A Beethoven Celebration: The 10th Violin Sonata, “Serioso” Quartet, and “Archduke” Trio
From prayerful meditation and delicate lyricism to playful exuberance and tormented outbursts, Beethoven’s three consecutive masterpieces – Opus 95, 96 and 97 – offer a rich and fascinating musical journey that captures a time of transition in Beethoven’s life.
For this program of sonata duo, piano trio, and string quartet, Joseph Lin returns to the Howland Center for the first time since 2017, joined by his dear friends Helen Huang, Raman Ramakrishnan, Claire Bourg, and Natalie Loughran.
The concert is followed by a reception where you can meet the artists.
All are encouraged to attend.
This concert is generously co-sponsored by Mo and Benjia Morgenstern
L. van Beethoven
Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
String Quartet, No. 11 in F minor, Op. 95 (“Serioso”)
Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97 (“Archduke”)
Program subject to change.
Program Notes, by Joseph Lin.
This occasion to celebrate Beethoven by exploring three wonderful works together with friends has rekindled my fascination with time: lived time, historical time, and how music shapes and is shaped by time. These three pieces—his self-titled “Serioso” Quartet; his 10th and last sonata for piano and violin; and his last trio for piano, violin, and cello, known as the “Archduke”—were given consecutive opus numbers when published in 1816. All were composed a few years earlier: the quartet (Op. 95) in fall 1810, the trio (Op. 97) in early 1811, and the sonata (Op. 96) in late 1812. From the perspective of history, these pieces offer vivid and dynamic snapshots of a certain period in Beethoven’s life. Entering his 40s, Beethoven was already firmly established in European cultural circles; had these been his final works, they would have been culminating statements of grandeur, passion, tenderness, and playfulness capping a remarkable life in music. Placed in the context of what was yet to come, however, we sense in these pieces the complexity and potency of an artist still evolving.
For music that was brewing around the same time, these three works have remarkably different ways of treating time. The quartet and the trio seem almost diametrically opposed in that respect; the former is terse in its materials and compact in form, while the latter unfolds its noble narrative over a span of 40 minutes. The sonata takes a cue from both—little seeds of minimalist material are hidden in an expansive, lyrical arc. Was Beethoven experimenting with both extremes and somehow synthesizing the two? Listening to the different ways Beethoven manipulates time in his music, one feels him rebelling against time itself.
That rebellion emerges harmlessly enough as the sonata begins with a delicate trill evoking a bird call in nature. It is a lovely yet lonely ornament, almost out of time; trill figures are suspended over bar lines while harmony and pulse are fluid as both instruments gently rise and weave together in a celestial dance. When the music finally lands, it does so fitfully, seeming to prefer its lighter incarnation.
Such a weightless opening could not be further in concept and mood from the fiery unison of voices firmly establishing F Minor at the start of the quartet. And yet if the sonata is built on small ornaments strung together, we find Beethoven consumed similarly with compact elements in the quartet, its first theme delivered in a single measure, followed by that most emphatic punctuation mark: silence. Moreover, though one cannot imagine a more densely packed sound than the opening gut-punch of Op. 95, an upward pull is quickly felt in a shocking yet tender move to G-flat Major, followed by rising arpeggios in the cello that push the ensemble ever higher.
In the sonata, one may lose track of time in a florid stream of consciousness, but in the quartet, time is marked in small units punctuated by silence. Having explored the powerful duality of sound versus silence in the quartet, Beethoven turns to another mode of dramatic tension in the trio: the pull of desire versus patience. Bold, tender, and playful gestures come to life on a large canvas of classical proportions. Throughout the piece, we hear some of Beethoven’s most expansive themes; the opening of the first movement is particularly nuanced and far-reaching in its melody, with numerous motives giving rise to further themes. Time is filled and shaped by probing explorations of thematic material. Through extended variations, pointillistic pizzicati, and lengthy codas, the experience is a study in patience, happily rewarded at the end.
There is another related sense in which the “Archduke” Trio might be a study, one that builds upon the Op. 96 Sonata and sheds light on Beethoven’s relationship with the dedicatee of both pieces: Rudolph, the Archduke of Austria. The archduke was one of Beethoven’s most loyal patrons, sustaining him financially for nearly two decades; 14 compositions were dedicated to him, a testament to Beethoven’s enduring gratitude. Not only a patron, however, the archduke was also an accomplished student of Beethoven’s, and this fact may help us understand the nature of the pieces dedicated to him.
Beethoven composed the Op. 96 Sonata knowing that it would be first performed by Archduke Rudolph, together with the visiting French violinist Pierre Rode. One can hear a certain instructional spirit at times in the sonata, not only in its many scales and arpeggios, but also in the “brain teaser” passages that seem like good-natured challenges from teacher to student. While the sonata was written to be played by the Archduke, the Op. 97 Trio was premiered by Beethoven, who gave the first private and public performances with Ignaz Schuppanzigh (violin) and Joseph Linke (cello). With its grand piano part and large-scale form, the trio does not feel pedagogical in the same sense as the sonata. Yet in composing and performing the trio himself, Beethoven was perhaps modeling an aspirational goal for his student, with the nature of the music suggesting the patience needed to reach such heights of artistry.
Consequential turning points are often ironic: Beethoven’s performances of the “Archduke” Trio turned out to be his last as a pianist. His hearing loss had become too debilitating, and the decline in Beethoven’s playing was sadly apparent to those present at these performances. Faced with this painful reality, Beethoven’s compositional output also slowed in the years following 1812. He would not compose any more violin sonatas or piano trios, and after the “Serioso,” he did not return to string quartets for more than a decade. The spirit of patience that Beethoven imparted in the “Archduke” Trio was perhaps something that he, too, needed to learn.
It would take time, but coming to terms with his tragic hearing loss would eventually lead Beethoven to a place of both profound solitude and newfound artistic freedom. The prayerful voice we hear singing, tiptoeing, and dancing gently in the quiet moments of Op. 95, 96, and 97 would emerge even more powerfully a decade later, transcending the passionate individual and reaching outward toward humanity.
Joseph Lin
A renowned performer and teacher, Joseph Lin appears regularly throughout the U.S., Asia, and Europe. He was first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet from 2011 to 2018, and he continues to teach violin and chamber music at the Juilliard School. Lin’s recent projects include a collaboration with Robert Levin featuring Beethoven and Schubert on period instruments, performances of Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, Beethoven’s late string quartets, and the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Helen Huang at Juilliard. Marking the 300th year of Bach’s Violin Sonatas and Partitas in 2020, Lin presented complete cycles in Boston and Philadelphia. Recent seasons have included baroque and classical period instrument performances on both viola and violin. In 2025, Joseph Lin presents a special Beethoven program (Op. 95 “Serioso” Quartet, Op. 96 Sonata, and Op. 97 “Archduke” Trio) in numerous cities around the U.S.
From 2007 to 2011, Lin was a professor at Cornell University, where his projects included the inaugural Chinese Musicians Residency, as well as a collaboration with Cornell composers to study Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas and create new works inspired by Bach.
Lin was a founding member of the Formosa Quartet, which won the 2006 London String Quartet Competition. In 1996, he won first prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. In 1999, he was selected for the Pro Musicis Award and, in 2001, he won first prize at the inaugural Michael Hill Violin Competition in New Zealand. His recordings include the music of Korngold and Busoni with pianist Benjamin Loeb; an album of Debussy, Franck, and Milhaud with pianist Orion Weiss; and the complete unaccompanied works of Bach and Ysaÿe. His recording of Mozart’s A Major Violin Concerto with original cadenzas was released in 2017. With the Juilliard Quartet, he recorded Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and Elliot Carter’s Fifth Quartet, as well as the Quartet’s recent album of Beethoven, Davidovsky, and Bartók. During the summer season, he is a regular artist at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Marlboro festivals.
Joseph Lin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 2000. In 2002, he began an extended exploration of China, where he studied Chinese music, including the guqin, as a Fulbright scholar.
https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/lin-joseph
Helen Huang
Born in Japan of Taiwanese parents , Helen Huang has enjoyed to date a multi-faceted career as a soloist and chamber music player and has appeared with such orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Abroad she has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Helen developed a close relationship with Maestro Kurt Masur upon winning the Young People’s Competition, resulting in engagements with the New York Philharmonic and a recording contract with the Teldec record label. Known for immaculate technique and eloquent sensitivity, Helen is one of the youngest recipients of the Avery Fisher Career Grant. She especially enjoys chamber music, and has appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest, and Ravinia’s Steans Institute For Young Artists. She co-founded the Formosa Chamber Music Festival with the vision of bringing the art of chamber music playing to students in Taiwan.
Helen has several recordings with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic, including Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Mozart’s Piano Concertos K. 488 and K467, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. She also recorded an album titled “For Children” of works inspired by the theme of children. She collaborated with Cho-Liang Lin on a recording of the works of Georg Tintner released on the Naxos label as well as a recording of the music of Zhou Long with Cho-Liang Lin and Hai-Ye Ni, released on the Delos label.
Helen received the Arthur Rubinstein Prize upon graduating from the Juilliard School in 2004, where she was a student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. She went on to pursue her Master’s degree from Yale, where she studied with Peter Frankl. A dedicated teacher, she served on the faculty of the Juilliard PreCollege until 2022. She currently resides in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Huang
Raman Ramakrishnan
Cellist Raman Ramakrishnan enjoys performing chamber music, old and new, around the world. For two decades, as a founding member of the Horszowski Trio and the Daedalus Quartet, he toured extensively through North and South America, Europe, and Asia, and recorded for Bridge Records and Avie Records, including the complete piano trios of Robert Schumann and the complete string quartets of Fred Lerdahl. Mr. Ramakrishnan is currently an artist member of the Boston Chamber Music Society, and is on the faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music.
[Text Wrapping Break]Mr. Ramakrishnan has given solo recitals in New York, Boston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and has performed at Caramoor, at Bargemusic, with the Chicago Chamber Musicians, and at the Aspen, Bard, Charlottesville, Four Seasons, Kingston, Lincolnshire (UK), Marlboro, Mehli Mehta (India), Oklahoma Mozart, Portland, Skaneateles, and Vail Music Festivals. He has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and has performed, as guest principal cellist, with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a guest member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, he has performed in New Delhi and Agra, India and in Cairo, Egypt. He has served on the faculties of the Kneisel Hall, Norfolk, and Taconic Chamber Music Festivals, as well as in the Music Performance Program of Columbia University.
Mr. Ramakrishnan was born in Athens, Ohio and grew up in East Patchogue, New York. His father is a molecular biologist and his mother is the children’s book author and illustrator Vera Rosenberry. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard University and a Master’s degree in music from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers have been Fred Sherry, Andrés Díaz, and André Emelianoff. He lives in New York City with his wife, the violist Melissa Reardon, and their son. He plays a Neapolitan cello made by Vincenzo Jorio in 1837.
https://www.bard.edu/faculty/details/?id=3239
Claire Bourg
Violinist Claire Bourg has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many of the world’s
leading venues, such as Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Kimmel Center, and Jordan
Hall. Most recently, she was a soloist with the Camerata Bern in Hannover, as part of the
Joachim International Violin Competition. Ms. Bourg was granted the 2021 Luminarts
Fellowship, awarded second prize at the 2020 Barbash J.S. Bach Competition, and winner of the
New England Conservatory Competition. She performs regularly with Jupiter Symphony
Chamber Players, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Music for Food, Chameleon Arts Ensemble,
Curtis on Tour and currently serves as concertmaster of Symphony in C. A passionate chamber
musician, Claire has attended festivals such as Marlboro, Yellow Barn, Ravinia, Taos, among
others. A native of Chicago, Ms. Bourg’s primary teachers have been Miriam Fried, Pamela
Frank, Arnold Steinhardt, and Joseph Lin at the New England Conservatory, Curtis Institute of
Music and the Juilliard School, where she held a Kovner Fellowship. She is now pursuing her
Doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center with Mark Steinberg. Claire currently performs on a
violin by Zosimo Bergonzi of Cremona, c. 1770 on generous loan through Guarneri Hall NFP
and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins, Chicago.
Natalie Loughran
Twenty-six year old American violist Natalie Loughran is quickly establishing herself as one
of the most versatile young artists of our time. Natalie was awarded First Prize at the 2021
Primrose International Viola Competition, along with the Audience Award, as well as the
BIPOC Composer Prize for her arrangement and performance of William Grant Still’s
‘Mother and Child’. She has also appeared as a finalist for the 2020 Young Concert Artist
Auditions, and was awarded a special prize for her performance of the Bowen Viola Sonata
in C Minor at the Tertis International Viola Competition. Natalie has also been awarded with
the William Schuman prize for her outstanding leadership and achievement in music, from
the Juilliard School.
As the newest violist of the Castalian String Quartet, Natalie has appeared in many
internationally renowned chamber music series, including The Heidelberg Frühling
Musikfestival, 92NY, San Francisco Performances, and Dallas Chamber Music Society.
Additionally, she has performed extensively at Marlboro, Yellow Barn, The Perlman Music
Program Chamber Workshop, and Kronberg’s Chamber Music Connects the World. Natalie
has collaborated with renowned chamber musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida, Stephen
Hough, Itzhak Perlman, Dénes Várjon, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Tabea
Zimmermann, and Nobuko Imai.
In addition to solo performance and chamber music, Natalie holds a deep love of the
orchestral repertoire, and has worked as principal violist under the batons of Simon Rattle,
Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. She has performed with the Verbier
Festival Chamber Orchestra, under Gábor Takács-Nagy; toured internationally with the
Budapest Festival Orchestra, directed by Ivan Fischer; and performed regularly with the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.
Natalie earned her B.M. and M.M. in Viola Performance at The Juilliard School, under the
tutelage of Roger Tapping, Misha Amory, where she was a proud recipient of the Kovner
Fellowship. Natalie is continuing her professional studies at the Kronberg Academy with
Tabea Zimmermann.
Natalie plays on a 1976 viola by Sergio Peresson.
