Saturday, December 17, 2016 ~ 8:00 pm Coolidge Auditorium

Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building

Cecilia String Quartet

THE GERTRUDE CLARKE WHITTALL FOUNDATION

iN tHE lIBRARY oF cONGRESS

STRADIVARI ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

Please request ASL and ADA accommodations five days in advance of the concert at 202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

Latecomers will be seated at a time determined by the artists for each concert.Children must be at least seven years old for admittance to the concerts.

Other events are open to all ages.

Please take note:

Unauthorized use of photographic and sound recording equipmentis strictly prohibited.

Patrons are requested to turn off their cellular phones, alarm watches,and any other noise-making devices that would disrupt the performance.

Reserved tickets not claimed by five minutes before the beginning of the eventwill be distributed to stand-by patrons.

Please recycle your programs at the conclusion of the concert.

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In 1935 Gertrude Clarke Whittall gave the Library of Congress five Stradivari instruments and three years later built the Whittall Pavilion in which to house them. The GERTRUDE CLARKE WHITTALL FOUNDATION was established to provide for the maintenance of the instruments, to support concerts (especially those that feature her donated instruments), and to add to the collection of rare manuscripts that she had additionally given to the Library.

This concert commemorates the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation, and is presented in association with

the Embassy of Canada.

Tonight's Pre-concert Conversation: Cecilia String Quartet & Composer Kati Agócs Whittall Pavilion, 6:30 pm (No tickets required)

Cecilia String QuartetMin-Jeong Koh, violin | Sarah Nematallah, violin

Caitlin Boyle, viola | rachel DeSoer, cello

The Library of CongressCoolidge Auditorium

Saturday, December 17, 2016 — 8:00 pm

THE GERTRUDE CLARKE WHITTALL FOUNDATION

iN tHE lIBRARY oF cONGRESS

STRADIVARI ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

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•Program

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) String Quartet in D minor, K. 421 (1783) Allegro moderato Andante Menuetto and Trio. Allegretto Allegretto ma non troppo

SOFIA GUBAIDULINA (b. 1931)String Quartet no. 1 (1971)

iNtermission

KATI AGóCS (b. 1975)Tantric Variations (2015) | U.S. Premiere

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847) String Quartet in E minor, op. 44, no. 2 (1837) Allegro assai appassionato Scherzo. Allegro di molto Andante Presto Agitato

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About the Program

Wolfgang amadeus mozart, String Quartet in D minor, K. 421

Mozart's professional situation in 1781 was increasingly unacceptable. He was in the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg, who seldom permitted the young upstart composer to perform outside engagements. Mozart, in turn, was insulted that the status of musicians in the palace hierarchy was little higher than that of scullery maids (although this rank was standard in the eighteenth century). Ultimately, the Archbishop, weary of Mozart's complaints, released him on June 9, 1781. Mozart was now free to follow his artistic goals: he resumed teaching and composing, became reacquainted with Haydn, and met other musicians, including Dittersdorf and Vanhal-with whom he eventually began playing quartets. Mozart always revered Haydn as the master composer of the string quartet and paid homage to his mentor with the set of six quartets dedicated to Haydn.

The Quartet in D minor, K. 421, dated June 1783, is the second of the set and one of several string quartet works by the composer in a minor key. The first movement of K. 421 is a stately Allegro moderato that, combined with the somber key of D minor, threatens to become stodgy; however, intermittent triplets and sextuplets prevent the doldrums. The second movement, marked Andante, is a lilting affair that begins in F major, but quickly modulates through several keys before it returns to the original. Mozart cunningly eschews the usual quaint minuet style in the Menuetto, and, instead employs a martial-like theme with dotted rhythms. The following trio, however, is more characteristic with dainty skipping figures in the first violin. The finale, marked Allegro ma non troppo, is a theme and variations, which Mozart fashions on the string quartets of Haydn. The latter's quartets often contain such a movement, but Mozart-apart from the early quartet, K. 170-used it only twice: in tonight's quartet and the Quartet in A major, K. 464. Norman Middleton (1951-2015) Former Senior Music Specialist Library of Congress, Music Division

Check out scans of selected Mozart correspondence in our digital collections!Holograph letter written by Mozart to his sister, Nannerl. It was composed in Milan and dated March 3, 1770. The letter is part of the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation Collection, and formerly was in the possession of the Wittgenstein family of Vienna. It is one of the earliest extant letters to his sister, whom he addresses as "Cara Sorella Mia." The body of letter chronicles the experiences of the young composer in Milan, but it is the postscript that reveals Mozart the boy, who begs Nannerl to "Kiss mamma's hand for me 1000000000000 [one trillion] times." [ML30.8d]Visit http://loc.gov and http://go.usa.gov/x8eqP for more!

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sofia gubaidulina, String Quartet no. 1"Whatever I write is just an attempt. For us human beings nothing is ever

realised as we imagine. What we do is just attempts. That's our lot. So be it."-Sofia Gubaidulina1

Sofia Gubaidulina is regarded by some as one of the most compelling living composers. She was born in Chistopol, in the former Soviet Tatar Republic in 1931.2

Piano is her primary instrument and she began composing early on in her formal music studies, which took her to the Kazan Conservatory and Moscow Conservatory. Gubaidulina relocated to Germany in 1992, where she now lives outside of Hamburg. Her music, humility, and artistic integrity have earned reverence from many leading performers, most notably Gidon Kremer, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Simon Rattle, and Valery Gergiev. Her career under the Soviets was complicated, as officials did not appreciate the avant-garde and (for the time and place) very experimental nature of her music. Frequently compared to composers Edison Denisov (1929-1996) and Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), Gubaidulina has succeeded in staying true to her individual compositional idiom in her art music, though for many years she composed film scores that are distinct from her concert repertoire. She joined the Soviet Composers Union in 1961 and won a U.S.S.R.-wide competition for young composers in 1963. Despite these early affiliations with sanctioned musical activities, Gubaidulina was limited in her ability to travel outside of the Soviet Union for many years. In the 1970s and 1980s her music was increasingly performed in Western Europe, with a boom coming after the removal of Soviet travel restrictions in 1986. She first visited the United States in 1987 for projects in Kentucky and New York.3

With a musical output that includes orchestral, chamber, choral, vocal, and stage works, Gubaidulina has achieved success at the highest levels of the classical music industry in the United States and Europe. She has been composer-in-residence at the Salzburg Festival, a visiting composer at Tanglewood, is a member of the Akademie der Künste (Berlin), is an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has received honorary doctorates from Yale and the University of Chicago. She was awarded the Great Distinguished Service Cross of the Order of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany. Gubaidulina has received commissions from many leading ensembles and figures, including the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Kronos Quartet, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Stuttgart Bach Academy, Arditti Quartet, violinist Gidon Kremer, and conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky. The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress commissioned Gubaidulina's Dancer on a tightrope for violin and piano

1 Quoted in Stuart Jeffries, "Sofia Gubaidulina: unchained melodies," The Guardian, October 31, 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/31/sofia-gubaidulina-unchained-melodies.2 The Tatar people trace their ancestry back to nomadic groups that spoke a Turkic language and historically lived in parts of Mongolia, Siberia and Crimea. Modern Tatars live mostly in Tatarstan, a republic within Russia, in the Volga region. Other Tatar communities are domiciled across Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Crimea. See "Tatar," Encyclopædia Britannica, April 16, 2014, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tatar.3 Michael Kurtz, Sofia Gubaidulina: A Biography, transl. Christoph K. Lohmann, ed. Malcolm Hamrick Brown (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007), 270-271.

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(1993).4 Offertorium (1980, rev. 1982/1986), her violin concerto, and Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ According to St. John (2000) are two of Gubaidulina's most widely acclaimed works that have found success on the international stage.

Gubaidulina's musical style is influenced by many traditions, including folk traditions from Eastern cultures, 20th-century electronic music, and the Western art music tradition. During Gubaidulina's youth (under the Soviets) she and her friends learned Western repertoire "underground," as much of the trending art music at the time was banned by the regime-to the point of surprise inspections being conducted of dorm rooms at the conservatory in Moscow. Despite these restrictions, she came to know and appreciate the music of composers like Charles Ives and John Cage. In an interview with Vera Lukomsky, Gubaidulina reports having been attracted to the music of Wagner, the great Russian romantics, composers of the Second Viennese School, Josquin, and Bach, who has been a "constant devotion."5

According to Valentina Kholopova, Gubaidulina's music is often related to specific "philosophical, spiritual, religious and poetic ideas."6 Her style has evolved throughout her lengthy career and has included an emphasis on the Fibonacci sequence, with relation to pitches employed mathematically in the construction of compositions. There have been a handful of graduate theses and dissertations produced by music theorists in the U.S. that explore Gubaidulina's concepts of expansion and musical structure. Expansion is a technique the composer uses in the first quartet to literally expand individual sequences of pitches away from each other, evoking notions of physical space enlarging and representing "the impossibility of togetherness."7 This is mimicked visually when the musicians move away from each other on stage while playing (with their chairs and music stands in tow).

String Quartet no. 1 was completed in 1971 and is one of four string quartets by Gubaidulina. It consists of one single, through-composed movement. Gubaidulina composed three additional works in 1971, Concordanza for chamber ensemble, the short piano solo Toccata-Troncata, and Fairytale Poem for symphony orchestra, based on a Czech fairy tale ("The Little Chalk"). The latter work was premiered by the Moscow State Radio Symphony with Maxim Shostakovich (son of Dmitri) conducting. The first quartet was to have been performed during the Warsaw Autumn Festival (organized by the Polish Composers Union) on September 19, 1972, but was forced off the concert (along with works by Vitaly Geviksman, Roman Ledenyov and Denisov) by Soviet authorities. Tikhon Khrennikov, the general secretary of the Soviet Composers Union at the time seems to have wanted to squash competition from his fellow composers. Their works were replaced by Khrennikov performing one

4 Dancer on a tightrope, piece for violin and piano (1993), Holograph Manuscript, ML29c.G85, https://lccn.loc.gov/94702402.5 Vera Lukomsky, "Hearing the Subconscious: Interview with Sofia Gubaidulina," Tempo 209 (1999), 27-31.6 Valentina Kholopova, "Gubaydulina, Sofiya Asgatovna," Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline/article/grove/music/11911.7 Cara Stroud, "A Metaphor for the impossibility of togetherness: Expansion processes in Gubaidulina's first string quartet" (master's thesis, University of North Texas, 2012), 11.

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of his own piano concertos.8 The Arcis Quartet eventually gave the world premiere of the first string quartet on March 24, 1979 in Cologne, Germany.

From the composer:The idea of disintegration, dissociation, lies at the heart of the First Quartet. I have to say that there is a certain amount of pessimism in it, a metaphor for the impossibility of togetherness, of understanding one's neighbor, a metaphor for the utter deafness of humanity (life itself in those years was so dark, so sad and hopeless...). The work grows out of a single pitch, from a common point. But various aspects of the musical material-the rhythmic and melodic successions, the types of articulation, and the dynamics-gradually begin to contradict one another. This dissension within the tonal material is emphasized visually as well. At the beginning the four instrumentalists are in center stage, grouped all together. Then the musical events drive them apart, in ever increasing distance from each other, to the four corners of the stage, where each player concentrates only on his/her own playing, already entirely unable to hear the others. Utter isolation into the point of madness. —Sofia Gubaidulina9

•Kati agócs, Tantric Variations

Based in Boston, Kati Agócs has emerged as one of Canada's most distinguished expatriate composers. She was born in Windsor, Ontario and trained at Juilliard where she studied with Milton Babbitt, Sarah Lawrence College, Tanglewood and Aspen. She has received a fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Jacob J. Javits fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, a Fulbright Fellowship to the Franz Liszt Academy (Budapest), and a Guggenheim fellowship. Agócs has received awards from the Presser Foundation and ASCAP, and held residencies at the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. Her music has been described as "high-craft, high drama" (WQXR), "innovative...powerful, ruminative" (Time Out New York), and "Stunningly varied works that clearly emerge from a single personality" (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Agócs' output includes solo, duo, chamber, and large ensemble works. Her Guggenheim fellowship biography describes her music as merging "lapidary rigor with sensuous lyricism."10 Lawrence Dillon characterizes her style as "cross-cultural,"11 in that she infuses her music with cultural, musical, and textual influences from her Hungarian, Canadian, and American backgrounds. Her compositions demonstrate a wide range of stylistic interests that draw together elements of post-modernism, minimalism, and post-romanticism. Ultimately, 8 Kurtz, 102.9 Sofia Gubaidulina, quoted in Valentina Kholopova and Entso Restan'o. Sofia Gubaidulina: Zhizn' piamiati: Sofia Gubaidulina beseduet s Entso Restan'o Shag dushi: monograficheskoe issledovanie Valentiny Kholopovoi, transl. Christoph K. Lohmann, Moscow, 1996. Reprinted in Kurtz.10 "Kati Agócs," John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/kati-agocs/.11 "Kati Agócs," Infinite Curves: Lawrence Dillon: Connecting the Dots, December 18, 2015, http://www.artsjournal.com/curves/2015/12/kati-agocs.html.

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she has successfully developed her own unique sound, particularly with her vocal-orchestral works. This affinity for vocal writing likely stems from the composer's experience as a singer.

Agócs has been commissioned by organizations such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the American Composers Orchestra, the Canada Council for the Arts, the orchestra of St. Luke's, the National Arts Centre Orchestra (for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games), the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard School and the Jebediah Foundation for the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). Agócs' music has been featured on several recordings, most recently on the BMOP/sound label, which recorded the composer's The Debrecen Passion (2015), Requiem Fragments (2008), By the Streams of Babylon (2008), ...Like Treasure Hidden in a Field (2011), and Vessel (2011). MusicWeb International named this "highly imaginative and compelling" album a 2016 International Recording of the Year. The composer also performs as a soprano on this recording. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra will premiere her work Sesquie in March 2017. It was commissioned with support from the Government of Canada as part of the Canada Mosaic project that commemorates the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation. Agócs presently teaches composition at the New England Conservatory of Music.

The Cecilia String Quartet commissioned Tantric Variations as part of their "Celebrating Canadian Women in Music" project, through which they commissioned and premiered new works by four Canadian female composers (Kati Agócs, Katarina Curcin, Zosha Di Castri and Nicole Lizée). Tantric Variations was premiered by the Cecilia String Quartet on April 4, 2016 at the University of Toronto's Walter Hall. Subsequent performances of the work were given at the Canadian Music Centre (Toronto), Toronto Music Garden, and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. This evening's performance of Tantric Variations is its United States premiere.

From the composer:Tantric Variations, commissioned by the Cecilia Quartet, is a string quartet eighteen minutes in duration. "Tantric," from the Sanskrit, means "woven together": We weave the strands of our nature into a unified whole. The piece concentrates exclusively on an embellishing "turn" around a single note, weaving a continuous trajectory through which the motive finally flowers, bursting open into a more complete version of itself.

—Kati Agócs, 201612

Tantric Variations opens with staggered unpitched sounds created by slow bow strokes. The composer describes this technique: "Pitchless slow bow: no pitch; light left hand; lowest string (or lowest two stings; very long down bow (as slow as possible)."13 This effect expands the sense of aural space in the concert hall, with the pitchless slow bow being used on and near the bridge of the instruments. Gripping glissandos are used to 12 Kati Agócs, Tantric Variations program note, http://www.katiagocs.com/printed-music/tantric-variations.13 Kati Agócs, Tantric Variations score, Boston: Kati Agócs Music (2016).

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lead into rich, bowed chords that grab the listener. The next section contains the "turn" motive that Agócs describes in her program note. Rhythmic figures shift in and out of vertical alignment, with expanding and retracting dynamics that bring a sense of breathing into the music. The variations flow into each other seamlessly, with each variation having a distinct rhythmic and temporal profile. Recurring rhythmic figures create tension during moments of accompanimental stasis (in support of a solo lyrical thematic figure). Any repeating motives are also used to generate tension and forward motion that often drive dynamic swells and morph into special sonic effects, like a muted "drone effect." Agócs makes use of string harmonics that contribute a sometimes subtle, yet simultaneously piercing texture to the music. A rich, "cadenza-like" solo is given to the cello, which demonstrates the depth of the instrument. The first violin draws in a recurring "bird song" figure, that combines glissando and harmonic effects to create an ethereal layer of sound that seems miles above the gradually agitated rhythmic pulse in the cello.

A gritty rhythmic section, which builds off the cello solo motives, gives way to a variation marked "Monolithic." It features slow moving chords that have drastic dynamic swings, eventually giving way to an accelerating rhythmic pattern of juxtaposed pulses (beginning with a 5:4 juxtaposition and pushing to a 9:7 relationship). A shocking total mood change follows after these motives reach a peak and a brief silence is heard. The first violin sings a "stately" variation tune above a gentle accompaniment, giving way to lingering moments of the clashing rhythms. A series of repeated chords gradually relaxes the rhythmic pulse, giving way to a viola and cello duo that is matched by "interrupting bursts" of sustained running motives in the violins. In the final variations Agócs revisits the rhythmic and sonic motives and effects that have been encountered on her extended, consuming journey that started with unpitched sounds and a simple turn. The quartet recedes into silence, with sustained tones in the violins that outlast the viola and cello. The music rises up into the sky and calm descends.14

•felix mendelssohn, String Quartet in E minor, op. 44, no. 2

In the early 1830s Felix Mendelssohn took a break from composing chamber music. This coincided with appointments to major conducting posts, including conductor of the Lower Rhine Music Festival, music director of the city of Düsseldorf and music director/conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus. The heavy conducting load left Mendelssohn with limited time to compose, mainly restricted to summer holidays. He returned to chamber music in 1836 and quickly produced the three op. 44 string quartets (1837-1838), Violin Sonata, op. 45 (1838) and Piano Trio, op. 49 (1839). These works form part of Mendelssohn's "mature" oeuvre, as he had by this point established a clear compositional voice that blended a dramatic style exemplified by Beethoven's late works with restrained early-Romantic absolutist tendencies.

14 The quoted descriptions are located in the score of Tantric Variations. Ibid.

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During the creation of the op. 44 quartets Mendelssohn enjoyed major events in his personal life and notable professional successes. He was newly married to Cécile Jeanrenaud on March 28, 1837 and welcomed his first child on February 7, 1838 (Carl Wolfgang Paul Mendelssohn). Mendelssohn's career and prestige were established and merited given the amount and quality of his output during the late 1830s. As conductor of the Gewandhaus and a well-established composer, Mendelssohn found himself among Germany's social elite. It was in that realm that Mendelssohn encountered the Crown Prince of Sweden (1779-1859) to whom the op. 44 quartets were dedicated.15 In 1844 the Crown Prince became Oscar I, King of Norway and Sweden. The first of the op. 44 quartets to be composed, Mendelssohn's String Quartet in E minor, op. 44, no. 2 was completed on June 18, 1837 and premiered on November 19, 1837 in Leipzig. The E-flat major quartet was completed on February 1838 and the D-major quartet was completed in July of the same year. Other compositions from the summer 1837 period include the Piano Concerto no. 2 in D minor, op. 40 and the Capriccio for piano, op. 118.

Scholarship on Mendelssohn tends to diminish the value of the op. 44 quartets, suggesting that the composer's first two quartets (op. 12 in E-flat major/1829 and op. 13 in A minor/1827) are more significant, because they successfully emulate Beethoven's late-quartet style. Those two quartets are considered achievements on par with the Octet in E-flat major, op. 20 (1825),16 which earned Mendelssohn favorable comparisons to Beethoven. The op. 44 series was well-received by the press and public, though the composer markedly shifts away from Beethoven's style, perhaps to establish a more unique compositional identity.17 One other theory in modern scholarship is that Mendelssohn's life-changes caused his music to mellow and "domesticate." This is accounted for musically by "surface clarity and balance...the adoption of a conservative compositional outlook understandable enough for a new husband and father."18 Though this hypothesis may be a bit of a stretch, it certainly lends varied interpretations to the music. Composers' biographies, particularly in the Romantic era, were likely to inform their musical personae, both as performers and creators. If medical and financial turmoil played a role in the fiery dramatic current of Beethoven's middle and late period music, then it was plausible that Mendelssohn's relatively calm home-life may have restrained the youthful energy that was evident in some of his earlier works.

The opening Allegro assai appassionato showcases Mendelssohn's aptitude for balancing refinement, drama and intricacy to the point of sounding completely organic. The opening lyrical theme is heard in the first violin, supported by a hemiola in the second violin and viola, and a gentle bass line in the cello. The falling motive that is so characteristic of Romantic music is pervasive throughout the theme, but the 15 R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 352.16 The Library of Congress Music Division holds the holograph manuscript of the Mendelssohn Octet (call number: ML30.8j op. 20). A high-resolution digital version is available at www.loc.gov/performingarts.17 Thomas Schmidt-Beste, "Mendelssohn's Chamber Music," The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn, Peter Mercer-Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 141.18 Todd, 369.

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rhythmic pulse prevents it from becoming overly sentimental. Mendelssohn launches into an episode that introduces the recurring motive of rapid sixteenth-note runs, which is one-bar long in its simplest form and is combined and reimagined to create a whirlwind of sound and vigorous activity throughout the voices. The gorgeous second theme is pastoral and the complete anthesis of the verging-on-harried transitional episode. The first violin leads with the thematic material, in duet with the second violin, eventually passing it off to the cello. As this theme is developed, the sixteenth-note motive returns in various guises to interrupt, and an exclamatory con fuoco ("with fire") figure grabs hold of the reins and segues back into the thematic material. The exposition of the movement is marked with a repeat in Mendelssohn's score. He uses the development to meander about with the two themes and the central rhythmic motive with a very improvisatory quality. Fragments of the themes emerge in all four of the parts. Mendelssohn effectively equalizes the traditional hierarchy of the first violin delivering all of the thematic material for brief flashes, which is refreshing and indicates the crucial role each musician plays in a quartet. Just before the recapitulation section begins the con fuoco figure is heard, eventually setting the rhythmic pace for a hearing of the first theme, this time with arpeggiations humming underneath. A sequence of flashy transitional phrases ensues with two large dynamic swells and a cello statement of the opening theme that is augmented by tremolos in the second violin and viola. The closing phrase group reflects a contemplative statement of the second theme that explores the harmonic center of the movement and expands upwards in the first violin to a brief and rousing close.

The exuberant Scherzo, set in the parallel major key (E major) to the E minor first movement, hardly gives the musicians a moment to take a breath. It provides a constant rush of sound, with sudden dynamic shifts and deliberate use of accents to emphasize the same falling motive (except compressed) from the first movement. Each melodic group has its own character. The opening figure is boisterous and teases the listener with the rapid-fire sixteenth-note call that jumps back to a piano dynamic. The next group focuses more on the falling motive. The first repeats, this time with an occasional figure in the low voices that adds spice to the harmonic progression. A transitional phrase features bouncing tremolos that underlie sustained dyads in the first violin. The tremolo figure consists of a repeating pattern, with each beat featuring a different instrument (working from bottom to top in range): the cello takes beat 1, the viola takes beat 2, and the second violin takes beat 3. This all has the effect of creating a different flavor of the cyclical momentum that is a central feature of the movement. Out of this comes a return to the second melodic group, and a new group in which the viola offers a lush melody above pizzicati in the cello and sustained line in the violins. From this point forward Mendelssohn cycles through the melodic groupings, closing with a hybrid version of the tremolo (now in the violins) and pizzicato figures (this time in the cello).

The third movement is marked Andante, and in this case Mendelssohn goes so far as to mark in the score: Dieses Stück darf durchaus nicht schleppend gespielt werden ("This movement must by no means be dragged"). Andante is a complicated tempo

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marking that often leaves a great deal of discretion to the interpreter(s). While literally meaning "walking" in Italian, this obviously can mean drastically different speeds to different people. Mendelssohn expresses that the music must keep moving forward, so it should not be sluggish or too relaxed. What is interesting in the opening moments of this movement is that the four voices each have independent rhythmic figures of varying paces, but they all complement each other to create momentum within each phrase and sub-phrase. Even the long held pedal point in the cello creates a rich forward impetus, potentially more so than the faster, moving rhythmic figures in the violin and viola. The first violin sings a slow, warm theme that is at the heart of the remainder of the movement. The harmony evolves slowly throughout, flirting with G major, D major, and G minor in some moments. Overall, the Andante is the most intimate movement of the quartet. The first violin dominates the principal delivery of the thematic material, save for one beautiful dolce statement by the cello, which the first violin quickly curbs. The movement draws to a close gradually as the dynamics settle and the harmony rests on G major.

The finale is marked Presto agitato and revisits the excited quality of the Scherzo in the quartet's home key of E minor. The first violin is very much in charge of the opening theme, with the lower voices complementing with supporting rhythmic material. The second theme is from a different world: the refined, subdued sounds of the Andante that are now accelerated. After just a few bars, an insistent rhythm comes through in the lower three voices, which pauses and returns, leading to an Animato section that finds the first violin rapidly running all over the place while the second violin, viola and cello have bouncing quarter-note figures. After the second violin and viola join in a luscious duet that distracts from the runs in the first violin, the motivic, rhythmic, and thematic materials are developed. There is frequently a sense of multiple layers operating independently, but they mix together to create a captivating and impassioned aural experience. After some bold sustained chords there is a transition to B major and the thematic material is developed further. The first violin's solo line picks up again, this time reaching higher, until eventually descending while supporting a shift back to E minor. Mendelssohn drives the music all the way to the end in the most exciting way, ending with a classic affirmation of the tonality on three concluding downbeat strokes.

Nicholas A. Brown Music Specialist Library of Congress, Music Division

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Mendelssohn, engraved portrait, by T. Hildebrandt & A. Dircks (Cologne: Gebr, Kehr & Niessen, 19th century)

Gertrude Clarke Whittall Foundation Collection, Library of Congress, Music Divisionhttps://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200156267

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Featured Felix Mendelssohn Resources at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress Music Division is one of the foremost repositories of Felix Mendelssohn manuscripts and source materials in the world. Several of these collection items and resources are listed below for your perusal. You may also scan the QR codes to be directed to the items.

Felix Mendelssohn Digital CollectionIncludes books, music manuscripts, and articles/essayshttp://go.usa.gov/x8M9b

Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit. Cantata Selectionsca. 1830sJ.S. Bach/arr. MendelssohnHolograph manuscriptGertrude Clark Whittall Foundation Collectionhttp://go.usa.gov/x8MKg

Gesänge, op. 47 (Blumenstrauss)1832Holograph manuscriptGertrude Clark Whittall Foundation Collectionhttp://go.usa.gov/x8MKH

Octet in E-flat major, op. 20 for strings 1825Holograph manuscriptGertrude Clark Whittall Foundation Collectionhttp://go.usa.gov/x8M88

AMS Lecture: Revisiting Mendelssohn's OctetMay 19, 2016Video R. Larry Todd, PhD, Duke Universityhttp://go.usa.gov/x8MBh

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About the Artists

Taking their name from St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, the Cecilia String Quartet (CSQ) was formed in October 2004, and is currently based in Toronto, Canada where the quartet is the James D. Stewart Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music.

Hailed for their "powerful" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "dauntingly perfect" (Berliner Zeitung) performances, the CSQ perform for leading presenters in North America and Europe. Past engagements include performances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; Berlin Konzerthaus; Northwestern University, IL; Bing Concert Hall, Stanford, CA; Koerner Hall, Toronto, ON; University of Colorado, Boulder; and London’s Wigmore Hall. Their live concert recordings have been broadcast on more than a dozen international public radio networks, including Australia (ABC Classical FM), Canada (CBC/SRC), the United States (WQXR), England (BBC Radio 3), and Germany (DeutschlandRadio). Prize-winners at several international competitions, including Osaka (2008) and Bordeaux (2010), they were honored to be awarded First Prize at the 2010 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC), where they also won the prize for the best performance of the commissioned work.

In addition to performing, the CSQ records for Analekta. Their debut album of music by Dvořák in 2012 was acclaimed for its "deeply felt imperativeness" (The Strad), and their second recording, featuring music by Janáček, Berg, and Webern, released a year later in 2013, was applauded for "unleashing the music's ecstasy and angst" (Gramophone). Their 2016 recording of string quartets by Felix Mendelssohn was nominated for a JUNO Award, and was named as one of Gramophone magazine’s 10 Best Mendelssohn Recordings.

As they enter their second decade as an ensemble, the Cecilia String Quartet is spearheading two exciting new projects:

Xenia Concerts, a Toronto-based concert series designed to appeal to, and be welcoming of, children on the autism spectrum and their families. This series has been designed to embody the CSQ's philosophy that everyone should have equal access to quality chamber music performances. Launched in 2014-15, Xenia Concerts is in its third season.

Celebrating Canadian Women in Music, a spotlight on a "quartet" of immensely talented female Canadian composers by commissioning them to compose four new works that the CSQ premiered and will record in conjunction with Canada’s 150th.

Enthusiastic educators and mentors to the next generation of chamber musicians, the CSQ has held teaching posts at festivals, conservatories, and universities across

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Canada and the United States, both as an ensemble and as individuals. Each member is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto where they work with music performance majors, as well as engage in collaborative projects with the Composition Department and Department of Humanities. Initiatives developed by the CSQ at the University of Toronto include the Music Mentorship Program and the String Quartet Composition Competition.

Deeply committed to outreach, the CSQ began developing educational presentations on classical music and the string quartet while they were String Quartet-in-Residence at San Diego State University from 2007-2009. Since that time they have performed hundreds of educational presentations across Canada, the United States, Italy, and France. They have presented for a wide variety of organizations such as the Monarch School for Homeless Youth, Veteran’s Village for Homeless Veterans, Learning Through the Arts at the RCM, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Min-Jeong Koh plays on a ca. 1767 Joannes Baptista Guadagnini violin, Sarah Nematallah plays on an 1851 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin, and Rachel Desoer performs on a 1929 Carlo Giuseppe Oddone cello, all on loan from an anonymous donor. Caitlin Boyle plays on a 2002 viola by Joseph Curtin. The quartet would like to thank the anonymous donor, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council for their generous support.

Upcoming Events

Visit loc.gov/concerts for more information

******Wednesday, January 4, 2017–10:00 am ******WINTER/SPRING 2017 TICKET RELEASE

Friday, January 13, 2017–8:00 pm [Concert]RICHARD EGARR, harpsichord Works by Blow, Byrd, Purcell, and Sweelinck

Coolidge Auditorium (Tickets Required)Pre-concert conversation - 6:30 pm

Whittall Pavilion (No Tickets Required)

Monday, January 23, 2017–8:00 pm [Concert]PACIFICA QUARTET with JÖRG WIDMANN, clarinet

Works by Haydn, Weber, and WidmannCoolidge Auditorium (Tickets Required)

Pre-concert conversation - 6:30 pmWhittall Pavilion (No Tickets Required)

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Concerts from the Library of Congress

The Coolidge Auditorium, constructed in 1925 through a generous gift from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, has been the venue for countless world-class performers and performances. Gertrude Clarke Whittall presented to the Library a gift of five Stradivari instruments which were first heard here during a concert on January 10, 1936. These parallel but separate donations serve as the pillars that now support a full season of concerts made possible by gift trusts and foundations that followed those established by Mrs. Coolidge and Mrs. Whittall.

Concert Staff

CHIEF, MUSIC DIVISION

ASSISTANT CHIEF

SENIOR PRODUCERS FOR CONCERTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

MUSIC SPECIALISTS

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

RECORDING ENGINEER

TECHNICAL ASSISTANT

PRODUCTION MANAGER

CURATOR OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

BOX OFFICE MANAGER

PROGRAM DESIGN

PROGRAM PRODUCTION

Susan H. Vita

Jan Lauridsen

Michele L. GlymphAnne McLean

Nicholas A. BrownDavid H. Plylar

Donna P. Williams

Michael E. Turpin

Sandie (Jay) Kinloch

Solomon E. HaileSelassie

Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford

Anthony Fletcher

Nicholas A. Brown

Michael Munshaw

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Support Concerts from the Library of Congress

Support for Concerts from the Library of Congress comes from private gift and trust funds and from individual donations which make it possible to offer free concerts as a gift to the community. For information about making a tax-deductible contribution please call (202-707-5503), e-mail (jlau@loc.gov), or write to Jan Lauridsen, Assistant Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-4710. Contributions of $250 or more will be acknowledged in the programs. All gifts will be acknowledged online. Donors can also make an e-gift online to Friends of Music at www.loc.gov/philanthropy. We acknowledge the following contributors to the 2016-2017 season. Without their support these free concerts would not be possible.

GIFT aND tRUST fUNDS

Julian E. and Freda Hauptman Berla FundElizabeth Sprague Coolidge FoundationWilliam and Adeline Croft Memorial FundDa Capo FundIra and Leonore Gershwin FundIsenbergh Clarinet FundIrving and Verna Fine FundMae and Irving Jurow FundCarolyn Royall Just FundKindler Foundation Trust FundDina Koston and Robert Shapiro Fund for

New MusicBoris and Sonya Kroyt Memorial FundWanda Landowska/Denise Restout Memorial FundKatie and Walter Louchheim FundRobert Mann FundMcKim FundNorman P. Scala Memorial FundKarl B. Schmid Memorial FundJudith Lieber Tokel & George Sonneborn FundAnne Adlum Hull and William Remsen Strick-

land FundRose and Monroe Vincent FundGertrude Clarke Whittall FoundationVarious Donors Fund

DONOR cONTRIBUTIONS

Producer ($10,000 and above)The Reva and David Logan FoundationDr. Sachiko KunoAdele M. Thomas Charitable Foundation, Inc.

Guarantor ($5,000 and above)Mallory Walker and Diana Walker

Underwriter ($2,500 and above)Embassy of Sweden & Swedish Arts CouncilFrederic J. and Lucia HillGeorge Sonneborn and Rosa C. IpingThe George and Ruth Tretter Charitable Gift

Fund, Carl Tretter, Trustee

Benefactor ($1000 and above)Stephen and Louise BurtonSusan Clampitt and Dr. Jeremy P. WaletzkyDr. Ronald M. Costell and Marsha E. Swiss

In memory of Dr. Giulio Cantoni and Mrs. Paula Saffiotti

Remmel T. DickinsonDiane DixsonCarole J. FalvoAndrew and Eleanor GlassMilton J. Grossman,

In memory of Dana Krueger GrossmanRandy Hostetler Living Room Music Project

and FundDexter M. KohnDavid A. Lamdin, In memory of Charles B. and Ann C. LamdinVirginia Lee, In memory of Dr. and Mrs. Chai Chang Choi

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Benefactor (Continued)Egon and Irene MarxJohn Mineto OnoJoyce E. Palmer Dr. Judith C. and Dr. Eldor O. PedersonArthur F. PurcellMace Rosenstein and Louise de la FuenteS&R FoundationJune H. Schneider

Patron ($500 and above)AnonymousThe Hon. Morton I. and Sheppie

Abramowitz Mr. and Mrs. David AlbertsWilliam D. AlexanderDaniel J. Alpert and Ann H. FrankeDevora and Samuel ArbelAgatha and Laurence AurbachBill BandasLeonard and Gabriela BebchickThe Hon. Anthony C. and Delores M.

BeilensonPeter and Ann BelenkyDr. David and Judith BernankeSandra J. Blake, In memory of Ronald DiehlMarc H. and Vivian S. BrodskyRichard W. Burris and Shirley DownsDr. Susan Canning and Dr. Adam Lowy Doris N. Celarier William A. CohenHerbert L. and Joan M. CooperBecky Jo Fredriksson and Rosa D. WienerFred S. Fry, Jr.Geraldine and Melvin C. GarbowHoward Gofreed, In memory of Ruth TretterThe Richard & Nancy Gould Family FundWilda M. Heiss, In memory of Norman MiddletonSheila and John HollisMichael B. JennisonHarold F. KendrickSandra D. Key, In memory of Dr. James W.

PruettRainald and Claudia LohnerMary Lynne MartinWinton E. Matthews, Jr.Donogh McDonald John and Eileen MillerUndine A. and Carl E. Nash Morton and Ruth NeedelmanJohn P. O'DonnellJudith C. and Eldor Pederson

Patron (Continued) Allan ReiterRobert Roche and Nancy HirshbeinBruce Rosenblum and Lori LaitmanRoberta Ong RoumelVictor RoytburdRebecca and Sidney Shaw, In memory of Dr. Leonard G. ShawChristopher SipesBeverly and Philip SkloverMaria Soto, In memory of Sara ArminanaElaine SurianoJames C. TsangJoan M. Undeland, In memory of Richard E. UndelandHarvey Van BurenLinus E. and Dolores R. Wallgren, In memory of Dana Krueger GrossmanSidney Wolfe and Suzanne GoldbergGail Yano and Edward A. Celarier

Sponsor ($250 and above)Anonymous (2)Henry and Ruth AaronEve E. Bachrach, In memory of Laurel and Linda BergoldElena BloomsteinJill D. BrettThe Caceres-Brown Family,

In memory of Beryl A. Brown & Frances Rowan

Gerald CernyCarol Ann DyerLawrence FeinbergRonna L. and Stanley C. Foster Elizabeth A. FulfordRoberta A. Gutman, In memory of David GutmanMargaret F. Hennessey, In memory of Edward SchmeltzerZona HostetlerMay Y. Ing R. Bruce Johnston In honor of Carolyn and Bob Johnston Phyllis C. Kane Kay and Marc LevinsonEileen Mengers, In memory of Charles and Eileen MengersGeorge P. MuellerJeff and Carolyn SerfassLinda SundbergIanina J. TobelmannJan Wolff