Program Notes for The Silverwood Trio Concert Presented by the Brookline Library Music Association
Sonata in e minor, BWV 1034 by J.S. Bach
The autograph manuscript of this sonata has not been found, but several copies of it have survived. A study of these has led the German scholar, Hans-Peter Schmitz (editor of all the Bach flute sonatas for the Neue Bach-Ausgase) to conclude that the sonata is undoubtedly by Bach, written during his Cöthen period (1717-1723). Unlike the forward-looking sonatas with obligatto keyboard, the sonatas for flute and continuo are in the old four movement pattern favored, for instance, by Telemann. A difference will be noticed at once in the relative importance afforded each instrument. Here, the flute dominates the whole work whilst at the same time maintaining a thematic relationship with the continuo.
The opening movement is an expansive, beautifully shaped melody, in a single, unrepeated section. The close thematic relationship between the two parts which exists in all but the third movement of the sonata is well delineated here. The following Allegro is also in a single continuous section which derives its energy and principal interest from a progression of arpeggios, of the kind favored by the Italian violinist-composers. Thus the movement is something of a show-piece for the flutist. The flowing cantilena of the Andante comes as an effective contrast with what has preceded it, and that which is to come. Here the bass line provides an almost uninterrupted eighth note accompaniment to what must rank among Bach's most appealing melodies. The finale, abruptly introduced by a single short note in the bass, is in binary form and, like the second movement, depends on a florid line for effect. -notes by Nicholas Anderson ©1975
Songs from Einstein's Dreams (2000)* by Paul Hoffman
One day, sometime in 1981, I was improvising at my piano, in my home in Pittsburgh. I made up something I liked. So, I played it over and over again until it was memorized. I might use it later. I was 16 years old.
In the summer of 1996, my friend, Andrew, and I drove to Connecticut to attend a pastoral music convention. On the way, he told me about a book he was reading that dealt with time and Einsteinıs theory of relativity. Early one morning, I looked out the kitchen windowof the house where we were staying, and saw Andrew sitting on the patio which overlooked a small lake. He was reading his book about time.
In the summer of 1998, my mother came to Boston for a visit. One day we drove up to Salem where we stopped at a bookstore. She bought a book of American etchings of the nineteenth century for me. I was looking for a novel to read when I recognized the book Andrew had been reading two summers before. It was called Einsteinıs Dreams, by Alan Lightman. I bought it. Cindy also had read the book and we talked about how it would work nicely as a piece of music.
In the fall of 1999, the trio was invited to play at the Duxbury Art Complex for the following season. We were asked to include on our program a piece celebrating the millennium. Our thought was for me to compose a new piece for the trio to play- one that might feature Cindyıs singing. Months passed; no good ideas for the piece.
Around May of 2000, Cindy suggested I use text from Einsteinıs Dreams for the new piece. I, too, had considered it as a possibility. After all, the millennium celebration was a sort of celebration of time. The project, however, seemed unrealistic since the book contains 30 dreams that Einstein could have had around the time he developed his theory of relativity; each depicting a world and its inhabitants governed by the peculiarities of their time. If I tried to set every dream, the piece would be too long. So, I re-read the book and chose from it passages I thought would work well set to music, narrowing it down to six dreams. Someday, I hope to set more.
While sitting at my piano, improvising some ideas, I came up with a right hand ostinato that I found interesting and fun to play. It had a circular quality to it and might make a good beginning to a song. So, I played it over and over again until it was memorized. I would use it later. I was 16 years old. - notes by Paul Hoffman
Trio (1944) by Bohuslav Martinu
Born in 1890 in Czechoslovakia, Bohuslav Martinu spent his formative years in Paris, France where he studied with Albert Roussel. Blacklisted by the Nazis, Martinu left Paris in 1940, leaving his manuscripts and all belongings behind and eventually arriving in America in 1941. Speaking no English and having no evidence of his talents beyond a few scores, he struggled until Serge Koussevitzky commissioned him to write his first symphony. With renewed confidence, he embarked on a creative run which made him one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His last years were spent in Switzerland.
Martinu is known for his melodious style and command of modern counterpoint. The Trio for flute, cello and piano was composed in 1944. As in most of his works, the traditional format is offset just enough to make the work distinctive. Although a casual listener might detect little of the 20th century in his harmonic language it is a curious fact that none of the three movements of this trio begin and end in the same key. The first movement is a modified ternary form in a joyous allegretto tempo; with rich harnonies and a counterpoint that is brilliant in sound. The slow second movement begins with a long meditative phrase in the piano, has a response by the flute and cello and culminates in a very expressive climax. The poetic end suggests Martinu's Czech origins and hints of Dvorak's harmonies. The third movement, a scherzando in ABA form, is introduced by a pensive flute solo then sings a lively hteme where strong rhythmic elements oppose the melodic ones, creating a very dynamic tension. The middle section is a slow waltz, very sonorous in its contrast to the two outer sections. -notes by Cindy Woolley
*Adapted from the book Einstein's Dreams ©1993 by Alan Lightman. Published by Pantheon Books, NY. Used by permission of the Author, c/o Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc. All rights reserved.