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MOzART: SONATA FOR PIANO ANDVIOLIN IN B-FLAT, K. 454

Throughout his short career, WolfgangAmadeus Mozart (1756-1791) producedmore than thirty sonatas for violin and piano.The first ones were published when he waseight, the last at thirty-two, three years beforehis death. These sonatas—especially the laterones, by which time he had honed his craft—show Mozart at his best: charming, disarm-ing, and abounding with verve and inspiration.He moves effortlessly from one melodic ideato the next, never giving his audience time totire of any single element. In fact, if one wereto be so presumptuous as to offer a criticism,it would be that the melodies pass too quickly,that one wishes to hear them again, to savorthem once more. Mozart was, however, a con-summate performer who surely understoodthe principle of leaving his audience wishingfor more, rather than less.

This particular sonata was one of the later ad-ditions to the sequence, written in Vienna,and, by the composer’s own dating of the man-uscript, completed April 21, 1784. Only daysearlier, he had finished his Piano ConcertoNo. 17, and soon would be at work on his nextpiano concerto. It was, however, not a year inwhich he was occupied with operas, sym-phonies, and other grand scale works. Beingvery busy with public concerts himself,Mozart needed music that he could include onthese concerts, which usually meant the piano.

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Saturday, April 6, 2013, 8pmIrvine Barclay Theatre

rAy chen, In recITAlJulio elizalde, piano

Sonata for Piano and Wolfgang Amadeus MozArT Violin in B-flat, K. 454 (1756-1791)

largo - AllegroAndanteAllegretto

Violin Sonata no. 3 Johannes BrAhMSin D minor, op. 108 (1833-1897)

AllegroAdagioUn poco presto e con sentimentoPresto agitato

I n T e r M I S S I o n

Sonata no. 2 for Solo Violin eugène ÿSAÿe (1858-1931)

obsession; PreludeMalinconiaDanse des ombres; Sarabandeles furies

Havanaise, op. 83 camille SAInT-SAënS (1835-1921)

Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, op. 28

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Ray Chen (photo: Chris Dunlop)

Tonight’s performance is generously sponsored by Mr. Sam Ersan

better to sense if a new composition is takingflight than to hear fine players set it to wing?Brahms accepted the offer gratefully and wouldmake many visits to Meiningen in the years thatfollowed. With this sonata, he offered his thanksto the man who had helped him to bring hissymphonies to first light.

ÿSAÿE: SONATA NO. 2 FOR SOLO VIOLIN

Belgian-born Eugene Ysaÿe (1858–1931) wasone of the greatest violinists of the day. Mastercomposers of his time wrote for him—the famedViolin Sonata of César Franck was a weddingpresent to Ysaÿe—but he also composed musichimself, always placing the violin in the spotlight.This is nowhere clearer than in his sonatas forsolo violin, without even a piano as accompanist.They are, indeed, utterly solo works; Ysaÿe com-pleted the set of six sonatas in 1924.

The Sonata No. 2 is almost Baroque-like, withintricately interwoven simultaneous melodies, atechnique strongly identified with Bach, for theviolinist to whom it was dedicated, JacquesThibaud, was a specialist in that area. The work’sprelude directly quotes Bach's Partita in E. Thesubtitles of the four movements hint at themoods and atmospheres that Ysaÿe. “Malinco-nia” means “melancholy,” “ombre” is “shadows,” and

He was also a fine violinist, and in his adoles-cence had been encouraged to specialize in thatinstrument. The fact that he came to prefer hav-ing the piano under his hands did not preventhim from understanding and appreciating thefine qualities of the violin’s voice, and here hemanages to balance the interests of two instru-ments, both of which he knew intimately.

BRAHMS: VIOLIN SONATA NO. 3 IN D MINOR, OP. 108

In the summer of 1886, Johannes Brahms(1833-1897) was spending the summer at themountain resort of Hofstetten on Switzerland’sLake Thun. It would be the first of three sum-mers in this resort community near the Eigerand Jungfrau peaks, times that many travelerswould spend gazing at the peaks and wonderingat their majesty. However, Brahms apparentlypreferred to put his time to good use. This ini-tial visit he devoted to chamber music, produc-ing the Piano Trio in C minor, the Second CelloSonata, and two violin sonatas, his second andthird in the genre.

A gifted pianist, Brahms was no violinist, butthat fact gave him no difficulties when it cameto writing for the instrument. His good friendand long-time colleague Joseph Joachim wasconsidered by many to be the finest violinist inEurope, and his advice was often at Brahms’ dis-posal. Thus, his violin writing is ideally suitedto the instrument. Yet, in Sonata No. 3, Brahmsmay have allowed his personal leanings a bit offree rein, for demands on the pianist are deter-minedly virtuosic, calling more attention to thatinstrument than might have been expected in asonata for two players.

The Violin Sonata No. 3 premiered in Budapeston December 20, 1888, and was published thefollowing year with a dedication to Hans vonBülow. A prominent pianist, conductor and de-voted supporter of Brahms’ compositions,Bülow had offered his famed Meiningen Courtorchestra to the composer in 1881 as what wasessentially a rehearsal orchestra, available forplaying through his orchestral works-in-progress. It was a gift of inestimable value: how

Johannes Brahms

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

RAY CHEN, VIOLIN

Winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition(2009) and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition(2008), Ray Chen is among the most compellingyoung violinists today. “Ray has proven himself tobe a very pure musician with great qualities suchas a beautiful youthful tone, vitality and lightness.He has all the skills of a truly musical interpreter,”said his friend and mentor Maxim Vengerov.

Mr. Chen’s premiere album, Virtuoso, releasedworldwide on Sony Classical in January 2011, re-ceived glowing reviews from a range of major pub-lications, including The Times and ChicagoTribune, which named it the “CD of the week.”Following the success of this recording, Ray Chenwas profiled by The Strad and Gramophone maga-zines as “the one to watch.” His 2011 recital tourfeaturing virtuoso repertoire brought him toTokyo, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, andDresden.

Ray Chen continues to win the admiration of fansand fellow musicians worldwide. In December2012, he became the youngest soloist ever to per-form in the televised Nobel Prize Concert for theNobel Laureates and the Swedish Royal Family,with Christoph Eschenbach and the Royal Stock-holm Philharmonic. His Verbier Festival and Fi-larmonica de la Scala debuts resulted in immediatere-engagements. He received standing ovations atthe Ravinia and Schleswig-Holstein Festivals,where he was featured by the Munich Philhar-monic. Ray Chen is looking forward to his debutperformances at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein,Wigmore Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and theLucerne Festival. Other highlights of the currentseason include his collaboration with RiccardoChailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and anall-Mozart recording with Christoph Eschenbachand the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra,featuring Ray’s own cadenzas.

Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, Ray Chenwas accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music atthe age of 15, where he studied with AaronRosand and was supported by Young Concert

the Furies are the Greek goddesses of vengeance.Clearly, the moods are highly varied, though thereis only a single instrument on stage. Ysaÿe, as-sisted by the fact that he knew the violin’s capa-bilities intimately, managed to make the most ofhis single performer.

SAINT-SAëNS: Havanaise, OP. 83, AND introduction and rondo

capriccioso, OP. 28

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) was not onlya supremely talented composer, he was also agifted pianist, who had memorized all ofBeethoven’s thirty-two piano sonatas by the ageof ten. As one might expect, he produced a largequantity of chamber music for his own instru-ment, but also found time to shine the spotlighton others. His catalog includes several shortpieces for violin and piano. Some of these he latertranscribed for violin and orchestra, though theoriginal versions were for chamber performance.

The Havanaise dates from 1887, shortly after thepremiere of his famed Organ Symphony. Thework began as a chamber piece for violin andpiano based upon the rhythms of the habañera, aflowing dance of Cuban origin. Some may recallthat, in the opera Carmen, the title character’sfirst aria is a habañera, and here, one finds thosesame sultry rhythms.

The Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso was writ-ten in 1863 for the composer’s friend and col-league, the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate,who performed the piece widely, helping tospread Saint-Saëns’ name throughout the conti-nent. At the time, the composer was not yet thirtyand still on his way up in the music world. Atother times in his career, the composer wouldcomplete three violin concerti, in multiple move-ments and with orchestral accompaniment. Here,however, the young Saint-Saëns seems deter-mined to show what can be said on a smallerscale. It is a lesson that some other composersmight have benefited from learning: that longeris not always better.

- Program notes by Betsy Schwarm, author of “Classical Music Insights” and “Operatic Insights”

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emy of the West, Kneisel Hall, Taos, YellowBarn, the Olympic Music Festival, andCaramoor. As an educator, Mr. Elizalde hasgiven piano and chamber music master classesat the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’scollege and preparatory divisions, and served onthe faculties of the Yellow Barn Young ArtistProgram in Putney, Vermont, and the Man-chester Music Festival in Manchester, Vermont.At the Juilliard School, he has taught classesand currently assists violin faculty memberLewis Kaplan.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr.Elizalde earned his Bachelor of Music degreewith honors at the San Francisco Conservatoryof Music as a student of violist and pianist PaulHersh. In May of 2007, Mr. Elizalde graduatedwith a Master of Music degree from the Juil-liard School in New York City, studying pianowith Jerome Lowenthal and Joseph Kalichstein.He has studied chamber music with EmanuelAx, Seymour Lipkin, and Charles Neidich atJuilliard, Pamela Frank at the Curtis Instituteof Music in Philadelphia, and the WeilersteinTrio at the New England Conservatory ofMusic in Boston. He holds a Doctor of MusicalArts degree from Juilliard and completed hispiano studies with Robert McDonald.

Artists. He plays the 1702 “Lord Newlands”Stradivarius violin on generous loan from theNippon Music Foundation.

JULIO ELIzALDE, PIANO

Praised by the New York Times for his “catlikeease” at the keyboard, American pianist JulioElizalde is gaining widespread recognition forhis musical depth and creative insight. He hasgiven performances at Carnegie Hall and AliceTully Hall in New York City, the John F.Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts inWashington D.C., and Jordan Hall in Boston.He made his New York City concerto debutperforming Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 inC major, K. 503, with the Juilliard Orchestraunder the baton of Anne Manson. Mr. Elizaldeis equally active as soloist, recital partner andchamber musician.

Mr. Elizalde is the pianist of the New YorkCity-based New Trio, with violinist AndrewWan, concertmaster of the Montreal SymphonyOrchestra, and cellist Patrick Jee, acting princi-pal cellist of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orches-tra. The New Trio emerged as one of thenation’s most promising young ensembles afterwinning the grand prizes at the 2008 FischoffNational Chamber Music Competition and the2007 Coleman National Chamber Music Com-petition. In 2010, the trio was awarded theHarvard Musical Association’s prestigiousArthur W. Foote Prize for outstanding youngmusicians and ensembles.

Mr. Elizalde has collaborated with violinistsPamela Frank, Donald Weilerstein, RobertMann, Curtis Macomber, cellist Bonnie Hamp-ton, baritone William Sharp, and sopranoSusan Narucki, among others. This season, heappears as the U.S. recital partner to violinistRay Chen, winner of the 2009 Queen ElisabethMusic Competition in Brussels, Belgium, andJuilliard cello faculty member Bonnie Hamp-ton. Dedicated to the music of our time, Mr.Elizalde has worked with composers StephenHough, Michael Brown, Mario Davidovsky andOsvaldo Golijov. He has participated at numer-ous music festivals, including the Music Acad-

Julio Elizalde