Borrowing from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s sentiment: “’Tis wonderful how soon
the piano gets into a log-hut on the frontier,” we say ‘tis wonderful how
soon the piano got into trio performances. We love them – in any
combination of instruments! So let us rejoice that this very special
form of music is right here, right now in real time – Mozart and
Beethoven holding up the classical end and Ewazen and Piazzolla leaping
us forward with contemporary brilliance.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a flat out genius, a condition he just
couldn’t help. Many fascinating studies and theories on the anatomy of
his brain are out there for all to read. If his cerebral cortex didn’t
fit common dimensions, how in the world would you measure those marvelous
ears? Collectors of Mozart trivia tell us that on a farm in Austria,
5-year old Wolfgang heard a pig squeal and cried out “G-sharp.” Somebody
ran to the piano and “G-sharp it was.” Inquiring minds want to know: was
the pig in the house or the piano in the pen?
Historians also tell us that while Wolfgang’s father was ill and no one
was allowed to play the piano, the little genius composed the 1st
Symphony. Not bad for an 8-year old.
BONUS FACTS: MOZART’S SENSITIVE EARS WERE ASSAULTED BY THE TRUMPET.
CONSEQUENTLY, HE WROTE SPARINGLY FOR IT, ALWAYS PITCHING THE NOTES LOW.
UNTIL HE WAS 10 YEARS OLD HE HAD A MORBID FEAR OF THE TRUMPET SOUND AND
UPON HEARING IT WOULD LIE DOWN AND SCREAM.
FLOOR CAPERS FOR MOZART WERE NOTHING NEW, HOWEVER. IF HE BECAME BORED IN
HIS LESSONS OR WHILE PLAYING DUETS, HE WOULD SUDDENLY LEAP TO THE FLOOR
IN SOMERSAULTS.
PIANO TRIO IN E MAJOR, K. 542 BY MOZART
This mature trio, written in the same period as his last three
Symphonies, has several distinctions. It is one of the first to score
the three parts fairly equally. Here the cello is freed from the
supportive basso continuo to an independent voice, and the violin gets a
separate treble part. The awesome virtuosic passages in the 3rd movement
will affirm that no player is cheated. As Mozart’s trios grew in
sophistication, performances moved from private parlors to the concert
stage. Mozart chose to perform the Trio in E as his audition for an
appointment at the Court Dresden. And Chopin was so partial to the trio
he opened all of his trio concerts with it. You can bet your sweet
clavichord it had a good keyboard part.
The piano introduces the first theme, which flows along passively.
Interest picks up with the 2nd theme, stated by the violin and piano in
the key of B major. Like driving against the flow of traffic, an
exciting modulation takes the movement into G major and from there we can
bask in harmonic and melodic inventions of uncommon merit.
Choose your defining word for the Andante Grazioso. Here are some to
ponder: haunting, poetic, pastoral, and we might add delicious in its
contrasts between piano and tutti passages. But it “don’t” mean a thing
without that swing - a wonderful stately dotted rhythm that pulses
throughout this beautiful movement. The luminous Allegro in combined
sonata and rondo form will not only display the “mystique” of Mozart but
also the virtuoso capabilities of each player.
There is only one Beethoven and he doesn’t even need a first name. We
are in agreement with Beethoven’s own assessment of music and of himself:
“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, it is the
wine of a new procreation, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious
wine for people and makes them drunk with the spirit.” And of the
16-year-old Beethoven, Mozart said: “Keep your eyes on him, some day he
will give the world something to talk about.” And did he ever, including
his heartbreaking deafness. Beethoven continues to stay in the top five
of the Classic FM “Hall of Fame,” a yearly poll of the nation’s musical
taste.
BONUS FACT: DAILY ROUTINES FOR BEETHOVEN WERE TO RISE AT DAYBREAK,
COMPOSE UNTIL 3:00 P.M, EAT LUNCH, AND IN THE INTERIMS GO OUTSIDE TO
CONTINUE COMPOSING WHILE WALKING. HIS AFTERNOONS WERE DEDICATED TO
REGULAR PROMENADES, ENDING LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AT BEER PARLORS WHERE HE
READ THE DAILY NEWS. WHEN THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT WAS IN SESSION HE
BROUGHT THE PAPER HOME FOR THE SAKE OF DEBATES. HE SPENT MOST OF HIS
EVENINGS AT HOME DOING SERIOUS READING AND WENT TO BED AT 10:00. LET’S
TRY THIS AT HOME.
TRIO FOR CLARINET, CELLO, AND PIANO IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 11 (TRANSCRIBED
FOR VIOLIN, CELLO, AND PIANO)
Never challenge Beethoven’s improvisational genius, as did his colleague
Daniel Steibelt. It seems that Steibelt did not care for this trio
because the piano part, which showed off Beethoven’s skill, loomed
prominently. By the way both Mozart and Beethoven wrote the piano parts
for themselves. Anyway, some time later Beethoven and Steibelt met again
and following a performance of Steibelt’s Quintet, Steibelt began to
improvise on the theme Beethoven used in his trio. Maybe that was not
such a good idea because Beethoven grabbed the cello part of Steibelt’s
quintet, turned it upside down, and pounded out its themes on the piano
with a single finger. Steibelt left in a huff, never to return!
A unison opening is nothing short of arresting, and right away we get to
indulge in Beethoven’s key changes as the second group comes in by way of
D major and G minor. The lovely Adagio highlights the cello in a
reflective theme, which is then picked up by the violin. A minor/major
mode mostly for piano makes up the mid-section. The final movement
features that “infamous” theme that spurred on Steibelt’s mockery. The
tune is from the opera “Pria ch’io’ l’impegno,” (The Corsair, by Joseph
Weigl). And that is also where the nickname “Gassenhauer” (Street Song)
came from.
The nine lively treatments are interestingly varied. First a piano solo,
then an unaccompanied duo for clarinet and cello followed by a delightful
con fuoco trio. Variations four and five are minor and major discourses
on the same theme. The sixth variation is a game of sorts – think Simon
Says. The seventh and eight variations are chock full of amusing
diversions - a march in a minor key, sunshiny triplets in the piano, and
melodic heaven in the violin. Beethoven’s teasing endings follow replete
with delightful architectural surprises. Bacchus has poured his wine.
Are you drunk with the spirit yet?
TRIO FOR VIOLIN, CELLO, AND PIANO BY ERIC EWAZEN (PRONOUNCED eWAYzen)
On the contemporary music scene, Ewazen is an international star. Since
1980 he has been on the staff at Julliard where he earned his MM and DMA
degrees. Before that he did his undergraduate work at Eastman School of
Music. The sought after native of Ohio has won impressive numbers of
prizes and awards. He has written for soloists, chamber ensembles,
choruses, wind ensembles and percussionists around the world. He has
been an honored guest at over 100 universities (red and blue states).
Internationally, he has appeared as a guest with too many prestigious
symphonies to mention here. He served as vice president for The League
of International Society of Contemporary composers from 1982 to 1989.
BONUS FACT: ERIC EWAZEN ‘S WORKS HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED BY ORGANIZATIONS
ALL OVER THE WORLD, INCLUDING THE AMERICAN BRASS QUINTET.
TRIO FOR VIOLIN, CELLO AND PIANO (1990) BY ERIC EWAZEN
The following program notes are condensed and paraphrased from the
composer’s own notes: Composed for the Ahn Trio, made up of his Julliard
students, the work is modeled after the classical/romantic trios of
Mendelssohn and Brahms, and uses the traditional forms (sonata, ternary,
and rondo). Ewazen chooses no favorites in his distribution of the lively
interplay.
A pastoral like introduction is presented by a soulful cello. The
violin picks up the melody and amplifies it. A playful Sonata Allegro
follows with expanded melodic range and gutsy, exciting rhythms, which
contrast sharply with the delicate second theme. Label it heroic when
the movement returns to the opening introduction.
In the second movement a lovely song is treated with TLC, sometimes
serenely, sometimes wistfully, and sometimes prayerfully. Tranquil yes,
but brace your self for drama as the original theme works its way back
in. This theme is anything but bashful and you won’t have any trouble
hearing it. The fun is in listening to it calm itself down.
Shall we dance? Well, why not? The dance like rondo of the finale has
such incisive rhythmic pulse we won’t have any trouble feeling the beat.
There are moments throughout, however when the music is just bold and
heroic. Those moments you may want to stand at attention rather than
dance. That it all adds up to a joyful finale is an understatement.
OBLIVION, VERANO PORTENO, AND LA MUERTE DEL ANGEL, BY ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
Remember Piazzolla, the exciting Argentine composer who made a splash in
America with his classical treatment of tangos? We had the pleasure of
hearing his “Tango Ballet” here in this auditorium in 2005. If anything,
Piazzolla’s music is even more popular now. The Argentines know their
tango, and if they ever had a problem with Piazzolla’s hybrid mix of
classical and tango, they are now calling him a genius and are crediting
him for the new flavor of tango. We think he should be called the poet
of tango with its exotic flavors.
BONUS FACT: ASTOR PIAZZOLLA BECAME A CHILD PRODIGY ON THE BANDONEON, A
VERSION OF THE ACCORDIAN. IN 1993 HIS “OBLIVION” RECEIVED A GRAMMY
NOMINATION FOR BEST INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION.
His music has fabulous appeal. The beautiful “Oblivion” was Piazzolla’s
wife’s favorite. It gets five star reviews on the internet. “Gorgeous
and sultry” said one. “Verano Porteno” (Summer from the Four Seasons in
Buenos Aires) will surprise you with its strange sounds. A deep
melancholy undercurrent is there but the special effects may upstage it..
“La Muerte del Angel” is quite jazzy except for the seductively slow
middle section. Listen for influences of American composers. That
should be fun to discuss. One thing’s for sure, it is easy to understand
why Piazzolla’s tangos are welcome in the most prestigious concerts halls
around the world.