Notes for the Concert of October 18, 2023 - NOW DECEMBER 6, 2023
Maddalena Lombardini-Syrmen (Venice, 1745-1818)
String Quartet No. 2
Maddalena Lombardini-Syrmen was one of very few women composers who were able to compose and be published under their own name. Her husband supported her completely, and most likely help defend her against the “masculine turf” composers imagined that they owned.
She is Classical and lived at the same time as Joseph Haydn. Her style is distinctly Italian, gracious and energetic. She was born in Venice to poverty-stricken parents who were noble by birth. She began her studies in the San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti (one of the four great hospices which trained orphaned girls in music) at the age of seven, hoping to become a professional violinist. She was so advanced that Giuseppe Tartini took her as a student and paid her tuition at the orphanage himself.
In 1767 she married the renowned violinist Ludovico Sirmen (Syrmen). A critic in Torino wrote, “She won the hearts of all the people of Torino with her playing . . . . I wrote old Tartini with the good news, it will make him all the happier . . .” In 1771 her violin concerto won rave reviews in London. She truly established herself as a brilliant and gifted composer. This quartet is one of six she composed in 1769; it was published in Paris and later in London.
Giovanni Battista Cirri (Forli, 1724-1808)
Duetto Op. 8, No. 8 for two violoncelli
Giovanni Battista Cirri was born in Forli in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. He was admitted to Holy Orders in 1739 but decided to become a professional musician. He began his career in Paris but moved to London in 1764 and was employed as chamber musician to the Duke of York and Albany, and director of music to the Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. A cellist, he wrote eight duets for two celli for “His Most Serene Highness the Prince of Brunswick" in 1766. He performed regularly in London, including appearances with the 8-year-old Mozart in his first and then in his final concert in London, and in the Bach-Abel Concerts which were very popular at the time.
Niccolo' Paganini (Genoa, 1782 - Nice, 1840)
Notturno No.4
The Paganini is only four minutes long. It has a very short introduction, a lyrical section and then a very spirited final section. Since it is essentially a miniature, I didn’t list the tempo changes in the printed program. Nancy feels it will just cause confusion. She will talk about it at the concert of course, and explain the various sections. Paganini was not only famous for virtuoso violin works and especially his Caprices, but also for many smaller works of great melodic beauty. This is one of his miniatures, each tiny section filled out with lovely sounds.
Luigi Boccherini (Lucca, 1743-Madrid, 1805)
Cello Quintet
Luigi Boccherini can be said to have conquered Spain. Italian music was all the rage there. When he visited Spain in 1761, Spain certainly conquered him; he fell in love with the country and stayed there for the rest of his life. In 1770 he was in the employ of Infante Luis Antonio of Spain, the younger brother of King Charles III.
Boccherini flourished at the royal court until the King found one passage which didn’t meet with his approval. He ordered Boccherini to remove it. Boccherini, normally the most good-natured and good-humored man, perhaps exercised too much good humor and, instead of removing the passage, had it played twice. The Kind fired him. He and the Infante then moved to Arenas de San Pedro in Avila, where he wrote many of his most famous works, including this quintet.
Boccherini was perhaps the finest cellist of his day and delighted in writing chamber works which showed off his great technical powers. He composed about 100 quintets of one kind or another, many of them for two violoncelli (some for guitar or piano). This quintet is distinctly for two violoncelli and has them paired together or has one paired with another stringed instrument for a delightful variety of textures. It contains one of his most beloved and best-known pieces, the Minuetto, a gem of simplicity and beauty.
Maddalena Lombardini-Syrmen (Venice, 1745-1818)
String Quartet No. 2
Maddalena Lombardini-Syrmen was one of very few women composers who were able to compose and be published under their own name. Her husband supported her completely, and most likely help defend her against the “masculine turf” composers imagined that they owned.
She is Classical and lived at the same time as Joseph Haydn. Her style is distinctly Italian, gracious and energetic. She was born in Venice to poverty-stricken parents who were noble by birth. She began her studies in the San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti (one of the four great hospices which trained orphaned girls in music) at the age of seven, hoping to become a professional violinist. She was so advanced that Giuseppe Tartini took her as a student and paid her tuition at the orphanage himself.
In 1767 she married the renowned violinist Ludovico Sirmen (Syrmen). A critic in Torino wrote, “She won the hearts of all the people of Torino with her playing . . . . I wrote old Tartini with the good news, it will make him all the happier . . .” In 1771 her violin concerto won rave reviews in London. She truly established herself as a brilliant and gifted composer. This quartet is one of six she composed in 1769; it was published in Paris and later in London.
Giovanni Battista Cirri (Forli, 1724-1808)
Duetto Op. 8, No. 8 for two violoncelli
Giovanni Battista Cirri was born in Forli in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. He was admitted to Holy Orders in 1739 but decided to become a professional musician. He began his career in Paris but moved to London in 1764 and was employed as chamber musician to the Duke of York and Albany, and director of music to the Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. A cellist, he wrote eight duets for two celli for “His Most Serene Highness the Prince of Brunswick" in 1766. He performed regularly in London, including appearances with the 8-year-old Mozart in his first and then in his final concert in London, and in the Bach-Abel Concerts which were very popular at the time.
Niccolo' Paganini (Genoa, 1782 - Nice, 1840)
Notturno No.4
The Paganini is only four minutes long. It has a very short introduction, a lyrical section and then a very spirited final section. Since it is essentially a miniature, I didn’t list the tempo changes in the printed program. Nancy feels it will just cause confusion. She will talk about it at the concert of course, and explain the various sections. Paganini was not only famous for virtuoso violin works and especially his Caprices, but also for many smaller works of great melodic beauty. This is one of his miniatures, each tiny section filled out with lovely sounds.
Luigi Boccherini (Lucca, 1743-Madrid, 1805)
Cello Quintet
Luigi Boccherini can be said to have conquered Spain. Italian music was all the rage there. When he visited Spain in 1761, Spain certainly conquered him; he fell in love with the country and stayed there for the rest of his life. In 1770 he was in the employ of Infante Luis Antonio of Spain, the younger brother of King Charles III.
Boccherini flourished at the royal court until the King found one passage which didn’t meet with his approval. He ordered Boccherini to remove it. Boccherini, normally the most good-natured and good-humored man, perhaps exercised too much good humor and, instead of removing the passage, had it played twice. The Kind fired him. He and the Infante then moved to Arenas de San Pedro in Avila, where he wrote many of his most famous works, including this quintet.
Boccherini was perhaps the finest cellist of his day and delighted in writing chamber works which showed off his great technical powers. He composed about 100 quintets of one kind or another, many of them for two violoncelli (some for guitar or piano). This quintet is distinctly for two violoncelli and has them paired together or has one paired with another stringed instrument for a delightful variety of textures. It contains one of his most beloved and best-known pieces, the Minuetto, a gem of simplicity and beauty.
