NotaBene: Mozart, Dvořák, Hindemith

Mozart composed the Trio KV 498 for his friend, the clarinetist Anton Stadler, and his student, the pianist Franziska von Jacquin, joining them for the domestic premiere to perform the viola part. The nickname "Kegelstatt" (Skittles) only appeared in the Köchel catalogue in 1862 and appears to be a misunderstanding: the note "while playing skittles" actually referred to a different work. However, the moniker stuck and harmonizes well with the spirit of the music—unpretentious, written for friends, and performed within their intimate circle.

Antonín Dvořák’s Terzetto for two violins and viola is chamber music in the most literal sense: domestic music intended for the enjoyment of close companions. Dvořák composed it for his amateur neighbors.

Paul Hindemith’s quartet represents a completely different mood. The composer began writing the work aboard the steamship Hamburg en route from New York to Europe and completed it in Frankfurt in April 1938—just as he was emigrating from Nazi Germany to Switzerland. The slow movement of this quartet is among the most passionate and intense pages in all of his chamber music.

The program spans nearly two centuries, yet remains profoundly chamber-like in spirit: music written for specific people in specific circumstances, capturing a unique sense of a living performance moment.