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ANTHONY IANNACCONE
String Quartet No. 3 • Rituals • Aria Concertante No. 1 &No. 2
Chamber music can provide the listener with a window to the interior and most personal spaces in a composer's mind. This is certainly the case with Beethoven's and Schubert's music, and it is also true for the music of Anthony Iannaccone. In a 1999 interview, the composer himself admitted, “…as an orchestral composer my imagination is in constant dialogue with the orchestral conductor side of my brain. It's more a partnership than a contest, but there are two competing forces: one is my need to take risks, and the other is my awareness of the limitations of rehearsal time…With chamber music, I'm probably more self-indulgent, and my practical side takes a back seat.”
This admission might account for Iannaccone's explorations of polar extremities in his chamber works. It could furnish one reason for this composer's indulgence in ultra-consonant textures and in the sweet abandon of sliding thirds in his third quartet's slow movement. It sheds some light on the remorseless and coruscating dissonances of Rituals. It gives a context for his choice of a motionless glacier of sound in the slow movement of his second quartet in contrast to the almost breathless demonic drive of the third quartet's finale. These are certainly the expressions of an artist defining his own musical issues and boundaries, and not one adapting to accepted norms and expectations.
String Quartet No. 3 is the longest and most recent work (1999) on this recording. Commissioned jointly by ArtServe Michigan/Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs and Eastern Michigan University for the Arianna String Quartet, this three-movement composition reflects Iannaccone's concern with three musical elements: expressive lines, post-impressionist textures (which can shimmer or dance or convulse), and organic structures that grow from the simplest melodic and rhythmic cells into complex lattices of competing rhythms and colors.
The first movement of the third quartet achieves a natural fusion of tonal and atonal expression in an imaginative and free sonata form. To begin the work, violin 1 sings in unequal long tones over gently arched harmonies. The note E sounds twice and descends by alternate half and whole steps to C sharp, outlining a minor third. This transparent opening phrase spans seven measures. The four-bar phrase that follows expands the meter, while it reinterprets the half step and third as a melodic cell. This second phrase comes to an incomplete repose through a thematic glissando on a major second and perfect fifth. The espressivo quality established by this opening defines a center of gravity for the movement. The lines and harmonies of the first few phrases forecast the pitch landscape of the quartet.
Pacing and integration of contrasts and of changing rates of harmonic rhythm are masterful in the first movement. The essentially lyrical opening is gradually and seamlessly transformed by the growth of more strident music from the same thematic cells that generated the peaceful beginning. The cello, on several occasions, picks up a warm melodic fragment and translates it with increasing assertiveness from a graceful utterance to a threatening statement. The espressivo soul of the movement is nearly consumed in the searing heat of several contrasting and sweeping crescendos and climaxes. Beyond the surface continuity that connects the primary, secondary, transitional, and development areas of this sonata form, subsequent hearings reveal more subtle reinterpretations and continuations of thematic shapes, not unlike the developing variation process observed in Brahms. The eclectic Iannaccone complements this process with Debussy-like recasting of the same thematic idea in new textural, timbral, and harmonic settings. The tender and soaring viola solo that marks the beginning of a secondary theme area (its octave leap, half step and third coming from the repeated E, half step, and third of the opening phrases) is recast in the development section in dance-like music of rapidly changing meters, and then, again, as an aggressive contrapuntal subject driving to the movement's sizzling energy peak at the end of the development section. Fragments of the secondary theme float effortlessly in and out of the foreground in a short recapitulation with some surprising twists. “I buried [in these transformations],” Iannaccone states, “some references to Harold Arlen's wonderful tune Over the Rainbow…it came naturally out of my interval set.” The final pages of the movement balance, in (a kind of trademark) shimmering equilibrium, singing lines from the exposition with some restless and gritty gestures culled from the development section.
The second movement, the composer confides, “loosely evokes personal memories.” Here, the cello symbolizes Iannaccone's father, who died shortly after the recording of this quartet. Although the composer would not give any further details regarding “personal memories,” he did offer the following paragraphs on the second and third movements:
The second movement is framed by the sort of transparent halo of sound that I exploited in the slow sections of my second and third symphonies. The form of the movement is based on the golden mean principle, with a culminating climax that divides the movement into two sections, such that the ratio of the smaller to the larger is the same as that of the larger to the whole. Thematically, the half step and fourth and the half step and third figures from movement one are recycled in new themes which counterpoise a sustained line with a decorative trill figure that derives from the thirty-second note pick-up to the sostenuto line.
The second movement explores extremes of motion and texture from the slow motion of sustained tones to the frenzied layers of rapidly swirling thirty-second notes. The cello again acts as a distinct voice in a one-versus-three texture. In this movement, however, it assumes a conciliatory role, a voice of calm in a sea of turbulence.
The third movement combines aspects of fugue and sonata design. Except for a few brief moments of respite where melodic motives from the first movement return, the third movement is obsessive, and perhaps, even demonic, in its drive. The repeated-note motto of the quartet is now a thrusting and sometimes raging figure which infiltrates every aspect of the music. The half step and third play a prominent role in the melodic subject and in the harmony as well. Unequal thirds, minor and major, are juxtaposed throughout. In a final outburst of energy, the driving tension is resolved on a climactic G.
Composed in 1973, Rituals for Violin and Piano is the oldest work on this disc. Written for Alfio Pignotti and Dady Mehta, who gave the world premiere, Rituals won first prize in the East and West Artists of New York Composers Competition. It received its New York premiere in 1976 in Carnegie Hall. The sizzling dissonances and modified serial techniques in Rituals display significant examples of Iannaccone's steady effort to “intensify my vocabulary (as he describes it) from the mid-sixties through the mid-seventies. Iannaccone calls Rituals and Aria Concertante “small audience” music. These works and others like them were composed alongside his “large audience” works like Divertimento and After a Gentle Rain, which have a broader public. On close inspection, the listener realizes that these “separate channels” are two aspects of the same musical personality. One really hears a singular voice in the unfolding and connecting of rhythms and textures, in the careful pacing of static and dynamic passages, in the directed motion toward goals, as well as in melodic-harmonic details and favored sounds that bear the same fingerprint.
Regarding Rituals, the following is an excerpt from a program note by the composer:
The title is a play on the word “ritual.” On the one hand, the virtuoso nature of the work epitomizes the ritual of a concert artist offering up his performance for acceptance by the audience. The reenactment of this formal procedure of giving and accepting in solo and chamber recitals contains the elements of ritual. On the other hand, the work incorporates two chants used in the ritual of the Roman mass, Victimae paschali laudes and Dies irae, along with a twelve-note theme which shares some melodic features of the chants. Rituals employs both conventional and new notation in exposing, developing, collaging, layering and finally merging the three musical ideas that generate its wide-ranging vocabulary.
Aria Concertante for Cello and Piano, No. 1 and No. 2 were composed in 1976 for Jerome Jelinek and Joseph Gurt, who premiered both works. Like the third quartet, these works combine both tonal and atonal music, but here the center of gravity is a more abstract lyricism that is less tonally oriented. While Rituals and Aria Concertante, No. 1 and No. 2 are genuine virtuoso pieces, they strike a fine balance between what Joseph Kerman calls “discourse and display.” The composer gives this description:
Aria Concertante for Cello and Piano, No. 1 and No. 2 are based on the same generative themes. They may be performed as separate independent works or back-to-back. Each aria blends song and bravura with the help of traditional and serial techniques.
The first aria begins with a transparent interplay between cello and piano. This arioso is freely declamatory in nature and evolves first into songlike lyricism, and then into an animated scherzo. The movement terminates in a return to gentle and open lyricism, with a suspended, weightless cadence, poised rather than reposed.
Aria Concertante No. 2 begins with an extended cello vocalise. There is a gradual accumulation of tension and momentum that erupts in an intense allegro development. After a brief recitative, the movement returns to its vocal focus.
Anthony Iannaccone (born New York City, 1943) studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His principal teachers were Vittorio Giannini, Aaron Copland, and David Diamond. During the 1960's, he supported himself as a part-time teacher (Manhattan School of Music) and orchestral violinist. His catalogue of approximately 50 published works includes three symphonies, as well as smaller works for orchestra, several large works for chorus and orchestra, numerous chamber pieces, a variety of works for wind ensemble, and several extended a cappella choral compositions. His music is performed by major orchestras and professional chamber ensembles in the U.S. and abroad. He is an active conductor of both new music and standard orchestral repertory. In addition to conducting numerous regional and metropolitan orchestras in the U.S., he has conducted European orchestras, including the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, the Bavarian Festival Orchestra, the Moravian Philharmonic, and the Slovak Radio Orchestra. Since 1971, he has taught at Eastern Michigan University, where he conducts the Collegium Musicum in 18th century music for chorus and chamber orchestra.
The Arianna String Quartet, formed in 1992, has quickly established itself as one of America's finest chamber ensembles. In 1994, it captured the Grand Prize in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize in both the Coleman and Carmel National Competitions. In 1999 the quartet was a finalist in the International String Quartet Competition of Bordeaux, France. Recent seasons have included successful debuts at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and Tokyo's Suntory Hall, as well as concerts in twenty of the contiguous United States. The Arianna String Quartet has been featured in concerts at the Spoleto, Banff, Norfolk, and Strings in the Mountains festivals and has been heard in live nationally broadcast performances in Osaka, Japan, and on Canada's CBC radio, several times as part of Chicago's prestigious Dame Myra Hess Series, and on National Public Radio's “Performance Today.” In 1993, the quartet was invited by Isaac Stern to perform in his first-ever Carnegie Hall master class, and in 1995, was Ensemble-in-Residence at the Tanglewood Music Center. The Arianna String Quartet maintains an active performance schedule. In addition to widespread appearances around the country, the quartet developed an outstanding concert series as part of its residency at Eastern Michigan University. It has performed over 400 concerts for more than 30,000 people in Michigan.
Violinist John McGrosso has performed as soloist with the Chicago Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard, and holds a performer's certificate from Northern Illinois University. His teachers have included Dorothy DeLay, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joyce Robbins, and Gerald Beal, and he has studied with members of the Juilliard, Vermeer and Tokyo String Quartets. From 1992 to 1999 Mr. McGrosso was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony's first violin section.
Violinist Rebecca Rhee is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, where she began her violin studies at age ten. She later appeared as a soloist with the Honolulu Symphony. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Southern California, where she studied with Eudice Shapiro and Milton Thomas. She also studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi. Rhee has performed in many music festivals, including Tanglewood, Norfolk, Manchester, Kent/Blossom, and Strings in the Mountains.
Violist Mahoko Eguchi, a native of Japan, received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Yale University School of Music. She has studied with Henryk Kowalski, Josef Gingold, Syoko Aki, Kenji Kobayashi and Richard Young. Eguchi was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, and performed in the Norfolk, Taos, and Moon Beach (Japan) summer festivals. She has been a member of the New World Symphony, the New Haven Symphony, and the Tokyo Philharmonic.
Cellist Kurt Baldwin began his studies in Iowa City, Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory, a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, studying with Bernard Greenhouse, and a performer's certificate from Northern Illinois University. Baldwin has performed at the Meadowmount, Bowdoin and Banff festivals, was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and the principal cellist of the Spoleto Festival orchestra in Charleston, S.C. and Spoleto, Italy.
Jerome Jelinek joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music in 1961 as Professor of Music and cellist of the Stanley Quartet. A 1952 graduate of the University of Michigan, Jelinek continued his study with Luigi Silva in New York City and at the Royal Academy of Music, London, England, with the distinguished English cellist, Douglas Cameron. He has been the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, the University of Michigan's Stanley Medal, the Harriet Cohen International Music Award in Cello, and in 1968, he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London, England. Jelinek has enjoyed outstanding success as cello soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has performed to critical acclaim both as recitalist and soloist with orchestras in Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Joseph Gurt, whom the New York Times has described as having “all the assets of a first-class pianist”, has had a distinguished career as solo pianist, chamber musician and teacher since his graduation from the Juilliard School of Music. In addition to the United States he has performed in Australia, Canada, Turkey, Israel, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He has played with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and with many other professional groups, including the Lyric Chamber Ensemble. He has given numerous radio broadcasts, and made several appearances on National Educational Television. His playing has been heard in Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, and at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, as well as on many university campuses in the USA, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He has made a wide variety of recordings and has premiered the works of several important composers. Among his recordings are the Piano Quartet of William Bolcom and Anthony Iannaccone's Partita for Piano, and Two Piano Inventions, which Gurt recorded with Fedora Horowitz. Gurt has served on the faculty of Eastern Michigan University since 1967.
Alfio Pignotti (1922-1987) was former concertmaster of the San Antonio Symphony, New Orleans Philharmonic, and the Chicago Little Symphony. At age 24 he joined the Gordon String Quartet. During the 1950's he was a member of the Claremont String Quartet at the Manhattan School of Music. He concertized extensively as a recitalist in the U.S., England, and Italy. In 1952, he received a Fulbright Award to study at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Pignotti has taught at the University of Texas, Ball State University, and the Interlochen Arts Academy. He joined the string faculty at Eastern Michigan University in 1969.
Dady Mehta was born in Shanghai of Parsi Indian parents, and received his first musical education there. At the age of 17, he went to Paris to continue his musical studies, and earned the Artists' Diploma from the Ecole Normale de Musique in two years. Further piano study followed under Bruno Seidlhofer at the Vienna State Academy of Music, where his graduation recital received the school's highest honors. His appearances throughout the U.S. and Europe have resulted in the highest critical acclaim: “performed with much poetry and power”...”absolute control over every note”...”exciting and compelling”...(Washington Post); “a major pianist” (London); “magnificent playing...beautiful expressiveness” (Neues Zuricher); “His technique is big”...”powerful tone”...”firm, clear, intelligent' (N.Y. Times); “Mehta is a superpianist”(Washington Evening Star). In demand for master classes, Mehta regularly appears at colleges and workshops for piano teachers. He has been a member of the piano faculty at the Vienna State Academy of Music and currently teaches piano and chamber music at Eastern Michigan University.
Cover Art: Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge (Sun in the Fog) , 1903. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 1914. Permission courtesy of National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
Recording and Technical Direction: Paul Eachus, Frederick Bashour
Digital Editing: Mark Bunce
Publishers (ASCAP): Carl Fischer (Rituals ), Theodore Presser (Aria Concertante, String Quartet No. 3 )
This recording was made possible in part by grants from the NOVA Fund, ArtServe Michigan/Michigan Council for the Arts, and the American Music Center. All works were recorded in the presence of the composer.
4 Aria Concertante for Cello and Piano, No. 1 (10:59)
5 Rituals for Violin and Piano (14:13)
6 Aria Concertante for Cello and Piano, No. 2 (11:55)
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