers of his era, Mendelssohn also lived quite a charmed life.  He was very successful in his time and toured continuously performing both his own works and those of his fellow musicians. This happiness and ease comes out in this string quartet; the music jumps off the page and feels celebratory and vibrant.   

The first movement is brilliant and virtuosic and features a grand, symphonic texture.  The second movement is a hushed, lilting menuetto that slips into a hazier world in the mysterious trio section.  The third movement is a tender aria-like song for the first violin and the finale is a swift Italian dance that is modeled on the ancient "tarantella" dance form in which the tarantula-bitten dancer must move continuously and frenetically in order to dance the poison away.  The finale music mimics this image of perpetual motion and energy!"