Chamber Music +

1. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007, for solo cello  “Monophonic music wherein a man has created a dance of God.” – Wilfrid Mellers From 1717 to 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach was employed by Prince Leopold as Kapellmeister at Köthen. With a court orchestra of 17 accomplished musicians available, it was during this period that he produced the bulk of his instrumental music, including the four orchestral suites, the six Brandenburg Concertos, and the most substantial part of his chamber music. In the midst of this enormous output are twelve jewels – six sonatas and partitas for solo violin and six suites for solo cello – and a lingering mystery. Polyphonic writing was the gold standard of the Baroque.  There are essentially only two ways of creating polyphony on a solo violin or cello. One way is to play two or more strings at once ("double-" or "triple-stopping") or arpeggios (“brok

Puccini By Arturo Rietti, 1906 Chrysanthemums , 1878 By Claude Monet In January 1890 Puccini received word of the death of his friend, Prince Amadeo di Savoia (Duca d’Aosta and King of Spain (1870–1873)). In a single evening he composed an elegy for string quartet in memory of his friend, titling it  Crisantemi  (“Chrysanthemums”), the name of the traditional Italian flower of mourning. Around the same time, possibly in 1890 as well, Puccini also wrote  Tre Minuetti  (“Three Minuets”) for string quartet. The first minuet was dedicated to Augusta Vittoria di Borbone, Princess of Capua; the second to “the distinguished violinist” Augusto Michelangeli; and the third to the conductor, Puccini’s lifelong friend, Paolo Carignani. While  Crisantemi  is by far the most programmed of Puccini’s quartet pieces, it is not often noted that it is intimately related to the lesser known  Tre Minuetti . Superficially, all four pieces are for string qu