20-21 Program

January 31 ~ Program Notes by Michael Johns
Sonata for Cello and Piano
Debussy’s cello sonata (1915) was completed during an unhappy time: he
was suffering from the cancer that would eventually kill him, he had recently
emerged from a fallow period of non-composing, and WWI raged. Feeling that
his end was approaching, he wrote feverishly.
Sonata for Cello & Piano is a concentrated, austere work. It is organized with a
nod to classical forms, but themes do not develop by the conventional method;
their fragments reappear in various guises. The sonata’s beauty lies in concise
reasoning, an economical, cool delivery, and the crystallization of its discrete
parts into a cogent whole. The Prologue–Lent exemplifies Debussy’s terse
approach to sonata form. It seems longer than its 51 measures due to frequent
changes of tempo, articulation, and mood. A great amount of information is
packed into a small space.
The ABA-form Sérénade is ironic rather than singing. Debussy considered
calling it Pierrot Angry at the Moon. Its spectral mood, partially created with
plucked and snapped pizzicatos, continues into an off-kilter, woozy waltz. The
mercurial, rondo-like finale’s snappy theme is offset by lyrical and brilliant
episodes.
Petite Suite, L 65 for Piano Four Hands
Petite Suite, from the front end of Debussy’s career, was written in 1889.
Unlike the cello sonata, its purpose was to entertain and it has become one
of his most popular pieces. Each of its four ABA-form movements has a title
suggestive of motion.
The long-spanning melody of En Bateau (In a Boat) is gently rocked by a
rippling, flowing accompaniment. This reverie is interrupted with lighthearted
dancing rhythms in the central section. A cheeky spirit prevails in Cortège,
based on a poem by Paul Verlaine, picturing a society lady preceded by her pet
monkey, the train of her dress carried by a helper. “Menuet” is the least fussy,
most elegant of the four movements and foreshadows Debussy’s beyondwords
world of subtle colors. “Ballet” is all bright lights and down-stage energy;
a jaunty, bustling opening tune is paired with a saucy dance-hall waltz.
Duo No 2 in D Major for Violin & Cello, H371
Bohuslav Martinů was a man with a probing and inventive musical mind,
boundless energy, and honorable character. Born in Czechia, he studied music
at Prague Conservatory before moving to Paris, where he thrived in its post-
WWI explosion of creativity. He was forced to flee Paris in 1940 and eventually
landed in the U.S., where he spent a portion of the next decade on the Princeton
University faculty. In 1953 he returned to Europe but never again lived in his
homeland.
The three movements of Duo No. 2 in D Major were written over a period of
four days in 1958. The players are co-equal protagonists in music that is intricate,
lyrical, energetic, and filled with life, belying the fact that the composer was a
dying man. The outer movements are restless and exciting; changes in mood,
harmony, rhythm, and articulation occur at a dizzying rate, ratcheting up the
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