2012-2013 Program Offerings
Before They Were Famous
Beethoven’s very first opus is comprised of three piano trios in which we can hear the seeds of the playfulness, heroism and grim passion to come. In his C minor trio in particular, the listener can experience both the legacy of Haydn and specific elements that would become the trademark of Beethoven’s later style. Similarly, Chopin and Debussy were innovators of musical language, but both of their piano trios were composed in the styles of their predecessors. Chopin grew up during the ‘brillante’ period, and accordingly his trio is filled with gorgeous melodies for the strings and virtuoso passage-work for the piano. A young Debussy was encouraged by Mme. Von Meck, Tchaikovsky’s famous correspondent, to compose a piano trio; for 100 years the piece was unknown and the only evidence of this work was in one of Von Meck’s letters. The trio was discovered in the 1980s, and is representative of Debussy’s approach to late French Romanticism.
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Works to be performed on the “Before They Were Famous” program include:
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1 #3
Claude Debussy, Piano Trio in G Major
Frédéric Chopin, Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 8
Struggle and Ease
Camille Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy, a master of the craft of composition, and was called “the greatest organist in the world” by Franz Liszt. The ease with which Saint-Saëns traveled the musical landscape was unparalleled, and allowed him to produce music, such as his Trio No. 1 in F Major, graced with charm, wit, and sophisticated form—even if great emotional depth was mostly beyond his reach. Robert Schumann, on the other hand, struggled with his instrument, with his craft, with his career choices and even his sanity. Yet,through these struggles, he was able to create some of the most intense and profound music of the 19thcentury, including his Piano Trio #1 in D minor. Meanwhile, Dmitri Shostakovich possessed both the skill and the depth of feeling to create important and lasting works, but he struggled against a musical bureaucracy that might kill him if his compositions did not reflect party ideology. His Piano Trio in E minor is a chameleon of propaganda, personal grief and double meaning.
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Works to be performed on the “Struggle and Ease” program include:
Robert Schumann, Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 63
Dmitri Shostakovich, Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 67
Camille Saint-Saëns, Piano Trio in F Major, Op. 18
10 Years and 10,000 Miles Apart
Usually one would hesitate to program two pieces written within ten years of each other in the very heart of the Romantic era—but although close in time, Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio #2 in C minor and Bedřich Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor are worlds apart. Mendelssohn was an original insider—a child prodigy, a master by his teens, flourishing at the very center of the well-established German tradition. Composed in 1845, his Piano Trio in C minor alternates between controlled fury and charm, grace and wit. Smetana was an outsider—he dreamed of being “a Mozart in composition and a Liszt in technique” but struggled with his schooling, and he aspired to create a Czech musical tradition to rival that of Germany. Composed ten years after Mendelssohn’s C minor trio, and one year after the death of a favorite daughter, Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor is raw and powerful, a lunatic combination of soaring melodies, nationalism and private grief.
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Works to be performed on the “10 years and 10,000 miles apart” program include:
Bedřich Smetana, Piano Trio in G Minor
Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66
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Current & Recent Programs
Their Roots are Showing
Antonin Dvořák had great success importing eastern European conceits into the western European classical tradition. Rather than using the traditional ‘sonata’ schema, his fourth piano trio is rooted in the Ukranian idea of ‘Dumky’ and established its form through the juxtaposition of wildly different emotions. When Dvořák came to America, he suggested that American composers should look to their own indigenous music—especially that of Native Americans and African Americans—in order to find their musical voice. Arthur Foote was a New England composer who, unlike many of his peers, never traveled to Europe to study; although his music is strongly Wagnerian, Native American elements and proto-jazz ideas assume a prominent role in his second piano trio. Nearly 100 years after Dvořák made his suggestion, Paul Schoenfield continued the tradition of finding musical inspiration close to home: Café Music is full of references to American music, from ragtime and big band to movie music and blues.
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Works performed on the “Their Roots are Showing” program include:
Arthur Foote, Piano Trio in Bb Major, Op. 65
Paul Schoenfield, Café Music
Antonin Dvořák, Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 90 “Dumky”
With a Little Help From Their Friends
Beethoven’s music aspired to the most lofty realms of human emotion—the pinnacles of nobility, heroism and passion. His personal life, however, was not so ideal and was characterized by conflict and questionable judgment—which makes Beethoven’s relationship with the Archduke Rudolph all the more special. A friend, student and patron, the Archduke Rudolph inspired Beethoven to compose some of his most touching and care-free music. In contrast, Tchaikovsky’s relationship with Anton Rubenstein was much more fraught. Rubenstein was the founder of Russia’s first conservatory and constantly knocked heads with Tchaikovsky, Russia’s first professional composer. When Nicolai Rubenstein, Anton’s brother, came to Tchaikovsky’s aid, a friendship was struck that lasted until the former’s untimely death. In tribute, Tchaikovsky began the Russian compositional tradition of writing a piano trio as an elegy for a departed friend, a canvas on which to paint the monumental emotions he felt for his friend and mentor.
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Works performed on the “With a Little Help From Their Friends” program include:
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in Bb Major, Op. 97
Peter Tchaikovsky, Piano Trio in A minor
(photo by Julia Newman) |
Programs