Mercè Pons (composer and director of the Gabinet de Comprensió Musical GACOMUS) 

Anton BRUCKNER (1824 – 1896) 

Adagio in F major from the String Quintet WAB 112 

The String Quintet in F major, composed between 1878 and 1879, is Bruckner’s only contribution to chamber music, except for a “student piece” in the composer’s own words, which was written in 1862 and comprised of a string quartet that was not discovered until after the Second World War and published in 1955. 

The string quintet was commissioned by Joseph Hellmesberger, who at the time was conductor at the Vienna Conservatory and leader of an excellent quartet. In fact, Bruckner’s commission was to compose a quartet, but Bruckner added a second viola to the quartet formation (two violins, viola and cello) in order to emphasise and particularly enhance the middle range of the string spectrum, therefore making a quintet. 

This boldly counterpoint-driven piece features four movements, of which the third, Adagio, will be performed today, giving us the chance to hear the sheer beauty and expressive force of its two themes. The main theme, largely expressed by the first violin, is harmonised with lavish counter-songs. The first viola introduces the second theme over a delicate accompaniment from the high-pitched strings. The ensemble builds in intensity until it reaches a culmination of powerful emotional force and ends very softly and delicately.

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756 – 1791) 
Violin Concerto No.  4 in D major, K. 218 

Although Mozart was a great pianist, he also acquired extensive violin training from his father, Leopold (author of the Treatise on the Fundamentals of Violin Performance, published in 1756, the year of his son’s birth). It is therefore not surprising that Wolfgang was attracted, as a composer, by the magic of the violin, and so in less than a year (in 1775, in Salzburg, at the age of 19), he composed five concertos for violin and orchestra. 

The Violin and Orchestra Concerto No.  4 is one of the most virtuoso concertos in the suite, where the orchestra takes a supporting role in favour of the soloist. 

As usual, this concerto is structured in three movements. 

Mozart begins the first movement, Allegro, similarly to several of his later piano concertos, with a trumpet fanfare theme featuring the full orchestra in unison (but without trumpets). An almost fanciful little string melody follows this theme. The solo violin cadenza appears at the end of this movement, followed by the orchestral tutti to end conclusively. 

The second movement, Andante, begins, like the first, with an introduction by the orchestra followed by a calm and serene song by the soloist, echoed by the oboes. Later the soloist repeats the same melody, alternating between the high and low ranges of the instrument. This movement also ends with a violin cadenza, and this time the orchestra’s emergence will provide a gentle and serene ending.

In the last movement, a Rondo, the alternating tempi Andante grazioso and Allegro non troppo give it a flexible, somewhat fantasy-like structure. Following the repetition of Andante and Allegro, a secondary theme appears, introducing a tonic pedal to the oboes and soloist, providing a change in both tempo and style. The repetition of the first two sections brings the Rondo and this concerto, full of Mozart’s characteristic beauty and genius, to an end. 

Johannes BRAHMS (1833 – 1897) 
Serenade No. 2 in A major, op. 16 

The two serenades (op.  11 and op.  16), composed between 1857 and 1860, were Brahms’ first published orchestral compositions. They were written during his stay as a chapel master at the court of Lippe-Detmold (1857-1860), where he had a rich library to study writing procedures for horn and wind ensembles.

This could be the reason for the choice of instrumentation in Serenade No.  2. In the score, Brahms favours a full woodwind section, plus two horns, and rejects trumpets and timpani as well as violins. Brahms would again exclude the violins around seven years after the composition of this serenade. This would occur in the first movement of A German Requiem.

His choice of instruments for the serenade gave him a very particular set of sounds to work with. What is lost in the brightness of the high strings is gained in the warmth of the low strings, where the viola is the highest-pitched voice. The shift in string sonority is compensated for by the robust qualities of the chosen wind section. 

Brahms divides the piece into five movements. In the first, Allegro moderato, the winds begin by sketching the main theme. Brahms develops the theme as the music progresses, sometimes with fragments leading to more energetic motifs. 

Then follows the first of the two scherzos, Vivace, where the composer hints at the music of the Hungarian immigrants he heard in his youth.

The Adagio non troppo, which takes centre stage, was Clara Schumann’s favourite movement, and it is said that she played it over and over again on the piano. Brahms employs a unifying device that brings these parts of the serenade together as he transforms the first movement’s theme into its fundamental motif, giving it a great dramatic beauty that contrasts with the preceding and following movements. 

Brahms dispenses with the horns in the fourth movement, Quasi menuetto, and creates a second scherzo that is lively and elegant at the same time.

In the last movement, an Allegro-tempo Rondo, we find a hunting ambience in the main theme, combined with a variety of mood changes, and contrasting secondary themes to end the work brilliantly, which Brahms accomplishes with his mastery and increased use of the piccolo in the instrumentation.

Serenade No. 2 is dedicated to Clara Schumann, and while he was writing it, Brahms sent her manuscripts of the work to ask for her honest opinion. She replied briefly that she loved the music in almost every way and that the moments she liked less would need only minor changes. 

The end result is a most beautiful piece for small orchestra, with an intriguing orchestration in keeping with the heritage of Mozart’s best serenades.