Songs of Gratitude (1/4/2020)

String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132 (1827) – I. Assai sostenuto – Allegro; II. Allegro ma non tanto; III. Molto adagio: Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart – “Neue Kraft fühlend”; IV. Alla marcia, assai vivace; V. Allegro appassionata – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Happy New Year! I start with a quibble. Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts’ brochure only listed the title of the concert and the work being performed. As they say on late-night/cable TV commercials—but wait, there’s more! As a first act, there were readings, representing gratitude, by eight writers who are members of Read650 (look them up, it’s pretty interesting—1 Writer. 5 Minutes. 650 Words). Consequently, this LPA event was swamped, as in, people were turned away.

Long story short, I didn’t make it into the auditorium but I was able to view it on a live stream in an overflow room (that sat about thirty but I was still a standee). I only recognized a couple of names of the readers—Jamie Bernstein (daughter of Leonard) and Malachy McCourt (brother of Frank). Mr. McCourt got off the best zinger before he began reading: “As Donald Trump said to all three of his wives, I’ll be brief.”

A note about the third movement of the Beethoven quartet. He switched from Italian naming to his native German. And the translation is: Holy song of gratitude of a convalescent to the Deity in the Lydian mode; feeling new strength. So that provides the gratitude link to the title of the day, the readings, and the music.

On to the music. I was unable to take notes but my memory tells me that this was not your regular Beethoven string quartet. Written in the last year of his life, he was stretching the form and the format. Harmonies were bolder (and mind you, he was totally deaf when he wrote it), and the format was bolder and different, as well. The third movement (depending on tempo chosen by the quartet playing it) lasts fifteen to twenty minutes, which was unheard of in that era. I don’t presume to make a formal analysis of the form and format. That said, this was a beautiful performance by Brian Bak and Gergana Haralampieva, violins; Chieh-Fan Yiu, viola; and Madeline Fayette, cello; all members of the New York Classical Players, a collective of local, professional musicians.

Also, New York Classical Players, Lincoln Center LPA, and Read650 will be taking part in the broader Carnegie Hall’s Beethoven Celebration this year—250 years for LvB. Check your local area for LvB Celebrations.

ConcertMeister