Fourth Concert of the 61st Season

Schubert was born in Vienna, and died there at the age of 31. He was a younger contemporary of Beethoven, and like him represents a transition between the Classicism of Mozart and Haydn and the Romantic period. Schubert wrote nine symphonies and a great deal of chamber music, but his greatest gift was in melody. He contributed much to the German art song, or Lied, writing several song cycles. He was particularly talented in matching the words of his favorite poets to the appropriate music. He composed with great ease, and very rapidly. His output, considering his short life, is remarkable. It is said that he sometimes failed to recognize his own music when presented with it.

The Mass in G is one of four masses Schubert wrote while still in his teens. It is relatively short, only about 25 minutes, and partly for that reason is frequently performed. Another reason for its popularity is its simplicity. It is scored for strings and organ only, so relatively small groups can perform it. Pieces are often re-orchestrated by later publishers for various reasons. In today's performance, there is no organ. Instead, the orchestra has been augmented by trumpets and timpani.

The Credo is one segment of the mass which is frequently performed alone, and was a favorite of recently deceased choir-master Robert Shaw. The tempo remains the same throughout the movement, producing an almost hypnotic rhythm.

A curiosity is the fact that Schubert omitted the words "and I believe in the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" from the end of the Credo. It must have been deliberate, and should have caused much comment at the time. In any case, the words have been restored for almost all performances of the work. Today, however, the work is being sung as Schubert wrote it.

Viotti is not very well-known as a composer, but had a great influence on performance technique. He was perhaps the greatest violinist of his age, playing before Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, and Marie Antoinette. His teacher, Pugnani, took him all over Europe, where his playing astonished his listeners. By all acounts he was handsome, gracious, witty, and generally delightful. Paris loved him, and he returned the affection, settling there, and writing some 20 violin concertos, as well as concertos for piano, and many sonatas. When the French Revolution broke out, he was suspected of being sympathetic to the aristocrats whom he had charmed, and thought it politic to leave for England, where he had renewed success. His best work (including this concerto) dates from his London period.

In 1818, he was able to return to Paris, where he became director of the Paris Opera. He had less success there and resigned two years later. He died a few years later while on a trip to England. By this time, his fame in France had faded, and his death went almost unnoticed.

Like almost all concertos ofthis period, there is an orchestral introduction of about three minutes before the solo violin makes its appearance. The movement opens with a crescendo followed by a descending, mournful theme in the strings. It is repeated by the woodwinds, supported by the strings. There is a short melodic interval before the theme is repeated once more before there is a change of key, and a brighter theme appears, introducing a Mozartian character to the piece. Viotti was, after all, a contemporary of Mozart, and by some accounts, a close friend. There is a modulation into a section reminding us of Beethoven, but it is brief.

The development section is fairly long, with some rather intricate bowing of the violin actoss the strings (not simply running scales up and down a single string). Again, in the slower portions, Mozart is brought to mind.

The recapitulation begins about nine minutes into the work, and the cadenza about two minutes later. A concerto generally has a cadenza toward the end of the first movement, and often in the last as well. Originally, a cadenza was an opportunity for the soloist to show off, and was often not scored. The performer was expected to extemporize. Even when a cadenza is provided by the composer, it is supposed to sound extemporaneous. The orchestra stops on a drawn-out chord of expectancy, at which point the soloist begins the unaccompanied cadenza. In this case, the cadenza lasts about four minutes, and requires great dexterity. We are reminded of the fact that Viotti was known as an innovator and teacher of violin technique. There is a great deal of double-stopping (playing on two strings at a time), which is common enough, but here is is combined with alternating single-string playing in such a manner as to suggest two violins playing simultaneously. If you listen carefully, you will think you are hearing one violinist playing a theme while another accompanies her with supporting chords.