Franziska Hölscher, violin | Harriet Krijgh, cello | Claire Huangci, piano
Programme I
Lili Boulanger: "D'un matin de printemps" for Piano Trio
Claude Debussy: Piano Trio in G major
Amy Beach: Piano Trio op. 150
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Piano Trio in C minor op. 66
When you look at world politics, one wishes that music could enter the diplomatic service much more often. In this programme, France, Germany, and America enter a sonorous alliance and are represented by true child prodigies. While Beach, who discovered composing as a child, wrote her piano trio, which floats between impressionistic harmony and catchy tonality, at the age of 71, Boulanger, Debussy, and Mendelssohn Bartholdy were much younger when they composed their trios.
The piece ‘D'un matin de printemps’ by the French composer, who died aged just 24, documents the late Romantic intensity of the depiction of nature, but goes beyond contemporary Impressionism; Debussy's trio, which he wrote when he was only 18, surprises with its melodic freshness and typical idioms, and Mendelssohn's work already heralds late Romanticism.
Programme II
Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio in G major Hob XV:25 "Gypsy Trio"
Valentin Silvestrov: Fugitive Visions of Mozart for Piano Trio (selection)
Fanny Hensel: Piano Trio in D minor op. 11
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in B flat major op. 97 "Archduke Trio"
The music always hits the right note. Contrary to all current laws, Haydn's ‘Gypsy Trio’ uses the Hungarian melodies and dances of travelling people - far away from any politics and certainly without any ulterior motives. The Ukrainian Silvestrov also prefers to trace the spirit of Mozart in his ‘Visions’. Hensel's D minor Trio symbolises growing self-confidence as a composer and shows her at the peak of her artistry. And Beethoven was also praised as a master of his craft for his ‘Archduke Trio’.
