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Bright SHENG
Dance Capriccio (12′)
Antonín DVOŘÁK
String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, American (25′)
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Lento
III. Moto vivace
IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo
Interval
César FRANCK
Piano Quintet in F minor (34′)
I. Molto moderato quasi lento – Allegro
II. Lento, con molto sentimento
III. Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco
Dance Capriccio is inspired by the dance folk music of Sherpa, a small ethnic group (population ca. 150,000) mostly living in western Nepal, in the high mountains of the Himalayas. In Tibetan language, Sherpa means ‘people of the east’, as it is believed Sherpa moved from eastern Tibet to their current site centuries ago. Sherpa are regarded as excellent mountaineers and guides for expeditions of the Himalayas, especially the Everest.
Sherpa language is essentially an atypical dialect of Tibetan. The same phenomenon is reflected in Sherpa folk music which is similar to Tibetan but with its distinctive characters and twists of melodic turns. Like the Tibetans, Sherpa people love to dance and, along with love songs and drinking songs, dance music is an important genre among Sherpa folk music.
In Dance Capriccio, I try to capture the various characters of Sherpa Dance, from slow to fast, tender to raucous even wild.
This work is dedicated to Maxine and Stuart Frankel, my dear friends, and passionate patrons and promoters for arts and art education.
— Bright Sheng
Dance Capriccio is commissioned by the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation in honor of Lois Beznos, the President of Chamber Music Society of Detroit. The work is written for Peter Serkin and the Shanghai String Quartet who premiered the work on February 11, 2012, at the Seligman Performing Arts Center in Detroit.
Antonín Dvořák accepted the position of Director at the New York Conservatory of Music in 1891, partly to serve as a prominent European figurehead and partly to help establish an American school of composition, supported by philanthropist Mrs. Jeannette Thurber. Although an opera on the theme of Hiawatha was proposed, it was never completed. During his time at the Conservatory, Dvořák was influenced by African American spirituals, especially through the works of student Harry T. Burleigh.
In June 1893, Dvořák composed his String Quartet Op. 96 in Spillville, Iowa, a small Czech-speaking town he visited through Josef Kovařík, a former Prague violin student who had become Dvořák’s secretary. Spillville’s peaceful environment, including the hospitality of Kovařík’s family, inspired Dvořák to write the quartet quickly and with satisfaction, completing it in just under two weeks.
Unlike his Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” the quartet was not given a formal subtitle by Dvořák, though it is often called the “American” Quartet. It premiered privately in Spillville with Dvořák and members of the Kovařík family performing, and its first professional performance was by the Kneisel Quartet in Boston on January 1, 1894.
I. Allegro ma non troppo
The first movement, Allegro ma non troppo, opens with a bright pentatonic theme introduced by the viola, supported by a shimmering accompaniment. The movement features optimistic melodies reminiscent of the “New World” Symphony, with themes that are simple yet richly developed.
II. Lento
The second movement, Lento, presents a slow, expressive melody in A minor, believed to be inspired by African American spirituals or Native American songs. It is deeply emotional, with a more active middle section before the main theme returns.
III. Molto vivace
The third movement, Molto vivace, is lively and rhythmic, featuring syncopated themes and melodic fragments inspired by bird songs Dvořák heard in Spillville. The mood shifts to a minor key in the middle section before returning to the energetic opening.
IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo
The finale, Vivace ma non troppo, is a spirited rondo with dance-like rhythms that evoke both Eastern European folk music and American influences. It includes lyrical chorale-like passages and concludes with a joyful, almost symphonic flourish.
Dvořák’s “American” Quartet blends his Bohemian roots with the musical spirit of his new surroundings, creating one of the most beloved chamber works in the repertoire.
César Franck is chiefly remembered as an organ composer, celebrated for his extraordinary improvisational skill and his over thirty-year tenure at the Parisian church of Sainte-Clotilde. However, his first instrument was the piano, on which he demonstrated such talent that his ambitious, sometimes exploitative father pushed him into a career as a touring virtuoso. Franck was also obliged to compose salon pieces on demand, experiences that may have influenced the serious character of his later works and perhaps explain his nearly 40-year hiatus from composing for piano solo or chamber music.
A key impetus for Franck’s Piano Quintet was the founding of the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871, which aimed to promote French instrumental music. The Quintet was dedicated to Camille Saint-Saëns, who also performed as the pianist at its premiere in 1880.
I. Molto moderato quasi lento – Allegro
The work opens with the first violin’s piercing cry, supported by the strings, followed by a comparatively calm piano entrance. The strings return with heightened intensity, establishing a tension that permeates the movement. Its power derives from the development of just two thematic ideas, with Franck’s constant harmonic and textural shifts creating an atmosphere of instability. The piano’s agitated passages provoke equally intense responses from the strings, culminating in a dramatic interplay resembling a contest. This emotional intensity has led to speculation that the Quintet was inspired by a rumoured affair between Franck and his pupil Augusta Holmès.
II. Lento, con molto sentimento
The second movement, marked Lento con molto sentimento, unfolds in delicate A minor with yearning string lines and restrained passion.
III. Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco
The final movement, marked Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco, introduced by the second violin, presents a disquieting and vibrant soundscape, one of the most striking in the piano quintet repertoire. The persistent oscillation between major and minor tonalities destabilizes the music’s narrative. While cyclic thematic recurrence reflects Franck’s compositional style, the overriding effect is its profound emotional impact. Even Franz Liszt reportedly found the Quintet’s intensity startling, a tension maintained until the work’s conclusion.
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine and “the next Guarneri Quartet” by the Chicago Tribune, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet is one of the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. The group’s awards include a stunning sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Its honors include the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award. The Dover Quartet is the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music and Quartet in Residence at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music.
The Dover Quartet’s 2024-25 season includes premiere performances throughout North America of newly commissioned works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a leading composer of American Indian classical music; collaborative performances with preeminent artists that include pianists Michelle Cann, Marc-André Hamelin, and Haochen Zhang; and tours to Europe and Asia. Recent collaborators of the sought-after ensemble include Leif Ove Andsnes, Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Ray Chen, Anthony McGill, Edgar Meyer, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, and Davóne Tines. The quartet has also recently premiered works by Mason Bates, Steven Mackey, Marc Neikrug, and Chris Rogerson.
The Dover Quartet’s highly acclaimed three-volume recording, Beethoven Complete String Quartets (Cedille Records), was hailed as “meticulously balanced, technically clean-as-a-whistle and intonationally immaculate” (The Strad). The quartet’s discography also includes Encores (Brooklyn Classical), a recording of 10 popular movements from the string quartet repertoire; The Schumann Quartets (Azica Records), which was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance; Voices of Defiance: 1943, 1944, 1945 (Cedille Records); and an all-Mozart debut recording (Cedille Records), featuring Michael Tree, the late, long-time violist of the Guarneri Quartet. The quartet’s recording of Steven Mackey’s theatrical-musical work Memoir, recorded with the percussion group arx duo and narrator Natalie Christa Rakes, was released on Bridge Records in August 2024. A recording of the Tate commissions and Dvořák’s String Quartet in F major, Op. 96 (“American”) will be released in 2025 on Curtis Studio, the record label of the Curtis Institute of Music.
The Dover Quartet draws from the lineage of the distinguished Guarneri, Cleveland, and Vermeer quartets. Its members studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. They were mentored extensively by Shmuel Ashkenasi, James Dunham, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley. The Dover Quartet was formed at Curtis in 2008; its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber.
The Dover Quartet proudly endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings.
Since his gold medal win at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, Haochen Zhang has captivated audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of deep musical sensitivity, fearless imagination, and spectacular virtuosity. In 2017, Haochen received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognizes talented musicians with the potential for a major career in music.
Highlights of this season include his recital debut at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, tours with the Munich and Hong Kong philharmonics, and reengagements with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony. Haochen was appointed as Artist-in-Residence at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing which includes an Asian tour with the NCPA Orchestra and concerts of the complete Liszt and Rachmaninov concertos. Haochen has already appeared with many of the world’s leading festivals and orchestras including the BBC Proms with Long Yu and the China Philharmonic; the Munich Philharmonic with the late Lorin Maazel in a sold-out tour in Munich and China; The Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Sydney Symphony and David Robertson in a China tour; and the NDR Hamburg and Thomas Hengelbrock in a tour of Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai.
In recent seasons, Haochen debuted with the New York Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Swiss Romande Orchestra, Santa Cecelia Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony. He has perfomed with the Filarmonica della Scala, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Staatskapelle Berlin, and toured Asia with The Philadelphia Orchestra. In October 2017, Haochen gave a concerto performance at Carnegie Hall with the NCPA Orchestra, which was followed by his recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.
Haochen is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied under Gary Graffman. He has also been studying periodically with Andreas Haefliger in Vienna. He was previously trained at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Shenzhen Arts School, where he was admitted in 2001 at the age of 11 to study with Professor Dan Zhaoyi.
