Événement

Tolstoy and Music: Kreutzer Sonata

Mark Steinberg violin
Ignat Solzhenitsyn piano
Ariel Quartet

Illustrated talk by Ignat Solzhenitsyn

BEETHOVEN - Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 Kreutzer Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY - String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (2nd movement)
JANÁCEK - String Quartet No. 1 Kreutzer Sonata

Beethoven's "Kreutzer Sonata" for violin and piano (dedicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer, a French violinist who never performed it) is the centerpiece of Tolstoy's disturbing and controversial novel, "The Kreutzer Sonata." The novel in turn inspired the Czech composer, Leo Janácek, to write his eponymous, intense and feverish first string quartet.

Tolstoy, deeply responsive to music, had a particular passion for folk music (the second movement of Tchaikovsky's first quartet, based on a folk song from Tolstoy's childhood, brought tears to his eyes). However, he was highly selective about the works of Western composers. While Tolstoy admired Beethoven and was captivated by his music, he was also of the view that the composer had brought about the decline of musical art.

In "The Kreutzer Sonata", Tolstoy expresses his complex and controversial views on marriage and sexuality, focusing on the conflict between the main character, Pozdnyshev, and his unnamed wife, who plays Beethoven's sonata with a spirited violinist. While she becomes impassioned by the music, Pozdnyshev, believing himself deceived, is overcome by a jealous rage and murders his wife.

The musical narrative of Janácek's String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata", seems to mirror the unfolding marital tragedy of Tolstoy's novel, while the third movement of the quartet is modelled on the second theme of Beethoven's "Kreutzer Sonata."

Join us as we explore the unique connections between music and literature, and witness music become, in Tolstoy's words, "a shorthand of feelings."

Concert starts at 7.30pm and we invite you to a 7.00pm pre-concert reception which includes complimentary wine and snacks.