{"id":109466,"date":"2024-11-14T12:21:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T17:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=109466"},"modified":"2024-11-14T17:23:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T22:23:39","slug":"preview-eybler-quartet-celebrate-20th-anniversary-season-release-newly-rediscovered-franz-weiss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/11\/14\/preview-eybler-quartet-celebrate-20th-anniversary-season-release-newly-rediscovered-franz-weiss\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | The Eybler Quartet Celebrate 20th Anniversary Season With Release Of Newly Rediscovered Franz Weiss"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Eybler Quartet (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With their eighth studio album, Franz Weiss Two String Quartets\/Deux Quatuors \u00e1 cordes, op. 8 \u201cRazumovsky\u201d, the Eybler Quartet bring to light music that has been gathering dust for about two centuries. The album is available officially on November 29, and it\u2019s also part of the quartet\u2019s 20th anniversary celebrations.<\/p>\n

The paths of Austrian violist, violinist and composer Franz Weiss (1778 to 1830) and that of Ludwig von Beethoven would cross in the court of Count Razumovsky in the early 1800s. There, Weiss was the violist in a string quartets led by Ignaz Schuppanzigh. Initially an informal ensemble, they performed weekly for Prince Lichnowsky, a chamberlain who became famous for his love of music. He was on friendly terms with the likes of Mozart and Beethoven.<\/p>\n

When he joined Count Razumovsky’s court, Schuppanzigh seized the opportunity to become the Count\u2019s private string quartet. Weiss performed in the quartet for the Count from 1808 until 1815. Later, the quartet got back together in 1823. Weiss, in Schuppanzigh ensemble, premiered several of Beethoven\u2019s later string quartets, including Op. 59, the Razumovsky Quartets.<\/p>\n

Both Beethoven and Weiss wrote music for the Count, but while Beethoven\u2019s Razumovsky Quartets remain a well known and beloved part of the string repertoire, Weiss\u2019 lapsed into obscurity.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s something that the Eybler Quartet (Patricia Ahern, Margaret Gay, Patrick Jordan, and Julia Wedman) would like to change, true to the spirit of rediscovering the music of composers obscured by time, including their namesake, Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler. Violinists Julia Wedman and Patricia Ahern, and violist Patrick Jordan are also members of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Patrick Jordan about the project.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Eybler Quartet (Photo: Aleksandar Antonijevic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Franz Weiss Two String Quartets\/Deux Quatuors \u00e1 cordes, op. 8 \u201cRazumovsky\u201d<\/h2>\n

While he isn\u2019t well known to audiences, Jordan was aware of Weiss\u2019s work. \u201cI knew who he was as a performer,\u201d he said, being a fellow violist. \u201cIt\u2019s very niche knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Eybler Quartet is known for their practice of unearthing gems of forgotten music, and as such, they get a lot of emails with suggestions of obscure composers to check out from the 18th and 19th centuries.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where professor Dr. Mark Ferraguto from Penn State University comes in. The only source that remained for the scores was an engraving of a set of parts that was published in 1814, an engraving with a murky origin. Ferraguto was in the middle of his own project to release a new published scholarly edition of the Weiss quartets. As an organist, he also wanted some pointers on the string music, and emailed the Eyblers in May of 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that Franz Weiss had written any quartets,\u201d Patrick says. He was familiar with Ferraguto and his work, but they’d never met. \u201cFrankly, I get a lot of emails like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many people, in other words, are enthusiastic about their niche \u2014 but will it prove interesting to others beyond that world? Patrick\u2019s initial answer was non-committal, but all that changed when they got the scores and began to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did read these quartets, and they were a revelation.\u201d Most of the cold call requests aren\u2019t acted on. \u201cWe don\u2019t have unlimited time to learn new stuff. Frankly, it\u2019s a big investment in time to really learn new music.\u201d It\u2019s not only learning the notes or a specific piece, it\u2019s about getting to know the composer\u2019s voice from scratch. \u201cIf the music itself hadn\u2019t sold us […] we would not have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s a lot of work, the discovery of a composer is worth the effort. \u201cIt\u2019s a fascinating process for us,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in this niche world for a long time. You don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The world premiere performances of the quartets took place in January 2023, coinciding with the publication of the modern edition of the scores from A-R Editions.<\/p>\n

Weiss and Romanticism<\/h3>\n

Learning Weiss\u2019s work offered a deeper understanding of the Western music of that era. As Patrick points out, the familiar repertoire is essentially a cherry picking of composers and works, and doesn\u2019t speak to the musical ecosystem that each grew from. Fleshing out the blanks offers unique insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning this voice of Franz Weiss has reshaped my understanding of where Schubert comes from, because of the harmonic language Weiss used,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s no chance that Schubert didn\u2019t know about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

It reframed his understanding Romantic music. \u201cSeveral people on hearing these pieces have said, wow, it sounds like Beethoven and Schubert\u2019s love child!\u201d he laughs, pointing out that Weiss was much older than Schubert.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the influence runs both ways,\u201d he adds, noting that a passage in Weiss\u2019s work reminds him strongly of one in Beethoven\u2019s Op. 103, the String Quartet in E-flat major \u2014 which was written 15 years later. Knowing what Beethoven himself listened to during his lifetime offers a glimpse of the musical environment he worked in. \u201cEverybody works in a community,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Patrick notes that in a eulogy for Franz Weiss on his death in 1830, newspaper accounts quoted Beethoven\u2019s comment that the Schuppanzigh Quartet were the musicians who understood his work the best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has really changed my grasp of the late Beethoven quartets,\u201d Jordan says, noting the viola part in particular. Weiss was a virtuoso, and wrote challenging string parts. \u201cThey\u2019re really hard,\u201d he remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t understand the work around them, you don\u2019t understand how special their music was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launch Event<\/h3>\n

There will be two CD launch events in Toronto on November 29, and in St. Catharines on November 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be a fun event,\u201d Patrick says.<\/p>\n

As the CD launch event, Dr. Mark Ferraguto will lead a presentation, with the Eybler Quartet performing selections from Franz Weiss String Quartets op. 8 nos. 1 & 2, and then a Q&A session, along with wine and cheese for the audience to enjoy.<\/p>\n