Proposals
Frederick William II, passion and patronage
Heir to the musical milieu created by his uncle Frederick the Great, Frederick II of Prussia was himself a music lover as well as an amateur cellist: he had his own group of “chamber musicians” and his own private orchestra, which, when he became king, he merged with his uncle’s until it reached an ensemble of 70 elements.
Thanks to his fame and generosity with artists, many composers visited the court of Prussia.
Haydn dedicated the Quartets Op. 50 to him, and Mozart, perhaps hoping to get a commission from the sovereign, wrote the three masterpieces known as the “Prussian Quartets”.
The king’s passion for the cello attracted to the court the best-known virtuosos of the time such as Carlo Graziani and the Duport brothers, who were also his teachers, and even Luigi Boccherini, who had the honor of being Frederick’s official composer and for whom he wrote more than 150 chamber works including 29 string quartets.
– Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) Quartet op. 44 n. 5 in D major
– Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Quartet op. 50 n. 1 in B flat major
– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 5Quartet KV 590 in F major
Teacher and Pupils
Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are linked by a real handover in Viennese Classicism. Haydn laid its formal foundations, Mozart deepened its elegance and expressive intensity, while Beethoven, Haydn’s student, took over this legacy and transformed it, leading the way to Romanticism.
– Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Quartet op. 20 n. 4 in D major
– Wolfang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Quartet in C major K 465 Dissonance
– Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Quartet op. 18 no. 4 in C minorr
In the mark of Bach
It was mainly thanks to Baron Van Swieten’s and his love for Ancient Music, in particular the works of J. S. Bach and Händel, that a group of musicians in Vienna began to meet on Sundays with the aim of rediscovering the contrapuntal masterpieces of the past. The audiences of the late 1700s had lost interest in this technique. Mozart became involved in this re-awakening of interest which gave new life to his own compositions inspiring greater intensity and the characteristic “Mark of Bach”. This program aims to revive the salon of the Dutch Baron and the echoes of Bach in the composition of the genius of Salzburg and of Haydn, who was a great promoter of the works of J.S.Bach and his son Emanuel.
– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Adagio and Fugue KV 546 in C minor
– Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Quartet op. 20 n. 5 in F minor
– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 5 fugues from J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier arranged for String Quartet, K. 405
Quartet KV 387 in G major
Schubert and his time
Although contemporaries, Schubert and Onslow lived in different countries (one in Vienna, the other between France and the United Kingdom), circulated in totally different musical environments, and their lives never crossed. However, the choice of bringing together two such composers is dictated by the profound affinity in feeling and affect that their music communicates. As if they had breathed the same air.
– George Onslow (1784-1853) Quartet in G minor op. 46 n. 21
– Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Quartet in A minor D 804 Rosamunde
The beauty of the minor key
A double thread connects the two quartets we are presenting: on the one hand, they both reflect the great interest that Brahms held for the great composers of the past such as Bach, Händel, Haydn and Mozart – to the extent that the master collected over two thousand original works, among which the quartets of Haydn’s opus 20 stand out in particular. On the other hand, they are both composed in minor keys. As theorists of the time describe, the keys of F and C minor both share a similar evocative power, oriented towards profound melancholy, unhappy love, and sorrow.
– Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Quartet op. 20 n. 5 in F minor
– Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Quartet op. 51 n. 1 in C minor
Italian Romanticism
In a historical period in which most composers were dedicating themselves to opera, Stefano Golinelli and Vincenzo Petrali, respectively the most important pianist and the most celebrated organist of XIX century in Italy, were attracted to instrumental music and devoted themselves to it with great enthusiasm.
The two recently discovered quartets are in no way inferior to the much better-known German and Austrian instrumental music of that period and help fill the apparent void left by chamber music in Italian Romanticism.
– Stefano Golinelli (1818-1891) Quartet op. 100 in B minor (1854)
– Vincenzo Antonio Petrali (1830-1889) Quartet in G major (1884)