Miró Quartet

About the Program

Franz Schubert
Quartettsatz in C Minor, D. 703
Born January 31, 1797, in Vienna
Died November 19, 1828, in Vienna
Composed 1820
Premiered March 1, 1867
Duration 10 minutes

Just weeks after one of those famous “Schubertiade” house parties hosted by Franz Schubert’s friend Ignaz von Sonnleithner, a 23-year-old Schubert set out to craft another string quartet. He had already written several, most in an 1816 teenage flurry, and this time (feeling perhaps emboldened by experience) chose the very Beethovian key of C minor. He finished the first movement in short order, but never composed its remaining movements (save 40-ish bars of a slow sketch). Four years later, Schubert returned to the genre, composing a triptych of quartets now known as his late string quartets, but never returning to that single movement of 1820. The unfinished work remained unpublished until 1870—over forty years after Schubert’s early death—and was heard only several years before that, thanks primarily to Johannes Brahms.  

– Mark Bilyeu

Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2
Born December 17, 1770, Bonn
Died March 26, 1827, Vienna
Composed 1806
Premiered c. January 1807, Schuppanzigh Quartet
Duration 36 minutes

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German pianist and composer. His three “Razumovsky” string quartets, opus 59, were commissioned in 1806 by Count Andreas Razumovsky (1752–1836), the Russian ambassador in Vienna at the time. Razumovsky was an amateur violinist and also played the torban, which is a Ukrainian instrument similar to the lute. Razumovsky requested “Russian” themes in the quartets, and Beethoven accordingly included the song "Glory to the Sun" which had been transcribed by Nikolay Lvov and Ivan Prach for their 1790 Collection of Russian Folk Songs with Their Tunes. The quartet is unusual in that each movement has the same tonic note. The first movement is in E minor and begins with two declamatory chords followed by a brief silence before continuing in a dramatic sonata form movement featuring competing themes and plenty of restless energy. The second movement, in a slow E Major, is an expansive and heavenly contrast to the first. The scherzo in E minor seems simple in comparison until the folk song appears in unexpected counterpoint at the trio. The presto finale is also in E minor, and the physicality of the music reminds us that Beethoven was composing the work for the Schuppanzigh Quartet — some of the finest players of his day.  

– Penny Brandt

Antonín Dvořák
Piano Quintet No 2 in A Major, Op. 81
Born September 8, 1841  Nelahozeves, Bohemia
Died May 1, 1904, Bohemia
Composed 1887
Premiered January 6, 1888. Prague
Duration 40 minutes

Dvořák wrote his first piano quintet—that is, chamber music for a string quartet and pianist—as he approached his thirties. Fifteen years later, his career had soared, and he was no longer the young unknown, but rather an established force. And with his success and establishment, came the luxury of reviewing some of his earlier works. So, in the summer of 1887, in his summer getaway of Voyosk, 30 miles outside of Prague, he returned to his first piano quintet. Edits happened (of course), but it seems he was inspired to take up a whole new work for the forces, and there in his second home, he crafted the Piano Quintet in A Major. 

The first movement opens with a placid cello statement, until we are launched into the vigorous activity of the rest of the movement. The sonata form allows Dvořák to manipulate the themes over and over, but always giving priority to that opening theme, taken into its finality by the first violin. The second movement, the work’s most lyrical and heart-rending, is titled Dumka.  The word “dumka” is the diminutive of the Ukrainian word “duma” (meaning “thought”, “reflection”, “contemplation”) which will be found in various mutations in other Slav languages (the Czech “dumat” means “to ponder” or “to contemplate”). In musical terms, the word originally refers to a specific type of song form which is typical for its leisurely tempo and meditative, melancholic character. It was used by many composers of the 19th century, including Mussorgsky, Chopin, and, most notably, Antonín Dvořák. 

The third movement also comes from folk music. Marked “furiant”—a fiery dance which often alternates time signatures—this one maintains its time signatures while masterfully giving the impression it does not. The furiant bookends another melancholic melody which only Dvořák could pen. The final movement is a tour-de-force, jumping from one theme to the next, before any of them have actually finished their thought. Like so many composers, Dvořák shows off with a fugal section before offering a moment of stillness. The tempo picks back up, with a brilliant flourish to the end. 

The premiere of the work was extremely well received nearly immediately, with one critic writing: “This is a work of rare value, innovative thematic material and imposing depth of treatment. One cannot show a preference for any movement, since the warm Allegro and poetic Dumka stand their ground as well as the spirited Furiant and the capricious, jocose Finale. The piece encapsulates what we have come to expect from Dvořák: a wonderful sound and numerous intriguing and original instrumental effects.”

 – Mark Bilyeu

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About the Artists

Miró Quartet

The Miró Quartet is one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, having been labeled by The New Yorker as “furiously committed” and noted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer for its “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity.” For over twenty-five years the Quartet has performed throughout the world on the most prestigious concert stages, earning accolades from critics and audiences alike. Based in Austin, TX, and thriving on the area’s storied music scene, the Miró takes pride in finding new ways to communicate with audiences of all backgrounds while cultivating the longstanding tradition of chamber music.

In their 2023-24 season, the Miró Quartet embarks on a new performance and recording project with pianist Lara Downes. Here on Earth features musical depictions of planet earth, its evolution, and the lives of its inhabitants, with works spanning a century of cultural shift that begins with Darius Milhaud’s La Création du Monde, performed in a new arrangement for piano and string quartet. Upcoming performances include the premiere of a new version of Kevin Puts’ Credo with the Naples Philharmonic, as well as performances for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the Saratoga Perfoming Arts Center, and Premiere Performances in Hong Kong.

Miró Quartet took its name and its inspiration from the Spanish artist Joan Miró, whose Surrealist works — with subject matter drawn from the realm of memory, dreams, and imaginative fantasy — are some of the most groundbreaking, influential, and admired of the 20th century.

miroquartet.com

Anton Nel

Winner of the 1987 Naumburg International Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall, Anton Nel continues to tour internationally as recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Highlights in the U.S. include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, and Detroit Symphonies as well as coast to coast recitals. Overseas he has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and major concert halls in China, Korea and South Africa. He holds the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Chair at the University of Texas at Austin where he heads the Division of Keyboard Studies. During the summers he is on the artist-faculties at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, as well as the Orford Music Academy in Quebec. Mr. Nel also frequently performs as harpsichordist and fortepianist. His teachers include Adolph Hallis at the University of the Witwatersrand and Bela Siki and Frank Weinstock at the University of Cincinnati.

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Upcoming Events

Wind Ensemble
20th Anniversary Performance of Circus Maximus
by John Corigliano

Join us in Downtown Austin for the 20th Anniversary Performance of John Corigliano's epic third symphony, Circus Maximus. Commissioned by The University of Texas Wind Ensemble and premiered in 2004, Circus Maximus is scored for three different bands: one on stage, an antiphonal ensemble in the hall, and a marching band. The composer used the Circus Maximus arena in Rome as inspiration, with the audience situated in the center, surrounded by sound. Get your tickets now!

Saturday, January 25, 7:30 p.m.
The Long Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets

More Music by John Corigliano...

Symphony Orchestra
Voyage for Flute and Orchestra 
by John Corigliano
Friday, February 7, 7:30 pm
Bates Recital Hall

Butler Opera Center Presents
The Ghosts of Versailles
Music by John Corigliano
Libretto by William H. Hoffmann
February 20, 22 & 23
McCullough Theatre

Nick Photinos, cello
Free Admission
Tuesday, February 11,  7:30 pm
Recital Studio

University Orchestra
Free Admissions
Tuesday, February 25, 7:30 pm 
Bates Recital Hall

Donnie Ray Albert, baritone
Celebrating 50 years of performing
Thursday, February 27, 7:30 pm
Bates Recital Hall