Trio Con Brio

The “best of my works,” as Beethoven described his String Trios Op.9 when they were published in July 1798.

Delectable Trios by Beethoven and Brahms, performed by clarinettist Alexander Bedenko, cellist Kyril Zlotnikov and pianist Itamar Golan. Beethoven’s Trio for clarinet, cello and piano, op.38, began life as his Septet, op.20, with which he was “delighted” – until it became outrageously popular. Nevertheless, Beethoven was happy to rearrange this expansive, six-movement work for clarinet, cello and piano, in which guise it takes on a charmingly intimate quality.

This new recording from Trio Parnassus presents the world premiere recording of the three piano trios that Ries made after Beethoven's String Trios op. 9 and which Beethoven's enterprising publisher Simrock immediately sold as his opus no. 61. Hardly anyone was as closely associated with Beethoven as Ferdinand Ries. His parents took the young Beethoven under their wing after his mother's death; Ferdinand himself later became Beethoven's pupil and private secretary in Vienna. These arrangements were common - and Ries mastered his craft as virtuosically as he was familiar with his teacher's tonal language. Nevertheless, Beethoven must have been surprised by the publication - after all, no one had asked him about it before. Ries understood how to preserve the character of the originals in the transfer to the piano trio and at the same time find Beethoven's tone for the new version. The violin part remains almost unchanged; the cello takes over the part of the viola, while the left hand of the piano takes care of the basses. Since Ries also provided Beethoven's publishing correspondence, the path to publication was only a few lines of letters long. Today, the trios are correctly assigned to Beethoven's Opus No. 9 (No. 61 belongs to the famous Violin Concerto). Trio Parnassus approaches these delightful additions to the repertoire with the necessary respect and joy in playing. Luxuriously presented as a Super Audio CD, this high quality new production should convince even the most critical Beethoven admirers!

"He who has heard my music must be free from all human misery," said Beethoven. By recording the Beethoven Trio Opus 1 over two hundred years after their creation, Leo Trio had of course the desire to be part of this long tradition of preserving and questioning the great works of the history of music. Beethoven wanted to abolish temporal boundaries. Its modernity of yesterday is an impulse, a germinating force always available. Christophe Hache, musician of all cultures (classical, jazz, contemporary music), testifies in Uninstallation of this original shock wave. His play, built on the theme of the finale of the second trio, is both resonance and amplification of the Beethovenian energy.

"He who has heard my music, must free himself of all human miseries." said Beethoven. When Trio Leos recorded Beethoven's Trio Opus 1 more than two hundred years after their creation, they wished, of course, to join that long tradition of conservation and questioning of the great works of the history of music. Beethoven wanted to abolish the bounds of time. His past modernity is an impetus, a germinating strength which is still available. Christophe Hache, a musician with a wide cultural range (classical, jazz, contemporary music), bears witness to this original shock wave in his Désinstallation. His piece, built on the finale of the second trio, is both resonance and amplification of Beethoven's energy.

'A superb Brahms recital' Classical CD of the Week, The Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2006 'This is some of the most elegant playing I have heard in Brahms s chamber music…superb playing.' Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, Proms issue 2006 'They make such a beautiful sound, they sound so utterly in tune with the music, they are so sympathetically recorded that, really, comparisons are irrelevant: this two-disc set has to be a state-of-the-art contender in a field not lacking in other versions of the complete Trios… this newcomer takes some beating.' Piers Burton-Page, International Record Review, July/August 2006

"He who has heard my music, must free himself of all human miseries." said Beethoven. When Trio Leos recorded Beethoven's Trio Opus 1 more than two hundred years after their creation, they wished, of course, to join that long tradition of conservation and questioning of the great works of the history of music. Beethoven wanted to abolish the bounds of time.

In this new Chaconne release, Trio Goya offers unique accounts of Beethoven’s early piano trios, revealing on period instruments and in the magical acoustic of the Britten-Pears Auditorium at Aldeburgh’s Snape Maltings the extraordinary range of colours and narratives that these pieces suggest. Beethoven’s Opus 1 features amongst Trio Goya’s central repertoire, played regularly in the UK’s most prestigious venues and beyond. After a recent Wigmore Hall concert, Early Music Today wrote that ‘Trio Goya sent us home spinning on the delights and laughter of early Beethoven.

Clarinet trio Trio ClariNord, based in Norway, play Beethoven, Frühling and Ness on their debut release on the LAWO Classics label. Contemporary Norwegian composer Jon Øivind Ness (b. 1968) is from Inderøy, Trøndelag. That he has played several instruments, clarinet included, has provided a good basis for Sloughs (2013). Ness has attracted attention since the mid-1990s with the originality of his compositions. It is not his ingenuity, but rather a cheerful vitality that distinguishes his music. It captivates, and the musical expression and titles of his works are unconventional. He has an abundance of ideas, all elegantly developed, and his experience with pop music has given him an awareness of rhythm that permeates the rest of his contemporary works. "Sloughs" has a three-part structure. A more tranquil middle section is encompassed by virtuosic and power-driven (Russian?) passages, insistent and serpent-like. The work was commissioned by the arists.