Today’s program is a delightful melding of cultures: a 19^th Century German chamber work has, among its performers, one who plays on an ancient Chinese instrument. Instead of a violin (or clarinet), it is a pipa which will be heard in the Beethoven trio to be played.

And just what is a pipa? The New Harvard Dictionary of Music (edited by Don Michael Randel, and published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986) offers the following, very thorough, description:

A pea-shaped, fretted, short-necked lute of China. Its four silk (more recently nylon) strings are usually tuned A D E A. The traditional model has 16 frets extending well up onto the body of the instrument; on more recent models there may be as many as 24. It is held upright, with its lower end resting on the player’s lap. The strings are plucked with the fingernails of the right hand using a variety of techniques to produce, for example, sustained rolls and percussive effects. The prototype of the p’i-p’a, a short lute played with a large plectrum, was brought to China from the Middle East in the 6^th Century and survives in the biwa of Japan. Unlike the ch’in (a kind of Chinese zither), the p’i-p’a has always been associated with popular entertainment. Today is played as a solo instrument, in ensembles, and as an accompaniment to song.

BEETHOVEN’S OPUS 11

“As close to a ‘blithe’ work as Beethoven ever came.” That is Irving Kolodin’s description of the composer’s Opus 11, written in 1797 - the fourth of Beethoven’s twelve trios for piano, violin, and ‘cello. In this case, it was a clarinet Beethoven designated originally – in 1797 - for what we hear most often as the violin part; he later indicated either clarinet or violin would do — and, as noted earlier, today we’re taking that a step further.

Again quoting Kolodin, “Unlike the (three) trios of Op. 1 (1794-5), which have a degree of fresh-from-the-country quality, Op. 11 is the work of a composer in full flight of a career that had already produced widespread admiration and recognition.”

The opening phrase of the first movement is used not only as a theme in its own right, but also as transition material between sections, and as an accompanying figure to newly introduced ideas.

Beethoven used the minuet-ish phrase which opens the second movement as thematic material in later works as well: the Septet, Op. 20, and the Piano Sonata No. 20, Op. 49, No. 2.

The last movement is a set of variations, ten of them, on an insouciant (one might almost say “hokey”) theme from the opera L’Amor marinaro by one Joseph Weigel. It is from an aria, Pria ch’io l’impegno magistral prenda, far vuo merenda (Before I take on this important task, I must have a snack). Trust us, it’s not worth going any further into the aria’s title; just enjoy Beethoven’s variations!

Among Beethoven’s noteworthy observations on the art of Music are the following:

“Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents.”

“…music is a higher revelation than all…wisdom and philosophy.”

“Music Is…Music Does…Music Means…knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.”

“Only the flint of a man’s mind can strike fire in music.”

THREE SIGHS AT THE GUAN PASS & CHINESE TAM-TAM AND DRUM

Originally written as a piece to be performed on the qin, Three Sighs at the Guan Pass was first heard in 1491 and was made popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D. - 1644 A.D.) Its lyrics were adopted from a poem entitled Farewell which was written by Wang Wei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) and was traditionally sung 3 times thus gaining the name “Three Sighs…”

The poem depicts a tale of forced exile and a friend’s sad farewell as he leaves for an unknown future.

“The morning rain of Wei city drenches the light dust.

The willow leaves near the inn appear to be greener

Let us toast one more time before departing, for after passing through

The West Gate, we, old friends, might never meet again.”

Today, you will hear this piece performed on the pipa and cello. The haunting tones of these instruments in duet aptly handle the melancholy of the poem’s lyrics. Listen for the heartfelt grief of the parting friends; experience the three sighs of this farewell.

In Lu Pei’s Chinese Tam-Tam and Drum, the happy melody imitates the sound of the tam-tam and drum.