The Menzies/Endres Duo - made up of violin and viola player Mark Menzies and pianist Michael Endres - performed this concert at St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Wellington, in June 2023.
Mark Menzies and Michael Endres Photo: Waikanae Music Society
New Zealand -born Mark Menzies has established a world-wide reputation as a violist and violinist, pianist and conductor. He’s appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall, and Disney Hall in Los Angeles. After living and working in the US for more twenty five years, In 2016, he moved back to New Zealand to take up a position at the University of Canterbury as Professor of Music & Head of Performance.
German pianist Michael Endres has been described by leading US critic Richard Dyer as “one of the most interesting pianists recording today.” He’s performed around the world as both soloist and chamber music partner, and has an extensive award-winning discography under his belt. Michael Endres now lives with his wife Susan in Rangiora near Christchurch
Gramophone Magazine called Endres “an outstanding Schubert interpreter”. And it’s a Schubert piece we’ll be hearing Endres and Menzies perform first in this concert.
Schubert’s intense Rondo in B minor is sometimes referred to as “Rondo brilliant”. It was written in 1826 to provide virtuosic repertoire for the Czech violinist Josef Slavík. Both the violin and piano parts are challenging - no doubt partly thanks to the creative challenge Schubert set himself - but prove an exhilarating ride for both performer and listener.
The main theme of this Rondo is an obvious reference to the first movement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata—which we also have to look forward to later in this concert. Schubert uses this arresting idea to create a spacious and elaborate Rondo that stands in stark contrast to the taut obsessiveness of Beethoven’s own opening movement.
At the heart of Schnittke’s epic Violin Sonata No 2 (quasi una sonata) are references to music by other composers. Even the title is a riff on Beethoven’s practice to call some of his piano sonatas quasi una fantasia—for which Beethoven suggested a liberation from classical-era formalities in favour of more expressive choices.
Schnittke’s work was composed in 1968, when late twentieth century music had an abundance of expressive choices at its disposal. So the message in Schnittke’s ‘quasi una sonata’ is the opposite of Beethoven’s idea: a kind of titanic struggle to contain an abundance of expressive choices into a more disciplined structure; an attempt to stuff the expressive genie back into the bottle …
Salina Fisher originally wrote Mono no aware for cello and piano in 2019, then created this version we’re about to hear for viola and piano in 2020.
She writes, “Mono no aware is a Japanese concept that refers to the transience of existence, and a melancholic appreciation that accompanies this. Perhaps most commonly associated with mono no aware is the ephemeral beauty of cherry blossoms, the appeal of which is heightened by an awareness of their fragility and inherent impermanence. Accepting this impermanent and uncertain nature of life helps us to recognise the beauty of fleeting moments, and of change. This piece reflects on my relationship with this concept during a time of significant change in my life.”
With his Sonata No 9, Kreutzer sonata, written in 1803, Beethoven completely upended what a violin sonata should be. Before this, a violin sonata was more or less a piano sonata with a violin taking on a subservient obligato part. But right from the start of the Kreutzer sonata we hear the violin playing an unaccompanied phrase, answered by the piano—a shift in the role of the violin so it’s no longer merely a supplement to a piano solo. This paved the way for the violin sonata to become more of a showpiece for the violinist.
The Sonata No 9, was premiered in 1803. Beethoven played the piano himself, with George Bridgetower – a British violinist of African descent – on violin. Beethoven wrote this sonata for Bridgetower, and originally dedicated it to him. But after they had a falling out he rededicated it to an even more famous violinist of the day - Rudolph Kreutzer.
Despite the sonata being nicknamed after him, Kreutzer apparently scorned the composition, and never performed it. His own very tame compositions and playing style were about as far away as you can get from the highly flammable world of Beethoven’s sonata.
Producer/Engineer: Darryl Stack
Recorded at St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Wellington on 18 June 2023
