Location: First Baptist Church in America · 75 North Main St. · Providence, RI

Date: June 5th at 7:00 pm

CARL REINECKE (1824-1910)   Trio in A minor for Oboe, Horn and Piano Op. 188

Carl Reinecke was a pianist, violinist, composer and conductor who lived from 1824 to 1910. His credits include court pianist in Copenhagen, a teacher at Cologne Conservatorium, Breslau University, and the Leipzig Conservatorium, music director in Barmen and conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra (from 1860 to 1895). He wrote operas, symphonies, overtures, piano solos/concertos and many chamber music works. Reinecke was heavily influenced by the writings of Mendelssohn and Schumann--but one can hear, from time to time, touches of Wagner and Brahms in some of his works. The Trio in A Minor that starts this concert was written for piano, oboe, and horn and is classic in form. It will be obvious that his writing preference leans towards refinement clarity. This style will stand out in stark contrast when compared to the trio that bookends our concert. Even though Reinecke was at the 'top of the charts' as a younger composer, his popularity was gradually eclipsed by Brahms.

This trio is one of the most often played works for oboe, horn, and piano. The four movement work explores a range of styles and textures that include dramatic lyricism in the first movement, a simple heartfelt Adagio, then to a fleet Scherzo (Italian for 'joke') before ending with the jolly, folk-like Finale. The oboe explores much of its gorgeous low register in this piece, which leads to a rich blend of warm colors when combined with the French horn.

SEBASTIAN CURRIER (1959-   )   Variations on "Time and Time Again"

In his Variations on “Time and Time Again,” Currier upends the typical theme-and-variations genre, in which a melody or other generative material will be introduced at or near the outset, and then deconstructed, expanded upon, or otherwise developed. In Currier’s compact work, melodic and harmonic cells or fragments appear during the course of the four interconnected variations. For most of the piece, the theme seems almost like a mirage, just imagined or hinted at – re- interpreted before the fact, as it were. The theme finally appears near the end of the work, and turns out to be a languid, richly-harmonized bluesy ballad Currier has called “Time and Time Again” (and worthy of being expanded into its own independent composition!).

As in other Currier works, the title evokes multiple meanings. The literal passing of time is suggested at the work’s very beginning, with delicate specks of sound and the clicking of keys on the flute proceeding only a little slower than a clock’s ticking seconds. This fragmentary chronological landmark re-appears throughout the work as a buffer between each variation, reminding us of time’s inexorable presence. The first variation brusquely interrupts, with a vigorous, declamatory gesture contrasting starkly with the soft tread of bluesy chords that already hint at the impending theme’s jazzy harmonies. Variation 2 is brilliant little dance in which the main theme’s melodic contours begin to assume greater prominence. Variation 3 seems almost improvisatory – an expansive, highly-embellished meditation set atop a sumptuous harmonic background – and grows an impetuous fugal variation that recapitulates some of previously-heard material. Stark silence follows a massive climax, heralding the long-awaited appearance of the brief, sultry theme, which disappears quickly – almost an illusion. Passing time returns, but now dissolves into an ascending stream of trills that evaporate into silence. (written by Michael Boriskin) 

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)   Oboe Quartet in F Major

Mozart composed his Oboe Quartet K. 370 in 1781, at the age of 25, while he was in Munich writing the opera Idomaneo. Mozart was grateful to take a break from his job as violinist and organist to the Archbishop of Salzburg, who often treated him poorly and whom Mozart despised. While in Munich he worked with the Mannheim Court Orchestra, one of the finest groups in Europe. Mozart wrote the quartet for his 14-year-old friend, Freidrich Ramm, who was an oboist in the orchestra and was considered to be one of only a few virtuoso oboe players at the time. Unlike the oboe of today, which is outfitted with many keys and mechanisms and is much more complicated in structure, the oboe of Mozart’s time was very simple with only a few keys. Ramm must have been a truly amazing player since the piece even today is considered to be one of the most demanding works written for the oboe.

The quartet begins with a lighthearted and sparkling theme by the oboe that is joined by the strings, with imitative passages throughout. The brief second movement is much like an opera aria with the oboe as the singer in the leading role, and includes a brief cadenza. Although the movement is short, it has an extraordinary amount of emotional range. The final movement contains one of the first instances of polyrhythm with the strings performing in 6/8 meter while the oboe performs in 4/4 meter. The work contains many florid and difficult passages for the oboe which encompass the entire range of the instrument with frequent use of some of the highest notes that were rarely heard at the time.

ERWIN SCHULHOFF (1894-1942)   Concertino for Flute, Viola and Bass     

Erwin Schulhoff was born in Prague and was the son of Gustav, a wool and cotton merchant. His mother, Louisa, was the daughter of an orchestra conductor in Frankfurt. As a youngster, Schulhoff emerged as a child prodigy on the piano, and after consulting with Antonin Dvorak, launched his career in music. His schooling consisted of piano and composition studies at the Prague Conservatory, the Leipzig Conservatory, and the Cologne Conservatory. His most influential composition teachers were Claude Debussy and Josef Janacek. Schulhoff won many awards including the Willner Prize at the conservatory in 1913 and, later that year, two Mendelssohn Prizes (for piano and composition). During World War II he attempted to emigrate west and then tried to make his way to the Soviet Union. However, before he had all of the paper-work arranged, he was arrested and thrown into prison in Prague in June 1941 following the invasion of the Soviet Union. He later was sent to a concentration camp in Walzburg, Bavaria, where, eight months later, he died from laryngeal and pulmonary tuberculosis.

His Concertino for Flute/Piccolo, Viola, and Bass was written in 1925. This unique instrumentation is based on the Baroque Trio Sonata. One can hear that Schulhoff had fun with the voice or each instrument, stretching the limits of each instrument's range. The accompaniment figure at the beginning of the first movement (played by the viola and bass) as borrowed from a Russian Orthodox litany. Above this, as often found in old Slavic song, dances a lyric melody in the flute. The second movement, a scherzo Beseda, Czech Republic's national dance, is marked by the tempo indication "Furiant". The theme of the slow movement, based on a Russian love song, is successively taken over, unchanged, by each instrument. This 'relay-race' style of writing always appears within the ornamented framework of two voices. The last movement is in two parts: the initial based on the song of a Russian bear tamer, the second part a Slovakian shepherd's theme in the flute with a repeating accompaniments figure in the lower voices. You may hear (if you were paying attention in music theory class) that the harmonic structure of this energetic piece is based on the old church modes, (Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian) not our more traditional western, key centers.