Back to ListProgram 1 – Commemorating the Britten Centenary -- Collaboration with tenor Rufus Müller
This program celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), and pairing his music with that of his musical ancestor, Henry Purcell (1659-1695). Purcell’s 1680 Fantasias and the incidental music from the 1691 “King Arthur,” a masque-like dramatic work with a libretto by John Dryden, are four-part works for strings, often considered the earliest string quartets. Britten’s String Quartet No. 1 was written during a three-year sojourn in the United States; the work was commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Winter Words is set to poetry of Thomas Hardy.
Rufus Müller, one of the world’s most sought-after Evangalists for the Bach Passions, has won wide acclaim as well for his interpretations of contemporary works.
1. Purcell: Three Fantasias (1680)
2. Purcell & Britten: Songs (arr. for tenor & string quartet by the Daedalus Quartet)
3. Purcell: Incidental Music from “King Arthur” (1691)
4. Britten: Winter Words, Op. 52 (1954 song cycle for tenor with string quartet, arr. Daedalus Quartet)
—Intermission—
5. Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (1941)
Program 2 - Early Works
Program 2a
A program of youthful yet mature works from great composers. Mendelssohn’s Op. 12 was written at age 20; Schulhoff’s Five Pieces at 29, Perle's Molto Adagio at 23, and Britten’s Op. 25 at 28.
1. Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 12 (1829)
2. Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet (1923)
—Intermission—
3. George Perle Molto Adagio
4. Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (1941)
Program 2b
Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809) may not have written the first string quartets in history, but his contribution to the genre is influential and irreplaceable. We offer a program of four of his first quartets, showing the beginnings of their evolution from baroque trio sonatas to an ensemble of four equals.
1. Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 1 no. 3
2. Haydn: String Quartet in Bb major, Op. 1 no. 1
3. Haydn: String Quartet in Eb major, Op. 1 no. 2
4. Haydn: String Quartet in G major, Op. 1 no. 4
Program 3 – Music from Exile
2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. For this project, Daedalus has chosen four composers forced into various forms of exile due to the cultural policies of the Third Reich. From those who were arrested and never completed the journey to exile, to those who spent the war far from home, and those who experienced internal exile by remaining within a state to which they were vocally opposed, the effect on the music produced is profound.
Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942): German Jew living in Prague; attempted escape to Soviet Union; died in Wülzburg concentration camp.
Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996): Polish Jew whose family was killed by Nazis; fled to Soviet Union where he was aided by and developed lifelong musical friendship with Shostakovich.
Victor Ullmann (1898-1944): Czech Jew who continued composing and was central to musical life at the "model" concentration camp at Theresienstadt; later deported to Auschwitz and killed
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1887-1957): Viennese Jew who escaped to Hollywood and shaped the future of film music.
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963): Ultimately failed to keep his career apolitical, fleeing to Switzerland in 1938 and on to the United States.
Program 3A
1. Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet (1923)
2. Mieczyslaw Weinberg: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 66 (1959)
3. Viktor Ullmann: Third String Quartet, Op. 46 (1943)
—Intermission—
3. Erich Wolfgang Korngold: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 34 (1945)
Program 3B – Collaboration with clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein
Clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Young Concert Artists auditions, performs frequently with the Daedalus Quartet.
1. Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet (1923)
2. Paul Hindemith: Quintet for Clarinet & Strings, Op. 30 (1923, rev. 1954)
—Intermission—
3. Mieczyslaw Weinberg: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 66 (1959)
4. Erich Wolfgang Korngold: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 34 (1945)
Program 4 – Masterworks, Old, New & Adventurous
In addition to favorites of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Smetana, selections available include Joan Tower’s newest quartet, written for Daedalus, performed in celebration of the composer’s 75th birthday (b. 1938); and a work drawn from Daedalus’s forthcoming recording for Bridge Records of several string quartets by George Perle (1915-2009).
Program 4A
1. Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 12 (1829)
— OR — Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800)
— OR — Purcell: Three Fantasias (1680)
— OR — Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 1 no. 3 (1762)
2. Joan Tower: White Water (String Quartet No. 5, 2011)
— OR — George Perle: String Quartet No. 8: Windows of Order (1988)
—Intermission—
3. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in Bb major, Op. 130 (1825)
— OR — Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (1941)
— OR — Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life” (1876)
Program 4B
1. Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 12 (1829)
— OR — Beethoven: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 18, No. 3 (1798-1800)
— OR — Beethoven: String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800)
2. Mieczyslaw Weinberg: String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 66 (1959)
— OR — Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet (1923)
—Intermission—
3. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 (1825) – concluding with the Grosse Fuge
— OR — Erich Wolfgang Korngold: String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 34 (1945)
— OR — Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life” (1876)
Program 4C
1. Purcell: Three Fantasias (1680)
2. Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 (1941)
3. Purcell: Incidental Music from “King Arthur” (1691)
—Intermission—
4. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 (1825) – concluding with the Grosse Fuge