Alice Tully Hall, Starr TheaterAdrienne Arsht Stage

Please make certain all your electronic devicesare switched off.

This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.

Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 7:30 pm

Pre-concert lecture by Andrew Shenton at 6:15 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

Poetry for Strings

Takács QuartetEdward Dusinberre, ViolinHarumi Rhodes, ViolinGeraldine Walther, ViolaAndrás Fejér, Cello

David Requiro, Guest Cello

WEBERN Langsamer Satz (1905)

SCHUBERT String Quintet in C major (1828)Allegro ma non troppoAdagioScherzo (Presto)—Trio (Andante sostenuto)Allegretto—Piu Allegro—Piu Presto

This program is approximately 65 minutes long and will be performed withoutintermission.

Please join us for a White Light Lounge in the Alice Tully Hall lobby following the performance.

This performance is also part of Great Performers.

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The White Light Festival 2018 is made possible byThe Shubert Foundation, The KatzenbergerFoundation, Inc., Laura Pels InternationalFoundation for Theater, The Joelson Foundation,The Harkness Foundation for Dance, GreatPerformers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friendsof Lincoln Center

This evening’s performance is also a part of theGreat Performers series. Great Performers is madepossible by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, TheShubert Foundation, The Katzenberger Foundation,Inc., and Audrey Love Charitable Foundation

Public support is provided by New York StateCouncil on the Arts with the support of GovernorAndrew M. Cuomo and the New York StateLegislature

Endowment support for Symphonic Masters is provided by the Leon Levy Fund

Endowment support is also provided by UBS

Nespresso is the Official Coffee of Lincoln Center

NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital ofLincoln Center

UPCOMING WHITE LIGHT FESTIVAL EVENTS:

Thursday–Friday, November 1–2 at 8:00 pm atBaryshnikov Arts CenterFraming Time (World premiere)Pedja Muzijevic, pianoCesc Gelabert, choreographer and performerMORTON FELDMAN: Triadic Memories for piano solo

November 2–13 at the Gerald W. Lynch TheaterWaiting for GodotBy Samuel BeckettDirected by Garry HynesProduced by DruidStarring Garrett Lombard, Aaron Monaghan,Rory Nolan, and Marty Rea, with Nathan Reidand Jaden PacePre-performance discussion with Garry Hynes andRobert Marx on Saturday, November 3 at 6:15 pm

Tuesday, November 13 at 7:30 pm in the Church ofSt. Mary the VirginLatvian Radio ChoirSigvards Kļava, conductorMAHLER: Die zwei blauen Augen; Ich bin der Weltabhanden gekommen; AdagiettoĒRIKS EŠENVALDS: Stars; A Drop in the OceanSANTA RATNIECE: Chu Dal (“Quiet water”)VALENTIN SILVESTROV: DiptychJURIS KARLSONS: Cum Oramus (World premiere)

Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 pm in the RoseTheater; Sunday, November 18 at 5:00 pmOnly the Sound Remains (U.S. premiere)An opera by Kaija SaariahoDirected by Peter SellarsPhilippe Jaroussky, countertenorDavóne Tines, bass-baritoneNora Kimball-Mentzos, dancer and choreographerPre-performance discussion with Kaija Saariaho,Peter Sellars, and Ara Guzelimian on Sunday,November 18 at 3:45 pm in the Agnes Varis andKarl Leichtman Studio

For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visitWhiteLightFestival.org. Call the Lincoln CenterInfo Request Line at (212) 875-5766 to learnabout program cancellations or to request aWhite Light Festival brochure.

Visit WhiteLightFestival.org for full festivallistings.

Join the conversation: #WhiteLightFestival

We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the per-formers and your fellow audience members.

In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must leavebefore the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The taking of photographsand the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building.

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SnapshotBy Christopher H. Gibbs

Franz Schubert, the lyrical Romantic, andAnton Webern, the austere Modernist,might seem a curious pairing. Yet despitestrikingly different compositional styles, thetwo figures—born nearly a century apart—were both quintessentially Viennese.Webern adored Schubert’s music andarranged some of it. A rare recording sur-vives of Webern elegantly conducting hisorchestration of Schubert’s six GermanDances.

In June 1905, at age 21, Webern composeda slow movement for string quartet;Langsamer Satz was an assignment forArnold Schoenberg, with whom he hadbeen studying for several months.Webern’s style at this early stage was

lushly Romantic. The quartet movementwent unperformed and unpublished untillong after his death in 1945 and premieredin Seattle in 1962.

The 20 months that separate the deaths ofBeethoven and Schubert were extraordi-nary not only in the quantity and quality ofthe younger composer’s output, but alsoas a golden moment in the history ofmusic. Masterpiece followed masterpiece,both vocal and instrumental, beforeSchubert died in November 1828 at age31. Among the miracles of this precioustime is the String Quintet in C major, hisfinal chamber composition. The quintet,which features two cellos rather than thetwo violas Mozart had cultivated, is a workof melting beauty, drama, and poignancy.

—Copyright © 2018 by Christopher H. Gibbs

Notes on the ProgramBy Christopher H. Gibbs

Langsamer Satz (1905)ANTON WEBERNBorn December 3, 1883, in ViennaDied September 15, 1945, in Mittersill,Austria

Approximate length: 9 minutes

The mature works of Anton Webern clockin at less than four hours of music butnonetheless exerted enormous influenceafter his death in 1945. His gem-like latercompositions, many written using the so-called 12-tone or serial technique pio-neered by his teacher Arnold Schoenbergin the early 1920s, seemed to offer a wayforward for some composers after the dev-astation of the Second World War. ButWebern, like Schoenberg and his col-league Alban Berg, had pursued a lush late-Romantic compositional style at the begin-ning of his career. He studied musicology(writing a doctoral dissertation on aRenaissance composer), and in late 1904began taking lessons with Schoenberg.Among Webern’s early works—longthought lost and discovered only some 20years after his death—was a single move-ment for string quartet, known as theLangsamer Satz, or “Slow Movement.”Since individual performing parts survive, itprobably was played privately amongSchoenberg’s circle, but was not heard inpublic until 1962 in Seattle.

Webern composed the quartet movementin June 1905 as an assignment fromSchoenberg. It was a happy time in his life,as he noted the previous month in his diaryafter an excursion to Lower Austria withhis cousin and future wife, WilhelmineMörtl: “To walk forever like this among theflowers, with my dearest one beside me,to feel oneself so utterly at one with theuniverse, without care, free as the lark inthe sky above—Oh, what splendor!…Our

love rose to infinite heights and filled theuniverse!”

Webern wrote string quartets throughouthis career and the Langsamer Satz showshis early attraction to the genre. The workbegins with a beautiful melody that is var-ied over the course of some nine minutes.The writing is lush, with masterful use ofcounterpoint, and awash in long-breathedmelodies very different from the pointillis-tic spareness associated with the com-poser’s later music.

String Quintet in C major, D. 956 (1828)FRANZ SCHUBERTBorn January 31, 1797, in ViennaDied November 19, 1828, in Vienna

Approximate length: 47 minutes

By the age of 23, the short-lived FranzSchubert had composed some two-thirdsof his oeuvre, yet remained virtuallyunknown to the Viennese public until aseries of important performances and pub-lications began in the early 1820s, mostlyof his songs and piano music. Schubertstruggled for recognition in a musical cul-ture awed by Beethoven’s dominatinggenius, enchanted by Italian opera (particu-larly Rossini’s), and dazzled by the technicalwizardry of Paganini and other virtuosos.After it became clear to Schubert that hestood little chance of succeeding withGerman-language operas, he devoted theremaining years of his life to emulatingBeethoven by focusing much more onlarge-scale instrumental music.

The strategy met with some success.Violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, the preemi-nent exponent of Beethoven’s chambermusic, took up Schubert’s cause, and thecomposer’s A-minor String Quartet (dedi-cated to Schuppanzigh) and three pianosonatas were published. When Beethovendied in 1827, Schubert was poised to

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emerge as his artistic heir, although hisown health had been in serious decline forsome years due to syphilis.

The String Quintet in C major, Schubert’sfinal chamber composition, is one of manyastonishing works dating from the finalmonths of his life. During the summer andfall of 1828, he wrote or finished the DreiKlavierstücke, the Mass in E-flat major, the14 songs published as Schwanengesang,three magnificent piano duets (includingthe Fantasy in F minor), his last three pianosonatas, as well as brief sacred works,partsongs, dances, lieder, and someremarkable sketches for a new symphony.This quintet was not performed duringSchubert’s life and remained unknown fordecades—it was first heard in Vienna in1850 and published three years later.

Beethoven was composing a string quintetnear the end of his life and Schubert mayhave been aware of this project. Mozart hadwritten ones as well, although he added aviola to the customary quartet, whereasSchubert incorporated a second cello. Hismodel was work by the now-forgottenFrench composer George Onslow thatSchuppanzigh performed. The advantageof this instrumental arrangement is thatone cello can fill the traditional bass rolesupporting the harmony, while the othercan sing lyrically in the baritone register.

The quintet’s opening movement is one ofSchubert’s most haunting creations andhas come to epitomize his late style. Itsleisurely unfolding of themes, the gracefulslide into an unexpected key (the flat medi-ant) for the melting second theme, and thefluctuations between major and minor

refine traits long used by the composer. Ina similar way, the meditative serenity ofthe second movement contains a calmbeauty often associated with Schubert, butalso includes one of his terrifying outburstsof pain, even violence—a feature found inmany of his late works. The Scherzo(Presto) is unusual for its trio section in aslower tempo.

The finale projects a more social and care-free attitude that some commentatorshave found trivial in comparison with thefirst three movements. At times the musicseems to glance sideways to neighboringHungary and project a dancing gaiety. Sucha mixture of moods over the course of awork, even within movements of a singlecomposition, is also typically Schubertian.Few composers embrace such a range ofgenres, styles, and moods.

Schubert died at age 31 in November1828, shortly after finishing the C-majorQuintet. How could any artist sustain sucha breathless pace of production andbreathtaking level of achievement? Thedirection in which his late compositionalmiracles point is one of the reasons thatthere has been so much speculation aboutwhat more Schubert might have written.The epitaph on his grave, written by FranzGrillparzer, Austria’s leading writer, cap-tures just this: “The Art of Music HereEntombs a Rich Possession, but even FarFairer Hopes.”

Christopher H. Gibbs is James H. OttawayJr. Professor of Music at Bard College.

—Copyright © 2018 by Christopher H. Gibbs

—“Lyric: I Am Looking at Music,” from Girl at the Window: Poems byPinkie Gordon Lane. Copyright © 1991 by Pinkie Gordon Lane. Reprinted by kind permission of LSU Press.

For poetry comments and suggestions, please writeto programming@LincolnCenter.org.

It is the color of light,the shape of sound high in the evergreens.

It lies suspended in hills, a blue line in a redsky.

I am looking at sound.I am hearing the brightnessof high bluffs and almond trees. I am tasting the wilderness of lakes,rivers, and streamscaught in an angleof song.

I am remembering waterthat glows in the dawn,and motion tumbledin earth, life hidden in mounds.

I am dancing a bright beam of light.

I am remembering love.

Illumination

Lyric: I Am Looking at MusicBy Pinkie Gordon Lane

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Meet the Artists

Takács QuartetThe Takács Quartet, now entering its 44thseason, is renowned for the vitality of itsinterpretations. Based in Boulder at theUniversity of Colorado, the quartet per-forms 80 concerts a year worldwide.Highlights of the 2018–19 season includeperformances in Berlin, Cologne, Baden-Baden, Bilbao, and at the Bath Mozartfest,as well as the continuation of the ensem-ble’s annual concerts as associate artists atLondon’s Wigmore Hall. The Takács willalso perform extensively in the U.S., and atour with Garrick Ohlsson will culminate ina recording for Hyperion of the Elgar andAmy Beach piano quintets.

In 2014 the Takács became the first stringquartet to win the Wigmore Hall Medal,and in 2012 it became the only string quar-tet to be inducted into Gramophone’s firstHall of Fame. Recognized for its innovativeprogramming, the Takács has enjoyed mul-tidisciplinary collaborations, including per-formances of Philip Roth’s Everyman pro-gram, conceived in close collaboration withthe author, with Meryl Streep and PhilipSeymour Hoffman, and a tour with the poetRobert Pinsky. The quartet’s interests andhistory are explored in Edward Dusinberre’sbook, Beethoven for a Later Age: TheJourney of a String Quartet, which takesthe reader inside the life of a string quartet.

The ensemble’s recordings for Hyperioninclude string quartets by Haydn, Schubert,

Janáček, Smetana, Debussy, and Britten,as well as piano quintets by César Franckand Shostakovich. Its newest recording, tobe released in the spring of 2019, will fea-ture music of Ernő Dohnányi with pianistMarc-André Hamelin. For its recordings onthe Decca/London label, the quartet haswon three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy,Disc of the Year at the inaugural BBCMusic Magazine Awards, and EnsembleAlbum of the Year at the Classical Brits.

The members of the quartet areChristoffersen Faculty Fellows at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder, visiting fel-lows at the Guildhall School of Music andDrama in London, and are on faculty at theMusic Academy of the West in SantaBarbara. The Takács Quartet was formed in1975 while its founding members—GáborTakács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gábor Ormai,and András Fejér—were students at theFranz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.In 2001 the quartet was awarded theOrder of Merit of the Knight’s Cross of theRepublic of Hungary, and in 2011 eachmember was awarded the Order of MeritCommander’s Cross by the President ofthe Republic of Hungary.

David Requiro is recognized as one of thefinest American cellists of his generation.He is the first-prize winner of the 2008Naumburg International Violoncello Com -pe tition and the Washington Internationaland Irving M. Klein International StringCompetitions, as well as a top-prize winnerat the Gaspar Cassadó InternationalVioloncello Competition in Hachioji, Japan,where he also took the prize for the bestperformances of works by Cassadó.

David Requiro

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Mr. Requiro has appeared as soloist withthe Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra,National Symphony Orchestra, and SeattleSymphony, among many other orchestrasthroughout North America. His CarnegieHall recital debut at Weill Recital Hall wasfollowed by a critically acclaimed SanFrancisco Performances recital at theHerbst Theatre. Soon after making hisKennedy Center debut, he also performedthe complete cycle of Beethoven’ssonatas for cello and piano at the PhillipsCollection in Washington, D.C. He has per-formed with the Chamber Music Societyof Lincoln Center, Seattle Chamber MusicSociety, Jupiter Symphony ChamberPlayers, and is a founding member of theBaumer String Quartet. The ChamberMusic Society of Lincoln Center recentlyappointed Mr. Requiro to its prestigiousCMS Two residency beginning in 2018.

In 2015 Mr. Requiro joined the faculty ofthe University of Colorado Boulder asassistant professor of cello. He has previ-ously served as artist-in-residence at theUniversity of Puget Sound and guest lec-turer at the University of Michigan. Histeachers have included Milly Rosner,Bonnie Hampton, Mark Churchill, MichelStrauss, and Richard Aaron.

Andrew Shenton Andrew Shenton (pre-concert lecturer) is ascholar, prize-winning author, performer,and educator based in Boston. Born inEngland, he first studied at the RoyalCollege of Music in London, and holdsbachelor, master’s, and doctoral degreesfrom London University, Yale, and Harvardrespectively. In addition to diplomas inboth piano and organ, Dr. Shenton holds aChoir Training diploma from the RoyalCollege of Organists. He has toured exten-sively in Europe and the U.S. as a conduc-tor, recitalist, and clinician, and his two soloorgan recordings have received interna-tional acclaim. He has been the recipient ofnumerous scholarships and awards includ-ing a Harvard Merit Fellowship, Harvard’s

Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, and aresearch fellowship from the Center forthe Humanities at Boston University. Hehas given more than 70 premieres by com-posers such as Geoffrey Burgon, JohnTavener, Arvo Pärt, and Judith Weir.Moving freely between musicology andethnomusicology, Dr. Shenton’s work isbest subsumed under the heading “musicand transcendence,” and includes severalmajor publications on Messiaen, Pärt, andothers. He is an associate professor ofmusic at Boston University, and artisticdirector of both the Boston ChoralEnsemble and Vox Futura.

White Light Festival I could compare my music to white light,which contains all colors. Only a prism candivide the colors and make them appear;this prism could be the spirit of the lis-tener. —Arvo Pärt. Now in its ninth year,the White Light Festival is Lincoln Center’sannual exploration of music and art’spower to reveal the many dimensions ofour interior lives. International in scope, themultidisciplinary festival offers a broadspectrum of the world’s leading instrumen-talists, vocalists, ensembles, choreogra-phers, dance companies, and directorscomplemented by conversations withartists and scholars and post-performanceWhite Light Lounges.

Lincoln Center’s Great PerformersInitiated in 1965, Lincoln Center’s GreatPerformers series offers classical and con-temporary music performances from theworld’s outstanding symphony orchestras,vocalists, chamber ensembles, and recital-ists. One of the most significant music pre-sentation series in the world, GreatPerformers runs from October throughJune with offerings in Lincoln Center’sDavid Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, WalterReade Theater, and other performancespaces around New York City. From sym-phonic masterworks, lieder recitals, andSunday morning coffee concerts to filmsand groundbreaking productions specially

commissioned by Lincoln Center, GreatPerformers offers a rich spectrum of pro-gramming throughout the season.

Lincoln Center for the PerformingArts, Inc.Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts(LCPA) serves three primary roles: presen-ter of artistic programming, national leaderin arts and education and community rela-tions, and manager of the Lincoln Centercampus. A presenter of more than 3,000free and ticketed events, performances,tours, and educational activities annually,

LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and fes-tivals including American Songbook, GreatPerformers, Lincoln Center Out of Doors,Midsummer Night Swing, the MostlyMozart Festival, and the White LightFestival, as well as the Emmy Award–win-ning Live From Lincoln Center, which airsnationally on PBS. As manager of theLincoln Center campus, LCPA providessupport and services for the LincolnCenter complex and the 11 resident orga-nizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 bil-lion campus renovation, completed inOctober 2012.

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Lincoln Center Programming DepartmentJane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic DirectorHanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music ProgrammingJon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary ProgrammingJill Sternheimer, Director, Public ProgrammingJordana Leigh, Director, David Rubenstein AtriumLisa Takemoto, Production ManagerCharles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingMauricio Lomelin, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingAndrew C. Elsesser, Associate Director, ProgrammingLuna Shyr, Senior EditorRegina Grande Rivera, Associate ProducerViviana Benitez, Associate Producer, David Rubenstein AtriumWalker Beard, Production CoordinatorMeera Dugal, Programming Manager, David Rubenstein AtriumOlivia Fortunato, Programming AssistantJames Fry, Technical Manager, Contemporary ProgrammingJessica Braham, House Seat CoordinatorElizabeth Lee, Company Manager, Contemporary ProgrammingLucy Powis, House Program Coordinator

For the White Light FestivalJoshua Benghiat, Lighting