About the Fry street quArtet

Winners of the Millennium Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the First Prize at the Yellow Springs Competition, and prizewinners at the 2004 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the FSQ performs nationally and internationally. At Isaac Stern’s invitation the quartet made their 2001 Carnegie Hall debut in a performance that “spoke of precision, preparation, excitement, profound heritage, and ultimate satisfaction” (New York Concert Review). Their performance earlier that season at the 92nd Street Y was hailed by the New York Times as “a triumph of ensemble playing.” The FSQ made their European debut with a concert tour of the Balkans sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the U. S. State Department. In 2002, the Fry Street Quartet was appointed the Faculty Quartet in Residence at Utah State University’s Caine School of the Arts.www.frystreetquartet.com

joseph

string quArtet in D minor, op. 9, no. 4

string quArtet in F mAjor, op. 77, no. 2

string quArtet in D minor, op. 9, no. 4 (ca. 1770) 16:201. i. Allegro moderato 5:232. ii. Menuetto 3:313. iii. Adagio cantabile 4:404. iv. Presto 2:46

string quArtet in F mAjor, op. 77, no. 2 (1799) 25:015. i. Allegro moderato 7:156. ii. Menuetto 4:517. iii. Andante 7:118. iv. Finale 5:45

the Fry street quArtet

Jessica Guideri, violin

Rebecca McFaul, violin

Russell Fallstad, viola

Anne Francis, cello

joseph haydn (1732-1809) 41:21

Special thanks to Ray Kimber, Graemme Brown, Brett Terry, Aaron Hubbard, Eric Smigel, and Terril Neely for all their help with this project.

Rebecca McFaul, violin; Russell Fallstad, viola; Jessica Guideri, violin; Anne Francis, cello

This disc is our second recording project with Ray Kimber and Graemme Brown, who are proving tireless in their search for the ideal sound reproduction. They changed the acoustic signature of Austad Auditorium by covering the 1,800 seats with reflective panels made of 1/4" black foam core (the kind typically found in art and picture framing stores), and hanging drapery from the edge of the balcony to dampen the rear-wall reflection. It is a privilege to work with such innovative people, and the FSQ thanks Ray Kimber and Graemme Brown for another extraordinary experience. —FSQ

isomikeTM (“Isolated Microphones”) is an experimental acoustic baffle system, designed to address the interference of intrachannel sounds that results in compromised fidelity. For these 4-channel recordings, the microphones were suspended on four arms, separated by IsoMike baffles. Most baffles absorb sound from mid- to high-range frequen-cies; lower frequencies are more difficult to absorb. Here, the unique shapes of the IsoMike baffles are advantageous. As lower frequencies flow around the heart— or egg-shaped baffles, they are scattered, effectively dissipating their energy. Eliminating line-of-sight between the microphones seems to lower some fidelity robbing cancellations, which reveals a layer of extreme detail and a sense of increased sen- sitivity. We took great care, therefore, to reduce the noise level within the auditorium during the recordings. —Ray Kimber

reCorDing and mAstering equipment microphones DPA 3529A & Sennheiser MKH-800 preamp Millennia Media HV-3D custom a/d converters EMM Labs ADC8 MkIV recorders Genex GX9000 & Tascam DV-RA 1000daw Pyramix DSD d/a converters EMM Labs DAC8MkIV monitor speakers Lipinski Sound L707 monitor speakers Magnepan 20.1 monitor controller Grace Design M906 monitor amps PASS Labs X350.5 monitor headphones Sennheiser HD-650 cables KIMBER KABLE Select Series recording engineer Ray Kimber assistant engineers Aaron Hubbard and Brett Terry mastering Zen Mastering mastering engineer Graemme Brown

Recorded in the Austad Auditorium, Val A.Browning Center for the Performing Arts,Weber State University,Ogden,Utah.

A product of the traditional patronage system, Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was proud to serve a noble family for most of his career. During his last two decades, he experienced the early effects of the French Revolution, and as aristocratic patronage became tenuous he began to enjoy the privileges of a popular and independent composer. Haydn’s gradual transition from what was essentially a classical craftsman to a modern artist is reflected in the stylistic changes that took place in his 68 string quartets, a genre that he cultivated for almost fifty years. The quartets recorded here document two distinct stages of this transition: Op. 9, no. 4 shows Haydn as a talented and well-respected court musician undertaking his first “artful” quartets for intimate settings, and Op. 77, no. 2 displays a famous composer with a towering reputation writing for a wide and eager public.

In 1761, after a financially unstable period of freelance teaching, Haydn gratefully accepted what would become a thirty-year appointment with the Esterházy family, the most influential of the Hungarian nobility. Haydn was contractually obligated to provide Prince Nicolaus with an abundance of symphonies, chamber music (especially baryton trios, featuring an eccentric string instrument taken up by the prince), and eventually music for both the church and the theater. Curiously, there is no evidence of string quartet performances at the court during the early 1770s; there is no documentation to explain why Haydn composed the quartets of Opp. 9, 17, and 20 in quick succession. (It is speculated that he wrote them for private patrons in Vienna.) Nevertheless, Haydn considered these quartets his first true works in the genre.

There are striking differences between Haydn’s earliest quartets (Opp. 1 and 2), which were simple divertimentos written in the fashionable galant style, and those beginning with Op. 9. Haydn eliminates one of the minuets, thereby adopting the four-movement structure typically reserved for the venerable symphony. In fact, Op. 9, no. 4, the first quartet that Haydn wrote in a minor key, reflects the brooding Sturm und Drang style that he cultivated in his orchestral works at the time. Also in the new quartets is an increased emphasis on virtuosity, particularly that of the first violinist, who is often featured in the slow, lyrical movements. Finally, there is a propensity of imitative counterpoint and textural variety in the final movements, which in three of the Op. 20 quartets are genuine fugues. In other words, Haydn effectively elevated the string quartet from a genre of casual entertainment to one of sophisticated artistry.

But Haydn did not simply abandon the lighthearted galant style. One of his greatest musical achievements was the skillful combination of academic seriousness and folk-like playfulness, a duality that also marked his personal character, as one of his acquaintances, F.S. Silverstolpe, attests: “I discovered in Haydn as it were two physiognomies. One was penetrating and serious, when he talked about anything sublime . . . In the next moment this air of exaltation was chased away as fast as lightning by his usual mood, and he became jovial with a force that was visible in his features and even passed into drollery.” Haydn’s practice of including simple dance tunes along

with complex passages of strict counterpoint became regarded as the “high classical style,” and endeared his music to a diverse audience that extended well beyond the Esterházy court.

Greatly impacting both his growing popularity and his production of string quartets was the burgeoning industry of music publishing. According to the terms of his original contract with Esterházy, Haydn’s music was explicitly reserved “for the absolute use of his Highness.” While unauthorized editions of his music had been circulating abroad, it was not until the terms of his Esterházy contract were re-negotiated in 1779 that Haydn began to publish works through Artaria. When Haydn famously wrote that his Op. 33 quartets (1781) were “written in an entirely new and special style,” he was referring to the artful co-existence of the playful galant style and the strict severity of learned counterpoint. But his motivation behind the statement was as much a marketing strategy for its imminent publication as it was an artistic declaration. Haydn’s popularity in the 1780s and his “new style” went hand in hand: his audience grew enormously with his official publications, and he wrote accordingly to appease a vast public of Liebhaber und Kenner (“amateurs and connoisseurs”) who were not affiliated with the Esterházy court.

When Prince Nicolaus died in 1790, his son and successor Anton dismantled much of the court’s entertainment division. While still receiving a salary, Haydn bore no official duties and was free to travel. “This little bit of freedom,” he wrote in 1791, “how sweet it tastes! I had a good prince, but at times I was forced to be dependent on base souls. I often sighed for release; now I have it in some measure.” When Haydn was released, he was quickly captured by concert producer Johann Peter Salomon, who engaged the composer in a series of concerts in London. The composer had an enthusiastic reception in the vibrant city: “My arrival,” Haydn recalled, “caused a great sensation … I went the rounds of all the newspapers for three successive days. Everyone wants to know me.”

By the time Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795, he was a veritable celebrity throughout Europe, and he received a proper hero’s pageant in the large-scale productions of his celebrated oratorios The Creation and The Seasons. Otherwise focusing on sacred vocal music, Haydn composed ten string quartets, the only instrumental genre he developed during his final years in Vienna. The String Quartet in F, Op. 77, no. 2 (1799), dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz (later a patron of Beethoven), was Haydn’s last complete work in the medium, and exhibits the composer’s mature style at the crest of his popularity. Fragments of simple, folk-like themes pass fluidly between the players, textures vary wildly from simple homophony to dense polyphony, and most important, he masterfully achieves the intangible blend of seriousness and playfulness that marks not only his own, but everyone’s personal character. The recognition of this universal duality may account for Haydn’s well-deserved and everlasting popularity—his string quartets continue to delight an immense audience of Liebhaber und Kenner. —Eric Smigel

string quArtet in D minor, op. 9, no. 4 (ca. 1770) and string quArtet in F mAjor, op. 77, no. 2 (1799)