Program
Mendelssohn
Trio in C minor No. 2
Haydn
Trio in g major, hob. 25 “Zingarese”
FEBRUARY 26th, 2009
Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
Trio Con Brio Copenhagen
This young trio has already been awarded the prestigious Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson international trio award in 2005 as well as first prize in the Premio Vittorio Gui (Italy) in 2003 and the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition (Norway) in 2003. “Perfection is a rare thing. There are few moments in our lives when we experience anything close to it…Trio con Brio took the stage and for two hours they swept away all barriers to perfection…” Des Moines Register.
Program Notes
Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Piano Trio in G major, Hob. XV, No. 25 “Zingarese”
The keyboard was Haydn’s touchstone for inspiration. His more than forty authenticated trios were written initially for the harpsichord and clavichord of his youth and later for the fortepiano that became available in the 1780’s. His concept of the genre evolved from the Baroque trio sonata to the fully conceived classical style. The G major Piano Trio is one of the 15 late trios written between 1794 and 1797 during his second visit to London and were all clearly intended for the piano rather than the harpsichord. Written with the example of Mozart’s trios that had granted the violin and cello greater independence before him, Haydn adhered to the traditional concept of an accompanied sonata with its prominent keyboard role and limited string parts. The virtuoso element of the “London” trios was encouraged by “the keyboard skills of two ladies resident in that city, who were particularly close friends of Haydn – Rebecca Schroeter (the dedicatee of the G Major trio) and Theresa Bartolozzi (née Jensen).”
The first movement of the G major Trio, marked Andante, begins with a two part theme of classical elegance followed by four variations. The first and third variations are in the keys of G minor and E minor. The latter features elaborate arpeggiated flourishes by the violin. The second movement marked Poco Adagio is unusual for its setting in the key of E major, an interval of a third below G major, the home key of the Trio. This was a device that would prove attractive in the future to Beethoven. The movement is in three parts, the piano takes the lead in the outer parts of the movement while the violin plays a melody of serene beauty in the middle section. The trio is named for the Finale marked Rondo all’Ongarese, tempo Presto. This brilliant movement requires little comment except to note the Csárdás, a characteristic Hungarian dance that occurs in a central episode.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)
Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
In November 1844, the 45 year old composer Felix Mendelssohn took leave of his family home in Berlin and for the first time in 10 years he was free of the court intrigues of that city and the hectic music making of Leipzig. He chose the relative tranquility of Frankfurt where “he could breathe freely and rediscover his muse in the company of his wife and children.” The piano trio in C minor was completed in April 1845 and presented to his sister Fanny Hansel on her birthday. The trio was published early in 1846 and dedicated to the violinist and composer Louis Spohr who joined Mendelssohn in public performances of the work. Six years separated the composition of this trio from his first piano trio, Op. 39 in D minor, but the two works show many features in common. Both works share the expressiveness of a minor key and are set in four movements; a Lied-style second movement and a characteristic third movement scherzo are framed by large-scale sonata and rondo outer movements.
The trio begins with a powerful sonata-form movement that features a sinuous flowing motive that recalls the opening of his HebridesOverture and creates an aura of mystery and expectation. The opening is echoed in a sweeping melody given to the strings with a similar arch-like shape. The serene second theme in the major key of E flat is introduced by the violin. The Andante espressivo is an example of Mendelssohn’s Lied ohne Worte. The solo piano begins with a chordal melody followed by the strings that transform the movement into a beautiful dialogue between the violin and cello. The third movement is characteristic of Mendelssohn’s elfin-like scherzos. The composer, himself a virtuoso pianist, in a letter to his sister described it as “a trifle nasty to play.” The weighty finale is a distinctive type of rondo based on three themes. It begins with the cello presenting a dramatic theme that starts with a dissonant intervallic leap of a ninth. The agitated music leads to a calmer second theme. Midway into the movement the piano introduces a chorale which alludes to Luther’s hymn, Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ presented in five phrases interspersed with fragments of the movement’s opening theme. The climax of the movement combines the chorale with the principal theme in a triumphant C major coda.
Program notes by James L. Franklin, M.D.The Chicago Chamber Music Society
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