An evening of Piano Quartets by Mozart and Fauré was indeed an evening to cherish .
A lesson of music shared with joy and dedication by four musicians whose enjoyment of playing together was evident from the freshness and spirit of spontaneous recreation they brought to the Mozart G minor and Fauré C minor Quartets.
Moving together with mellifluous sounds as they rode together on a great wave of musical discovery.
A pianist who hardly glanced at the score as it was so much part of his being.
Embellishing Mozart’s score as the composer himself would have done waiting for his colleagues to out do his spontaneous invention.
Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1, in C minor op.15, is one of the two chamber works he wrote for the conventional the combination of piano, violin, viola and cello. In four movements :Allegro molto moderato,scherzo:Allegro vivo,Adagio,Allegro molto
In 1877, after wooing her for five years, Fauré had finally become engaged to Marianne Viardot, daughter of the well-known singer Pauline Viardot.The engagement lasted for less than four months, and Marianne broke it off, to Fauré’s considerable distress. It was in the later stages of their relationship that he began work on the quartet, in the summer of 1876.He completed it in 1879, and revised it in 1883, completely rewriting the finale. The first performance of the original version was given on 14 February 1880. In a study dated 2008, Kathryn Koscho notes that the original finale has not survived, and is believed to have been destroyed by Fauré in his last days.
The string trio of course were more at home in Fauré where they played with much less respect as they allowed their natural musicality unrestrained freedom.
A sumptuous performance of a fluidity and passion that swept all before it .
The pianist though had also unlocked the secret of Mozart as he dabbled so intelligently in the historic performance practices of the day.
His string companions,though,were too respectful of the written notes rather than the hidden meaning behind them.
In three movements -Allegro- Andante- Rondo
Mozart received a commission for three quartets in 1785 from the publisher Franz Anton Hoffmeister who thought this quartet was too difficult and that the public would not buy it, so he released Mozart from the obligation of completing the set. (Nine months later, Mozart composed a second quartet anyway, in E flat K. 493).
Hoffmeister’s fear that the work was too difficult for amateurs was borne out by an article in the Journal des Luxus und der Moden published in Weimar in June 1788. The article highly praised Mozart and his work, but expressed dismay over attempts by amateurs to perform it:
‘it could not please: everybody yawned with boredom over the incomprehensible tintamarre of 4 instruments which did not keep together for four bars on end, and whose senseless concentusnever allowed any unity of feeling; but it had to please, it had to be praised! … what a difference when this much-advertised work of art is performed with the highest degree of accuracy by four skilled musicians who have studied it carefully.’ Although the piece was originally published with the title “Quatuor pour le Clavecin ou Forte Piano, Violon, Tallie [sic] et Basse,” stylistic evidence suggests Mozart intended the piano part for “the ‘Viennese’ fortepiano of the period”.
A fascinating evening of rare music making by Akiko Ono,Ana Dunne Sequi,Nina Kiva and Damir Durmanovic.
And all around this beautiful oasis of St Mary’s Twickenham the bistros and pubs in the charming Church Street intent on letting their hair down in these final few days of Carnaval .
A concert that had been pieced together in four days due to the indisposition of the original pianist.
But as Akiko said they had spent together two days full of fun,laughter and hard work.The result of their party together were two performances among friends sharing their superb music making with an audience who had decided that food for the soul was the way to celebrate this last weekend before spending forty days in the desert!
Mardi Gras refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday.Day before Ash Wednesday 47 days before Easter Celebration period before fasting season of Lent Mardi Gras—also known as Shrove Tuesday—is Tuesday, February 21, 2023! From its origins as a spring fertility rite to the masked balls of medieval Italy to today’s Carnival festivities.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 