Notes for: July 17, 2007
This is an arrangement by oboist Peggy Pearson of one of 12 string quartets that Haydn composed in the period 1788 to 1790. The group is known today as the “Tost” quartets in the mistaken belief that Haydn composed them for a Hungarian violinist, Johann Tost. The truth is more prosaic: While Tost played the quartets, the epithet stems from the fact that Haydn entrusted them to this business-wise colleague to market to publishers in Paris and Vienna.
Haydn and Tost became acquainted in 1783 when Tost was hired as principal second violin in the orchestra of the Esterhazy family – wealthy members of the Hungarian landed aristocracy – where Haydn was the kappelmeister (music director). In the custom of the day, Haydn and Tost lived with the servants and wore Esterhazy’s livery. However, Prince Nicolaus was an enlightened patron, and he encouraged Haydn to seek commercial outlets for the works he composed at the palace.
In 1788, when Tost left the Esterhazy palace to try his hand as a free-lance violinist in Paris, Haydn handed him two new symphonies and six new quartets with the authority to seek their publication. Working on commission, Tost contracted with a Paris publisher to issue the six quartets not as a unit as Haydn intended but in two sets of three to enhance their commercial value. The two sets, issued in 1789 and 1790, became known as Opus 54 and Opus 55, and the quartet we hear this evening – one of Haydn’s most striking – is the second of the first set.
Apparently things did not work out for Tost in Paris, and in 1790 he returned to Hungary and married the housekeeper in the Esterhazy household, a woman of some means. With her money, he opened a wholesale cloth business in Vienna, and became a prosperous member of the emerging merchant class. He also became a leading Viennese patron of the arts in a day when most patrons were still members of the aristocracy.
Continuing as a violinist, Tost commissioned for performance in his salon chamber music from leading composers, Mozart as well as Haydn. After settling himself in Vienna, Haydn wrote six more quartets for performance in Tost’s salon, and then, about to leave for London, he asked Tost to market them as well. In April, 1791, thanks to Tost’s efforts, the quartets were published in Vienna as Opus 64, with a grateful dedication to Tost for his services.
Haydn had already composed more than 40 quartets before the 12 “Tost” quartets, carrying the form from a lighthearted divertimento to a serious and demanding medium of expression. In particular, in the six quartets of Opus 20, written in 1771, Haydn had begun to treat the quartet form as a dialog among four equally prominent instruments and to explore the subtle development of the themes and their emotional implications. In the “Tost” quartets, he pursued this trend further, blending in a virtuoso first violin part for Tost’s personal use to give the ensemble color and eloquence.
In arranging Opus 54, No. 2, for oboe and strings, Peggy Pearson gives the oboe basically this first violin part. She explains in an e-mail: “I am always looking for new pieces to play so that I don’t have to inflict upon an audience the repertoire for oboe and piano. I love playing with three strings, and I think this combination of instruments is the best for oboe. I am always excited to come across a great piece that lends itself to the oboe, especially a quartet as unusual and imaginative as this one.”
The first movement, vivace, is in traditional sonata form with two themes, their development and their recapitulation. The first theme, forceful and incisive, has an unusual structure: The opening phrase, given to the first violin (oboe in this case) is five measures long, ending in a dramatic measure of silence. The second phrase, one step lower, is again given to the first violin (oboe), is again five measures long and ends in another measure of silence. The third phrase, still lower, finally has the momentum to keep going but in a remote key.
The second theme is shared by the first violin (oboe) and viola, but the violin (oboe) maintains the pace rising to a dizzyingly high D. This is above the range of the oboe, so this arrangement turns that ascent over to the second violin. After the development, the two themes return, but the measures of silence are filled in by three pianissimo quarter notes on the first violin (oboe).
The second movement, adagio, is one of the most unusual in chamber music. The brooding melody in the minor mood is presented by all four instruments in their lower registers. Then the first violin (oboe) enters, embroidering the slow moving melody with ornamental arabesques in 16th and 32nd notes while the other instruments keep repeating the melody below. The stabbing dissonances and ornamentation suggest a passionate Hungarian lament.
The minuet, a light and rhythmic allegretto, was so popular with the Esterhazy court that Haydn had the tune built into the sounding mechanism of a musical clock. But the trio is in startling contrast, launched in forceful unison, with bold dissonant harmonies and the first violin (oboe) again in a key role.
The fourth movement is again highly innovative – a finale that is mainly second adagio instead of the customary allegro. After an eight-measure introduction, the first violin (oboe) plays the gentle theme highly ornamented with 32nd notes, over a throbbing accompaniment in the second violin and viola and a counter-melody in the cello rising from the bottom to the top of its range. Eventually, this low-profile material is interrupted by a presto variant of the theme, but the adagio returns for the quiet ending.