Program:

Anton Weber – Langsamer Satz

Giacomo Puccini – Crisantemi

Felix Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 13

Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 is a four-movement exposé into the heart of young Mendelssohn. The formal structure of the piece revolves around a tender love song that 18-year-old Mendelssohn wrote months prior. Webern was famously known as one of the leading proponents of the 12-tone method but Langsamer Satz is one of two tonal movements for string quartet. Written in 1905, the story goes that the sweet, serene quartet was inspired by Webern’s cousin Wilhemine Mörtl with whom he was besotted and later became his wife. Following Webern, the dark mood of Puccini’s Crisantemi, depicted not romantic love but expressed the sorrow of Puccini’s loss of his friend the Duke of Savoy. Though known largely as a composer of opera, Puccini’s mastery of writing for strings is evident through the unfolding of two poignant and beautiful melancholic themes.

Explore the rarely exposed hearts of these major composers with the Vancouver Chamber Music Society on October 5th at the Highlands United Church. Tickets are available online and over the phone at (604) 359-9738.