Category: Jon Pascolini

Aug 6: Fenimore String Quartet & Friends

Cherry Valley Star Theatre: Artworks Concert Series

  • August 6, 2022, 7:30 pm
  • Star Theater, 44 Main St., Cherry Valley, NY
  • Admission: $20. Click here to purchase tickets.
  • Works by Felix Mendelssohn and Max Bruch

The Fenimore String Quartet and Friends

  • Ruotao Mao, violin
  • Robyn Quinnett, violin
  • Amy Tompkins, viola
  • Ruth Berry, cello

Guest artists:

  • Sasha Margolis, Debrah Devine, violins
  • Angelika Teng, viola, Jon Pascolini, double-bass

The Fenimore Quartet blends the experience of seasoned chamber players with the richness of long friendships to create a perfect backdrop for the exciting musical collaborations which are fast becoming an eagerly awaited summer treat at the Cherry Valley New York Artworks Concert Series and the surrounding area communities in beautiful upstate New York.

Program

String Quartet No. 6 in f minor, Op. posth. 80
I. Allegro vivace assai
II. Allegro assai
III. Adagio
IV. Finale: Allegro molto		Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
String Octet in B-flat Major, op. posthumous
I. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio
III. Allegro molto		Max Bruch (1838–1920)

There are some interesting facts about this combination of pieces and composers in tonight’s program:

Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in f minor was written in 1847 and Bruch’s String Octet in B-flat Major for 4 violins, 2 violas, cello and double-bass was written in 1920. Both works are the final major works of their composers. However, the quartet was published in1848, a year after Mendelssohn’s death, and the octet was not published until 1996. It is believed that Mendelssohn wrote this quartet as an homage to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, who died earlier that year. Coincidentally, Bruch’s wife, Clara, died the year before he composed the octet. The choice of somber E-flat minor for the second movement seems to reflect his emotions toward his recent loss.

One often finds Mendelssohn and Bruch paired in a compact disc featuring their violin concertos. And if a string octet is featured in a program, most of the time it would be the famous Mendelssohn Octet. Tonight, we will feature the same two composers but with a Mendelssohn Quartet and the Bruch Octet.

Mendelssohn’s string quartet in f minor is filled with high intensified passion and fire which is rarely found in his earlier works. The first movement is characterized by tremolo-like sixteenth notes throughout the movement. The second movement is a scherzo in form, but it, too, is highly dramatic with rhythmical complexities (the outer sections) and clashing of contrasting characters (the middle section). The third movement is a beautiful, heart-felt Adagio followed by a stormy and almost angry final movement characterized by syncopated rhythm in the main theme.

Bruch’s Octet is in three movements, much like Mozarts’s Divertimentos but on a larger scale. The first movement opens with a gorgeously lyrical viola solo, and that lyrical character carries through the whole movement even during highly dramatic sections. The second movement is in a darker key, E-flat minor. It opens with a march-like motiv which becomes the accompaniment figure under a first violin melody. The middle section is marked “Andante con molto di moto” (leisure speed with a lot of motion) and has been called “the highlight of the work” by some critics. The final movement combines characters of playful, noble (2nd theme on the cello) and triumphant. The playfulness gives one a balanced sense of scherzo which is “missing” in the work. Overall, it’s a top level masterpiece which was relatively unknown and seldom performed before its first publication just 27 years ago.

(Program Notes by Ruotao Mao)

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