Auryn Quartet Matthias Lingenfelder, violin Jens Oppermann, violin Stewart Eaton, viola Andreas Arndt, violoncello Franz Josef Haydn (17321809) String Quartet In C Major op. 64/1 Allegro moderato Menuetto Allegretto scherzando Finale: Presto Johannes Brahms String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 51, No. 1 (18331897) Allegro Romanze: Poco Adagio Allegretto molto moderato e comodo Allegro Antonin Dvorak String Quartet in Eflat major, op. 51 (18411904) Allegro ma non troppo Dumka: Andante con moto; Vivace Romanza: Andante con moto Finale: Allegro assai The Auryn Quartet is represented in North America by Shupp Artists Mgt., Inc. www.shuppartists.com Program Notes In 1790 Joseph Haydn was 58 years old, with three decades of service to the Esterhazy family under his belt. He wrote his Op. 64 on commission for a wealthy Viennese merchant named Johann Tost, who had previously served in the Esterhazy orchestra. Haydn was also planning his first trip to London where he would find good use for the six new quartets. The first quartet of the set is very amiable. It begins with a brisk little march, followed by a leisurely minuet. The third movement is a theme with two variations, the last a typically fast and witty presto, but with a soft ending. From Craig Leman’s notes, dated May 2, 1973: Brahms became an aloof gruff loner who was exacting and critical of everyone’s work, especially his own. He wrote and destroyed twenty string quartets before publishing this first of the three he allowed to survive, exactly a century ago. Although he had been friendly with the Schumanns and with Joseph Joachim, he studied and composed essentially alone. He polished this quartet for twenty years before he was satisfied with it, at one point writing his hungry publisher, “...I am sorry, but I must ask you to be patient. I realize more and more how difficult it is to master virtuoso technique when one is not especially adapted for it,... It took Mozart a lot of trouble to compose six lovely quartets, so I will try my hardest to turn out a couple (i.e. to be onethird as good as Mozart) fairly well done.....” Brahms dedicated the quartet to his close friend, Theordore Bilroth, greatest surgeon of his day. From Craig Leman’s notes, dated November 16, 1988: In 1878 Dvorak wrote this for a Prague ensemble. His friend Brahms introduced Dvorak to the premier violinist of the era, Joseph Joachim, who hospitably invited Dvorak to his home in Berlin and led his own string quartet in an informal performance of this work for the composer. The ecstatic Dvorak wrote: “After being here in Berlin for a few hours, I spent so many enjoyable moments among the foremost artists that they will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.” Although Slavonic themes appear throughout this work, Dvorak adheres to classical sonata form and conventional contrapuntal writing in the first movement. The dumka – an elegy with a fast middle section – was an ideal form for Dvorak, who loved sudden emotional changes. The finale is a reel, a spirited Slavonic country dance.