Three exciting programs remain, each performed four times. Big name composers include Mozart, Schubert, and César Franck, but there are also three interesting female composers paired with them. Although we have performed the music of Libby Larsen and Louise Farrenc before, the works that we have scheduled this season are new to us. In the case of the String Quintet by Dame Ethel Smyth, who is new to us, here is a wonderful discovery of a fabulous piece, and one that pairs so nicely with the great Schubert Quintet.
As I got to thinking further about these programs, I realized that there was a feminine angle here that could easily be overlooked. We often think about the historical struggle of women to enter the male dominated world of music as pitting male against female. And make no mistake, the discrimination against women composers, as well as performers, was almost insurmountable. However, the back story is that there were some historical males that supported talented women in their profession. Louise Farrenc was the first woman to become a professor at the famed Paris Conservatory in the mid-1800s. In order for her to enter that male entrenched establishment, some of the men had to support her. Otherwise, she would have never been able to get her foot in the door. The fact is, that she was a member of that faculty for 38 years. She was accepted by many as a true and respected colleague. She also had friends outside of the Conservatory including the famous violinist, Joseph Joachim, who premiered some of her works.
This whole issue got me to thinking about Mozart and his relationship with women. The Divertimento for Two Horns and Strings that we are performing on our first program starting Sunday, August 21st, was written to celebrate the name day of a young woman from a family in Salzburg that Mozart was very fond of. In fact, Mozart wrote many such works including concertos, like the one we performed in July, for some of his most talented female students to perform. The piano part for the Kegelstatt Trio that we performed on the same program was also written for one of his students. At the premiere, Mozart played the viola part. We also know that Mozart’s wife, Constanza, was a very fine singer for whom he wrote several pieces. He also relied on her advice in his writing some very challenging parts for some of the greatest female singers of the day.
In the case of César Franck, whose fabulous Piano Quintet is featured (with Jeannie Yu at the piano), on our finale program including our Labor Day Gala at Björklunden at 3:00 pm on September 5th, the Piano Quintet is a wonderful story unto itself. But first, let me mention Franck’s support of Mel(anie) Bonis. (She used the name Mel for her publications to disguise her gender). Melanie came from a working-class family, and although they supported her musical talent at first, they were very opposed to her choosing it as a career. They thought she should do something reliable like becoming a seamstress. César Franck, an important teacher at the Conservatory (where Louise Farrenc taught), decided to teach Bonis, but at first, he taught her privately because of her parents and the difficulty females had getting admitted to the Conservatory. Eventually, she was admitted and was a classmate of Debussy and Gabriel Pierne. We have performed several beautiful works by her. (If you don’t know the full story of Melanie Bonis, you should look it up. Her story is worthy of treatment by Masterpiece Theater.)
However, Franck’s Quintet itself seems to have been inspired by another important female in his life. At this point, I urge you to read the book César and Augusta by Ron Harwood, before our performances if you can. Without telling too much of the story, let it be said that Franck was a very staid family man. Very quiet, predictable, unpretentious, and quite timid around the opposite sex. At some point in his career, a voluptuous, flamboyant, intriguing, dark haired beauty came into his studio as a very talented graduate student. He was smitten with both her ravishing beauty and enraptured talent. She brought out something very latent in him, but he could not express it to her directly. Instead, he chose to put his feelings into the Piano Quintet that he was working on. He would pour into it the passion he didn’t know he possessed and never thought he could express musically. It would be his declaration of how he felt about her from his very depths. One of Franck’s colleagues was Camille Saint-Saëns, who was the polar opposite in personality to Franck. This flamboyant dandy was also smitten with the same young woman. Franck convinced Saint-Saëns, an incredible virtuoso at the piano, to play the premiere of his Quintet. Saint-Saëns knew that the student would be in the audience, and he would have a chance to display his brilliance as a performer for her. However, since he was a very skilled sight-reader, he spent very little time in preparation. It was, therefore, only halfway through the performance that he realized that he was unwittingly delivering Franck’s love letter to this young student. When the piece ended to thunderous applause, Saint-Saëns was so steamed that he jumped up from the piano, slammed down the lid, and stormed off the stage without bowing. Ron Harwood, who won an Oscar for his screen play, The Pianist, tells this story in an unforgettable way. It is a wonderful read.
Two great woman performers are featured in our first program. Jeannie Yu will be back at the piano and Alicia Lee, clarinet, will join Jeannie and David Perry to bring us Libby Larsen’s intriguing Rodeo Reina del Cielo (Rodeo Queen of Heaven). We often have poets and artists create works based on our music. Here, the table is turned as Larsen is inspired by an unusual sculpture of the Madonna and Child. And, by the way, we also have two horn players on the same program for the Mozart Divertimento and the Ries Piano Septet. Fritz Foss from Lyric Opera will be back, and he is joined by Dietrich Hemann from the Milwaukee Symphony.
I hope this gives a little taste of the thrills and drama that will unfold in the coming days. It all starts on August 21 and continues through Labor Day. Get your tickets now because some venues will sell out. Call 920-854-7088 or visit www.midsummersmusic.com. You can read the program notes there as preparation and get the full schedule. We look forward to seeing you soon—very soon.
Jim Berkenstock
Artistic Director