Trio Trilli - Music for Oboe & Clarinet - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

It was in 1842, his 'year of chamber music' that Robert Schumann took on the combination of violin, cello and piano for the first time. He seems to have decided against releasing the resulting Fantasiestücke as a fully-fledged piano trio, however, but later returned to the work, revising it for publication in 1850. The model here is not the large-scale, quasi-symphonic trios of Beethoven or Schubert - instead Haydn's characteristic trio textures spring to mind, especially in the first two movements where the cello largely follows the piano's left-hand bass line. By the time the Fantasiestücke was published, Schumann had already written two 'proper' piano trios, No. 1 in D minor and No. 2 in F major. According to the composer the second of these 'makes a friendlier and more immediate impression' but it is in fact the D minor trio that has long been the more popular passionate, mainly extrovert and bursting with fine thematic material it is the easiest to grasp on one hearing. Both works are filled to capacity with imitative writing, sometimes conspicuously so but often subtly as if on a subconscious level - an aspect that the members of the Kungsbacka Piano Trio, with more than 20 years of playing together, are able to make the most of.

At the heart of Trio Origo's repertoire are the earliest trios composed for clarinet, cello and piano. The origins of the repertoire lie in the 'Gassenhauer' Trio composed by Beethoven in 1797 for a clarinetist, probably Joseph Bähr, who also suggested to the composer that he use a hit tune - known as a 'Gassenhauer' - from a recent opera by Joseph Weigl. Beethoven (uncharacteristically, but with perhaps an eye on the work's future commercial success) duly obliged, and made Weigl's tune the basis for his theme-and-variations finale - but he also produced a version of the trio substituting the clarinet for the violin to ensure it's popularity. An adroit piece of reverse compositional engineering produced the Op.38 Trio from the Septet Op.20. The Septet was one of Beethoven's most popular early works, and resulted in a string of arrangements for smaller forces, most of them made by other hands, but the composer himself produced this arrangement for clarinet trio, which happily amplifies the solo instrument's prominence in the Septet. He never wrote a more joyous melody than the main subject of the first movement, and the work as a whole finds the composer at his most relaxed. While Beethoven's clarinet writing has never received the attention accorded to Mozart's, he wrote for it with no less warmth and affection, and this pair of trios displays a winning, sunny side of the composer that is often overshadowed by the cantankerous instrumental dramatist of popular myth and legend. The Finnish members of Trio Origo all pursue successful careers with chamber and period-instrument ensembles such as the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, but they have been performing Classical-era clarinet trios together since 2004, ranging beyond Beethoven to explore little-known gems by his contemporaries.

The history of large-scale works for clarinet, cello and piano began with the two trios composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1797 and 1803. Soon after Beethoven's trios were published, several of his contemporaries were also inspired to compose trios for these instruments. Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763-1850), a prolific Bohemian composer active in Vienna, wrote chamber music that aligned with the elegant, balanced style of the Classical period. His clarinet trios often follow the model popularized by Beethoven and others clarinet, cello, and piano. They highlight the clarinet's lyrical qualities while maintaining a conversational equality among the three instruments. Gyrowetz's music tends to favor charm and clarity over dramatic intensity, providing insight into the salon culture of early nineteenth-century Vienna.Johann Heinrich Volckmar (1770-1840), though less widely remembered, contributed to the clarinet trio genre with works that blend Classical formality with touches of early Romantic color. His trios display a clear sense of melody, often assigning the clarinet bright, song-like lines while the piano provides both harmonic support and moments of virtuosity. Volckmar's writing exemplifies how regional composers outside the central canon engaged with the clarinet's expressive potential, even if their works remained on the periphery of mainstream concert life.Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), a student and close associate of Beethoven, represents a later stage in the trio tradition. His clarinet trios show a more Romantic sensibility, with broader structures, heightened contrasts, and more demanding instrumental writing. Ries imbues his works with dramatic flair and lyrical warmth, reflecting both Beethoven's influence and his own individual voice. Together, the trios of Gyrowetz, Volckmar, and Ries trace the clarinet's evolution from Classical elegance to Romantic expressi