Eight by Four Program Notes

Violins:
Katherine McLin
Luke Hill
Michael DiBarry
Ava Wipff

Violas:
Bryn Cannon
Mason Haskett

Cellos:
Wesley Skinner
Ruthie Wilde

February 2, 2025
Ruth Street Theater on the Prescott High School campus

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE PDF HERE

Introduction

This program includes five fine chamber works for strings, played by members of the Arizona Philharmonic. Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz wrote her Quartet for Four Violins in 1949, with (advanced) violin students in mind. This is a wonderfully witty work, in which the interesting material is equally shared among the four players. Then comes a pair of duets. W.F. Bach’s Viola Duet in G Major brings together baroque and classical-period styles. Next is a tour of Latin America by Mexican composer José Elizondo, his Danzas Latinoamericanas for two cellos. Rounding out the first half is a contemporary octet by the young Spaniard Javier Martínez Campos. His 2015 Serenata para cuerdas explores a variety of string techniques and modern idioms. Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet is among his most popular works…and certainly one of the very few works by a 16-year-old that have had such a wide influence on later composers and performers!

This work by Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz was intended as a teaching-piece for young violinists. It includes two bright and sometimes funny outer movements surrounding more serious and lyrical Andante.

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

Quartet for Four Violins


Bacewicz composed this work in 1949. It was premiered in Kraków on February 13, 1950. Duration 15:00.

Background
Grażyna Bacewicz was born in the industrial city of Lodz, in central Poland. After training in violin, piano, and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory, and later in Paris—where she studied with famed composition teacher Nadia Boulanger—she returned to Poland, and played as concertmaster in the Polish radio orchestra in the years before the war. During the occupation of Poland by the Nazis, Bacewicz continue to compose while making her living largely as a performer, occasionally giving underground concerts that featured her own music. After the war, Poland became part of the Communist Warsaw Pact. Like composers of the Soviet Union, Bacewicz was expected to conform to Soviet-style artistic control, where music was expected to serve the goals of the State and to reject modernist and avant garde influences. Though she never composed the kind of patriotic and folk-based music favored by the Communist Party, her natural musical style and reputation as a performer seem to have shielded her from problems with artistic authorities. However, in the last decade of her career, Bacewicz did begin to experiment with 12-tone composition and other contemporary techniques, while at the same time beginning to incorporate folk material. She was one of the most successful and prominent musicians of her generation in Poland, particularly as an inspiration for Polish women musicians. Her works are still performed frequently in her homeland and beyond.

What to Listen For
Her Quartet for Four Violins is dedicated to “Students of the conservatory” and it has served as a durable training-piece for decades. It is also a great example of Bacewicz’s “middle-of-the-road” style which balances modern music in the style of her Soviet contemporaries Prokofiev and Shostakovich, with clearly-drawn classical forms and tonal melodies. The opening movement begins with spooky music marked Allegretto. Then the tempo speeds up slightly (Allegro giocoso) for a riotous and sometimes humorous dance, in which the good bits are democratically shared among all four parts. A brief reprise of the opening music brings the mood down momentarily, but the dance ends with a quick, wry coda. The central slow movement (Andante tranquillo) is based upon a single melody which evolves through solos and duets and various textures. The third and final movement (Molto allegro) returns to the good humor of the first: here it is a series of witty and slightly sarcastic tunes broken up by repeated double-stop chords (meaning that the players have to play on two strings at once).

This work was written by the eldest of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons.

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)

Viola Duet in G Major, Fk. 61

Bach probably wrote this work in Berlin in about 1775. Duration 9:00.

Background
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the oldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, and one of five Bach sons who went on to professional musical careers—though he was not nearly so famous in his day as his younger brother Carl Philipp Emmanuel and half-brother Johann Christian. There is some evidence that J.S. had special affection for “Friedemann,” and lavished special care on both his musical and non-musical education, among other things, assembling the now-famous Klavierbüchlein [little book of keyboard pieces] für Wilhelm Friedemann for his son in the 1720s, a collection of carefully-chosen teaching pieces, that may include some early works by the teenage son himself. W.F. Bach eventually became one of the premier organists in Germany—rivaling even his father—and in 1733, took a prestigious post as organist at Dresden’s church of St. Sophia, where he performed on one of the finest instruments in Europe, a famed organ by Gottfried Silbermann that was destroyed—along with the church and most of Dresden—by Allied firebombing in February 1945. He also took an active role in secular music at the court. In 1746, W.F. Bach moved from Dresden to take a position in Halle, where he spent over 20 largely unhappy years. Friedemann Bach constantly battled with his employers in Halle, and when he left in 1770, he was never able to secure steady employment, and died in Berlin, nearly penniless, in 1784. Like his father, he seems to have been what might be described as a “difficult personality”—though later 19th-century attempts to portray him as a kind of Prodigal Son who wasted his potential are probably unfair.

Not much of W.F. Bach’s music was widely known in his lifetime, and it began to resurface only in the early 20th century. It is well worth hearing: primarily keyboard and church music, but also several fine orchestral concertos and sinfonias and several chamber works. One of the relatively few works he produced in his unhappy final years in Berlin was a set of three viola duets, probably written with an eye towards publication and sales to the huge market of amateur players in Germany.

What to Listen For
W.F. Bach was among the 18th-century composers whose careers spanned the baroque and classical eras, and moments in this late work by him are certainly “early classical” in style. The opening Allegro is highly contrapuntal, with constant imitation between the two players. The Lamento is a bit of opera in miniature, as the two violas interweave in a melancholy operatic duo. The closing Presto is set in a lively gigue rhythm (a fast triple-meter dance) with fugal imitation throughout.

This work by Mexican composer José Elizondo channels musical styles from Argentina, Brazil and northern Mexico.

José Elizondo (b. 1972)

Danzas latinoamericanas for two cellos

Elizondo composed this work in 1997. Duration 12:00.

Elizondo, who was born in northern Mexico (his father ran a potato farm), studied both electrical engineering and music at the Massachusetts institute of Technology with further musical study at Harvard University. He describes himself as a “part-time composer”—his “day gig” is working on multilingual speech recognition technology for several Fortune 500 companies, and he is an internationally-recognized authority on multilingual technology systems. However, Elizondo has managed to publish over a dozen well-regarded pieces, including the work heard here. In a 2022 interview, Elizondo notes that his best-known works tend to include the cello in some way. (His Instagram handle is “Cellizondo!”)

What to Listen For
Danzas latinoamericanas (Latin American dances) is Elizondo’s most popular work, and on his website, he lists over 80(!) distinct versions of the piece, ranging from string orchestra, to various chamber ensembles, to voice and piano, to the version for two cellos heard here. Elizondo provides the following description

“Danzas Latinoamericanas is a suite inspired by dances from Argentina (tango), Brazil (bossa nova), and Mexico (jarabe). Otoño en Buenos Aires [Autumn in Buenos Aires] is a passionate tango that pays homage to the music of Astor Piazzolla and Carlos Gardel. Pan de Azúcar [Sugar Loaf] is named after the famous mountain in Rio de Janeiro. It is inspired by Brazilian bossa nova. It echoes the sensuous music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Heitor Villa-Lobos. The melodies in this piece are expressive, melancholic and peaceful, with a general mood of ‘joyful serenity.’ Atardecer Tapatío [Sunset in Guadalajara] is inspired by Mexican jarabe folk-dance music and the sound of mariachi bands. The music is worry-free, festive and full of life. It is a tribute to the composer’s homeland.”

This composition uses several modern textures and techniques in the service of creating a deeply satisfying musical work.

Javier Martínez Campos (b.1989)

Serenata para cuerdas

The Serenata para cuerdos (Serenade for Strings) was originally composed as a string orchestra work for the National Youth Orchestra of Spain. The string octet heard here was written in 2016 for the Bambú Ensemble, who premiered it in Paris and Madrid in September 2016. Duration 15:00.

Background
Javier Martínez Campos has already carved out a fine double career. As a player, he is currently assistant solo cellist of the National Orchestra and Choir of Spain, and he has a burgeoning career as a soloist, appearing with major orchestras and in festivals on both sides of the Atlantic. As a composer, his works have been commissioned and played by orchestras throughout Europe and by a wide range of soloists and chamber ensembles.

What to Listen For
A Serenade is traditionally a fairly open-ended kind of form, allowing a composer to do as he or she chooses, Martínez Campos clearly makes the most of that freedom. It begins with savage downstrokes which soon give way to a mimimalist texture: a simple figure repeated, back and forth between parts of the ensemble, with a passionate melody springing forth from various players. The savage strokes return (they serve to mark major divisions in the piece) and we hear a series of textures: a single pitch that grows into a melody, and an almost romantic cadenza by cello 1 and a more disjointed cadenza by violin 1, played above haunting harmonics in the other instruments (in this case, created by players lightly touching a single string as they travel up and down it), and a melody created cooperatively by the eight players: each focusing on a single pitch. In the end there is a return to the mimimalist idea, with much greater emphasis on the arching melody. The savage strokes appear again, signaling a kind of coda, which is at times frantic, and sometimes impassioned. The piece ends with a trill from all eight players, and a forceful unison gesture.

Mendelssohn’s Octet, composed when he was still a teenager, is one of his most often-played works of chamber music.

Felix Mendelssohn (1807-1847)

Octet in E-flat Major, Op.20

Mendelssohn composed this work in 1825, when he was 16 years old. It was undoubtedly performed for the first time in a private program in the Mendelssohn home in 1825. Duration 28:00.

Background
Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, son of Abraham Mendelssohn, a successful banker, and Lea Salomon Mendelssohn. The family moved to Berlin in 1811. Though he was part of a distinguished Jewish family, Felix was baptized in the Reformed (Calvinist) Church at age seven, and remained a Protestant throughout his life. His older sister Fanny seems to have been every bit as musically precocious as her kid brother, and in 1819, the family hired a composition teacher, Carl Friedrich Zelter, to tutor both of them. Both children thrived in a supportive environment; though it was always clear that Fanny would not be following a musical career, her brother consistently encouraged her to compose. The Mendelssohn family home became one of the social hubs of the city’s musical life, hosting prominent musicians from Berlin and touring musicians from around Europe. There were also regular Sunday musicales in the Mendelssohn home: private concerts, usually including compositions and performances by the family’s two Wunderkinder.

Mendelssohn composed his Octet as a 16-year-old, as a birthday present for his friend, violinist Eduard Rietz. He had already composed a violin concerto for Rietz a few years earlier: a fine Mozart-styled work that is now ignored in favor of what is usually known the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, written for Ferdinand David in 1844. Mendelssohn may have intended the Octet to cheer up his friend, who had recently been obliged to give up public playing due to ill health. (Rietz died of tuberculosis in 1832.) Whatever its original intent, however, the Octet is a wonderfully cheerful, youthful masterpiece, which remains one of Mendelssohn’s most enduringly popular chamber pieces.

What to Listen For
The Octet is scored for double string quartet (that is: four violins, two violas, and two cellos). The broad opening movement (Allegro moderato ma con fuoco) is in sonata form. The main theme, a bold fanfare-style motive, is played in the opening bars by the first violin. A more sedate second theme is introduced by darker inner voices: by the fourth violin and the violas. The exposition ends with the main theme in the cellos, beneath a brilliant countermelody from the violins. A generous development is in three sections: an exploration of the main theme, a mournful version of the second theme, and a long section of preparation beginning with syncopated figures, and concluding with exciting 16th-note lines from all eight players. This leads into a full recapitulation, and a short but thrilling coda. The second movement (Andante) is a complete contrast: a solemn minor-key idea is passed from the violas to the violins An extended middle section is based upon a chromatic theme introduced by the first violin. The quickfooted Scherzo movement (Allegro leggierissimo) has much of the same quality Mendelssohn would use a year later to characterize dancing fairies in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture. A pair of feather-light themes are introduced in the opening section, and then as a surprise, instead of a conventional contrasting trio, Mendelssohn includes a short and rather intense development section. This movement was clearly a favorite of his: in 1849, when he was at work on his Symphony No. 1, he briefly considered using a version of this movement, rescored for full orchestra, in place of his original third-movement minuet. It did not remain part of the symphony, but the orchestral Scherzo is occasionally played as a separate concert work on its own. The closing movement (Presto) opens with a fugue: a fast-paced idea passed from the cellos upwards. One of Mendelssohn’s secondary ideas bears an uncanny—and probably unintended—resemblance to the line “and He shall reign forever and ever” from Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.  There is no letup in intensity in this movement’s headlong rush to the end.

PROGRAM

Grażyna BacewicZ
Quartet for Four Violins

Allegretto— Allegro giocoso
Andante tranquillo
Molto allegro

WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH
Viola Duet in G Major, Fk. 61

Allegro
Lamento
Presto

JOSÉ ELIZONDO
Danzas latinoamericanas for two cellos

Otoño en Buenos Aires
Pan de Azúcar
Atardecer Tapatío

JAVIER MARTÍNEZ CAMPOS
Serenata para cuerdas

Intermission

FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Octet in E-flat Major, Op.20

Allegro moderato ma con fuoco
Andante
Scherzo: Allegro leggierissimo
Presto

Performers

Click tabs below for details.

Violinist Katherine McLin serves as the concertmaster of Arizona Philharmonic and leads this concert’s octet performances. Since debuting with the Oregon Symphony at age 15, she has appeared over 100 times with orchestras across the nation, showcasing a repertoire spanning 300 years. She appears on 20 recordings under Summit, Centaur, and Opus One labels, with broadcasts on NPR’s Performance Today and NYC’s WQXR. Alongside pianist Andrew Campbell, she has performed recitals in 42 states and abroad and is a frequent guest artist at chamber festivals across the U.S. and Europe. Katherine is a Professor of Violin at Arizona State University and performs on a 1709 Francesco Gobetti violin.

As an educator, Katherine McLin is a passionate advocate for advancing violin pedagogy. She has been recognized with invitations to lead masterclasses at national conferences, including the 2024 National Conference of the American String Teachers Association. Katherine earned her doctorate in violin performance from the University of Michigan and holds additional degrees from Indiana University and Oberlin Conservatory. Her influential teachers include Franco Gulli, Josef Gingold, and Kathleen Winkler.