Jupiter Quartet with Pei-Shan Lee

Jupiter Quartet with Pei-Shan Lee

This concert is sold out. Please contact Lori Hopkinson at lori@bowdoinfestival.org or 207-373-1400 to be placed on a waiting list. This concert will also livestream at bowdoinfestival.org/festivalive.

Jupiter String Quartet
Nelson Lee, Meg Freivogel, violin • Liz Freivogel, viola • Daniel McDonough, cello

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‭LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN‬‭
String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95, “Serioso”

‭I. Allegro con brio‬
‭II. Allegretto ma non troppo‬
‭III. Allegro assai vivace ma serioso‬
‭IV. Larghetto espressivo — Allegretto agitato‬

ELIZABETH MACONCHY‬‭
String Quartet No. 3‬

CARLOS SIMON
An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave‬

— Intermission —

EDWARD ELGAR‬‭
Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84‬

I. Moderato — Allegro‬
II. Adagio‬
III. Andante — Allegro‬

Pei-Shan Lee, piano‬
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‬
‭LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN‬
String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95, “Serioso” (1810)‬

Readers of my program notes will have perceived my interest‬ in the dedicatees of chamber works. I believe these offer‬ precious glimpses into the social worlds, distant from our‬ own, in which the music we continue to enjoy was produced‬ and consumed. Prior to 1810, Beethoven composed string‬ quartets at the behest of the royal patrons and music-lovers‬ who ensured his livelihood in Vienna. Prince Joseph Franz‬ von Lobkowitz was dedicatee of the six Op. 18 quartets and‬ Op. 74 (the “Harp”), and Count Andrey Razumovsky received‬ the three Op. 59 quartets. It was a small and well-connected‬ circle: Lobkowitz happened to be Razumovsky’s‬ brother-in-law, and the two were joint dedicatees of the Fifth‬ and Sixth Symphonies.‬

The fact that Beethoven chose Count Nikolaus Zmeskall as the‬ dedicatee for his eleventh string quartet signals a change in‬ compositional mindset Zmeskall, despite the aristocratic title,‬ worked as a civil servant and played cello as an amateur,‬ hosting chamber music at his home on Sundays. He was also‬ one of Beethoven’s first friends in Vienna. Prior to the‬ “Serioso,” Beethoven had dedicated only two “works” — or‬‭ ditties — to Zmeskall: in 1797, “Duet with two obbligato‬ eyeglasses” for viola and cello, poking fun at their mutual‬ reliance on spectacles; and in 1802, “Graf, Graf, liebster Graf,‬ bestes Schaf” (“Count, Count, loving Count, best sheep”), a‬ nonsense for three voices scrawled on the back of an‬ envelope. The silly nature of these works, neither of which‬ were intended for publication, present a side of Beethoven‬ that we are less accustomed to seeing. But they also make the‬ dedication of this string quartet, which Beethoven himself‬ subtitled “Serioso,” all the more surprising.‬

As in any intimate friendship, however, Zmeskall weathered‬ Beethoven’s good times and bad; and as Beethoven grappled‬ with illness, deafness, and financial precarity, he confided in‬ Zmeskall. The “Serioso” Quartet shows Beethoven confiding‬ musically: it was a work not intended for public performance.‬ Instead, Beethoven trialed experimental conceits that would‬ increasingly characterize his late style: the dense, compressed‬ form features abrupt shifts in tonality and an intense‬ emotional range, in the testamental vein that would motivate‬ his final quartets (as we heard in Op. 132 earlier this summer).‬

The intensity continues through to the Rondo Finale, marked‬ “Agitato;” yet after much tumult, this final movement dissolves‬ into a sprightly and carefree coda. Much ink has been spilled in attempts to comprehend this eleventh-hour change of tone,‬ in which, to quote Joseph Kerman “All the agitation and‬ pathos and tautness and violence of the quartet seem to fly‬ up and be lost like dust in the sunligh ” But might it simply be‬ another joke between friends?‬

ELIZABETH MACONCHY‬
String Quartet No. 3 (1938)‬

Elizabeth Maconchy’s cycle of 13 string quartets, spanning the‬ half-century between 1933 and 1983, encompasses a broader‬ period than even the more famous twentieth-century quartet‬ cycles of Bartók, Shostakovich, and Carter. She held a soft‬ spot for the quartet medium, a “perfect vehicle” in her words,‬ “for dramatic expression of this sort: four characters engaged‬ in statement and comment, passionate argument, digression,‬ restatement, perhaps final agreement — the solution of the‬ problem.” Accordingly, Maconchy come to consider her‬ quartets her “best and most deeply felt works.”

Though born in the town of Broxbourne on the northern‬ fringes of Greater London, Maconchy spent her formative years‬ ‬ in Ireland, and considered herself an Irish composer even‬ when she returned to study at the Royal College of Music‬ under Ralph Vaughan Williams and Charles Wood. It was an‬ auspicious time for women composers in Britain. Maconchy’s‬ classmates included Dorothy Gow, Grace Williams, and fellow‬ Irish transplant Ina Boyle. These students, moreover, had role‬ models in prior generations of pathbreakers like Ethel Smyth‬ and Rebecca Clarke (whose Piano Trio was performed at‬ Bowdoin earlier this summer).‬

Maconchy’s Third Quartet, in contrast to her first two, is‬ composed in one tightly knit movement structured upon a‬ central tension between C Major and E-flat Minor tonalities,‬ articulated in the opening bars through the descending step‬ from E-natural to D-sharp (E-flat). This tense gesture is‬ threaded throughout the work and is the source of its drama‬ — the “passionate argument” to which the composer alluded.‬ The Third Quartet was premiered to critical acclaim, in keeping‬ with Maconchy’s rising success at home and abroad. By the‬ end of the 1930s, her works had been performed across‬ Europe (including in prominent festivals organized by the‬ International Society for Contemporary Music), as well as in‬ the U.S. and Australia. Yet, like many women composers, Maconchy’s prominence during her lifetime has not been‬ institutionalized in posterity. The Third String Quartet, and‬ indeed the entire quartet cycle which has recently been‬ recorded, provides an excellent point of entry into this‬ composer’s work.‬

CARLOS SIMON‬
An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave (2015)‬

Carlos Simon has provided the following note to accompany‬ An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave‬‭:‬

This piece is an artistic reflection dedicated to those who‬ have been murdered wrongfully by an oppressive power;‬ namely Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown. The‬‭ stimulus for composing this piece came as a result of‬ prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch announcing that a‬ selected jury had decided not to indict police officer Daren‬ Wilson after fatally shooting an unarmed teenager Michael‬ Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.‬

The evocative nature of the piece draws on strong lyricism‬ and a lush harmonic charter. A melodic idea is played in all‬ the voices of the ensemble at some point of the piece‬ either whole or fragmented. The recurring ominous motif‬ represents the cry of those struck down unjustly in this‬ country. While the predominant essence of the piece is‬ sorrowful and contemplative, there are moments of‬ extreme hope represented by bright consonant harmonies.‬

EDWARD ELGAR‬
Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op. 84 (1918–1919)‬

The spooky strangeness of Elgar’s Piano Quintet made a strong‬ impression on his close friends and family. His wife, Alice‬ Elgar, wrote that the Quintet was “evidently reminiscent of‬ sinister trees… sad ‘dispossessed’ trees and their dance and‬ unstilled regret for their evil fate — or rather curse…” Elgar‬ himself was rather more succinct: “It’s ghostly stuff.”

Elgar composed the piece in 1918. Then in his sixties, he‬ rented a cottage in the South English countryside near‬ Fittleworth, a small village which had inspired atmospheric‬ paintings by Turner and Constable in the previous century. It‬ was here that he composed his famous Cello Concerto, and‬ undertook a wave of chamber music that also included his‬ Violin Sonata and a string quartet — Elgar’s first serious forays‬ in chamber music since the 1880s. Like the painters before‬ him, Elgar was bewitched by the austerity of the natural‬ surroundings, including the uncannily crooked limbs of the‬ trees. According to local legend, the trees were the frozen‬ bodies of Spanish monks, punished by lightning strikes for‬ performing unholy rituals — imagery which may have appealed to Elgar’s own tastes for the esoteric and mystical.

The atmosphere is established from the Quintet’s opening‬ notes, what Alice Elgar called the work’s “wonderful, weird‬ beginning.” Sparse, sustained octaves in the piano are‬ punctuated with tremulous stutters in the strings, marked‬ serioso‬‭ — any sense of direction is suspended. Then, a slinking proposition comes forth in the upper strings, a plea in the‬ cello, and at last the piano fills out the texture. Only after a‬ minute does a spirited theme arrive in Allegro, setting off the‬ rest of the movement in a Brahmsian texture of expansive‬ piano writing — soon to be interrupted by recollections of the‬ opening mood.‬

Program Notes by Peter Asimov‬
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Jupiter String Quartet

The Jupiter String Quartet is a particularly intimate group, consisting of violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel (Meg’s older sister), and cellist Daniel McDonough (Meg’s husband, Liz’s brother-in-law). Founded in 2001, this tight-knit ensemble is firmly established as an important voice in the world of chamber music, and exudes an energy that is at once friendly, knowledgeable, and adventurous. The New Yorker states, “The Jupiter String Quartet, an ensemble of eloquent intensity, has matured into one of the mainstays of the American chamber-music scene.” 

The quartet has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Americas in some of the world’s finest halls, including New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and Library of Congress, Austria’s Esterhazy Palace, and Seoul’s Sejong Chamber Hall. Their major music festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Rockport Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Virginia Arts Festival, Music at Menlo, Maverick Concerts, Caramoor International Music Festival, Lanaudiere Festival, West Cork (Ireland) Chamber Music Festival, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, Skaneateles Festival, Madeline Island Music Festival, Yellow Barn Festival, Encore Chamber Music Festival, the inaugural Chamber Music Athens, and the Seoul Spring Festival, among others.

Their chamber music honors and awards include the grand prizes in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2004. In 2005, they won the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City, which quickly led to a busy touring schedule. They received the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America in 2007, followed by an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008. From 2007-2010, they were in residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Two and, in 2009, they received a grant from the Fromm Foundation to commission a new quartet from Dan Visconti for a CMSLC performance at Alice Tully Hall. In 2012, the Jupiter Quartet members were appointed as artists-in-residence and faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where they continue to perform regularly in the beautiful Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, maintain private studios, and direct the chamber music program.

The Jupiter String Quartet feels a strong connection to the core string quartet repertoire; they have presented the complete Bartok string quartets at the University of Illinois and the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Lanaudiere Festival in Quebec. Also deeply committed to new music, they have commissioned string quartets from Nathan Shields, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Michi Wiancko, Syd Hodkinson, Hannah Lash, Dan Visconti, and Kati Agócs; a quintet with baritone voice by Mark Adamo; and a piano quintet by Pierre Jalbert. They are also part of a commission for chamber choir and string quartet, with music by Su Lian Tan and words by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

The Jupiters place a strong emphasis on developing relationships with future audiences through educational performances in schools and other community centers. They believe that, because of the intensity of its interplay and communication, chamber music is one of the most effective ways of spreading an enthusiasm for “classical” music to new audiences. The quartet has also held numerous masterclasses for young musicians, including most recently at Northwestern University, Eastman School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, Encore Chamber Festival, Madeline Island Music Festival, and Peabody Conservatory.

The quartet’s latest album is a collaboration with the Jasper String Quartet (Marquis Classics, 2021), produced by Grammy-winner Judith Sherman. This collaborative album features the world premiere recording of Dan Visconti’s Eternal Breath, Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat, Op. 20, and Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round. The Arts Fuse acclaimed, “This joint album from the Jupiter String Quartet and Jasper String Quartet is striking for its backstory but really memorable for its smart program and fine execution.” The quartet’s discography also includes numerous recordings on labels including Azica Records and Deutsche Grammophon.

Highlights of the Jupiter Quartet’s 2023-24 season include performances presented by Music at Kohl Mansion, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Camerata Musica, UNLV Chamber Music Series, and Feldman Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg with pianist Soyeon Kate Lee, as well as residencies at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Idaho.. As artists-in-residence at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, they also perform a series of concerts at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Early exposure to chamber music brought these four musicians together. Meg and Liz grew up playing string quartets with their two brothers and they came to love chamber music during weekly coachings with cellist Oliver Edel, who taught generations of students in the Washington, D.C. area. Nelson’s parents are pianists (his father also conducts) and his twin sisters, Alicia and Andrea, are both musicians. Although Daniel originally wanted to be a violinist, he chose the cello because the organizers of his first string program declared that he had “better hands for the cello,” and is happy that he ended up where he did.

The quartet chose its name because Jupiter was the most prominent planet in the night sky at the time of its formation and the astrological symbol for Jupiter resembles the number four. They are also proud to list among their accomplishments in recent years the addition of seven quartet children: Pablo, Lillian, Clara, Dominic, Felix, Oliver, and Joelle. You may spot some of these smaller Jupiters in the audience or tagging along to rehearsals.

Pei-Shan Lee‬‭

Pianist Pei-Shan Lee has toured the‬ world as a duo and chamber music‬ partner in concerts that include the‬ Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Weill‬ Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Boston’s‬ Jordan Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall,‬ Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, and‬ venues in France, Germany, Belgium and‬ Israel. Her live performances can also be‬ heard on WQXR, WGBH, and WRCJ.‬

A member of the New England Conservatory’s Collaborative Piano‬ and Chamber Music Faculty, Ms. Lee has appeared in recitals with‬ some of America’s most important musicians, including violinists‬ Margaret Batjer, Ryu Goto, Jacques Israelievitch, Stefan Jackiw,‬ Ani Kavafian, Joseph Silverstein, and Donald Weilerstein; violists‬ Che-Yen Chen, Kim Kashkashian, and Dimitri Murrath; cellists‬ Robert DeMaine, Andrés Díaz, Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, and‬ Pieter Wispelwey; and the Formosa, Harlem, Jupiter, and‬ Szymanowski Quartets. She has also performed at the Mostly‬ Mozart Festival, Caramoor Festival, Heifetz International Music‬ Institute, Pro Quartet in France, the International Piano Festival in Moscow, the Great Wall Academy in Beijing, and the Formosa‬ Chamber Music Festival in Taiwan. Ms. Lee is a founding member‬ of DC8, eight musicians sponsored by the Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, dedicated to the commissioning and performance of‬ new music.‬

A native of Taiwan, Lee came to the U.S. after winning the Youth‬ Division of Taiwan’s National Piano Competition. Frequently‬ invited for guest residencies and masterclasses in China and‬ Taiwan, her doctoral thesis “The Collaborative Pianist: Balancing‬ Roles in Partnership” has become an important resource for‬ schools wishing to begin a Collaborative Piano program.‬

A dedicated teacher and devoted to the development of the‬ collaborative piano field, Lee joined the New England‬ Conservatory of Music faculty in 2009. Additionally, she created a‬ new master’s degree in Collaborative Piano at California State‬ University Northridge in 2013, and since 2015 she has been serving‬ as director of the Collaborative Piano Fellowship program at the‬ Bowdoin International Music Festival.‬
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