Gould Piano Trio
Saturday 31st October, 7.30 pm
Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio no. 44 in E major, Hob.XV:28
Robert Schumann: Piano Trio no. 2 in F major, op. 80
James MacMillan: Piano Trio no 2
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 49
Programme notes by Julian Davis
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) – Piano Trio no. 44 in E major, Hob.XV:28
Allegro moderato; Allegretto; Finale, Allegro
Until the mid-1700s, trios were essentially sonatas written for keyboard with one or two accompanying instruments. Gradually the harpsichord was replaced by a fortepiano, and Mozart and Haydn wrote their mature ‘piano trios’ for what became a widely adopted combination of three instruments, each now with an increasingly individual voice.
Haydn’s 44th piano trio (28th in the famous Hoboken catalogue) was one of his last, published in 1797. ‘Papa Haydn’ was in his mid-sixties, living in Vienna again after his second hugely successful visit to England, and a revered composer. Beethoven had studied with him, and Beethoven’s Op. 1 piano trios had had their first performance a year earlier with Haydn in the audience as guest of honour. This trio is a rich and virtuosic work. The first movement opens with piano and pizzicato cello before all three instruments combine in lively exchanges. The second movement is a sombre passacaglia, with a creeping bass line joined by a beautiful piano melody high above. The bass then changes to a major key before the strings join in, and the mood changes with brief flourishes heralding a sudden firm end. The last movement is sunny and playful with surprising side-slips and key changes.
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) – Piano Trio no. 2 in F major, op. 80
Sehr lebhaft (very lively); Mit innigem Ausdruck (with intimate expression); In mässiger Bewegung (in a moderate tempo); Nicht zu rasch (not too fast)
Robert Schumann wrote two trios in 1847, which was a year of bereavement for the Schumanns: their baby son Emil died at 16 months of age, and their close friends Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny both died suddenly in their 30s of cerebral haemorrhage. But it was also the 10th anniversary of the Schumanns’ secret engagement, and there are quotes of a song in Robert’s Op 39 Liederkreis song-cycle: ‘In the depths of my heart I keep a radiant image of you’.
The first movement is lively and athletic, and the second main theme played by the violin then the cello quotes the Liederkreis melody with a gentle but passionate lyricism. The slow movement has been described as a radiant outpouring of adoration, with a long canon between the cello and piano lying below the violin’s ardent line. It is followed by a rather gentle scherzo, again with the main theme played as a wistful canon. The finale is happy and playful, bringing this friendly trio to a joyful close.
James MacMillan (b. 1959) – Piano Trio no 2 (2013)
The Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan studied at Edinburgh and Durham, and has become one of Britain’s best-known composers. His Piano Trio No. 2 was written as tribute to Peter Maxwell Davies on his 80th birthday, and was commissioned and premiered by tonight’s performers in 2014. It is written in a single continuous movement, and lasts about 13 minutes. The musical style alternates between capricious and exuberant clowning, and a more reflective writing that seems to evoke a Scottish lament, and the contrasting sections culminate in a dramatic end.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) – Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 49 (1839)
Molto allegro agitato: Andante con moto: Scherzo; leggiero e Viviane: Finale; Allegro assai appassionato
Felix Mendelssohn was 30 when he wrote this fine work. He was a well-known musical figure in Germany and travelled widely, visiting Britain many times (speaking English, and befriending Queen Victoria). He painted many beautiful watercolours of his travels, became Director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at the age of 26, and re-introduced Handel’s and Bach’s music to the public. He composed music that became famous for its Mozartian clarity and poise but also became an influential part of the new romantic era. Although Mendelssohn’s fluency and charm went out of fashion later in the 19th century, and antisemitism may have had a part in that, his music has rightly come to be fully appreciated since then. This piano trio is one of his best-known works: Robert Schumann described this as the ‘master trio of our time’ and predicted rightly that it would ‘gladden our grandchildren and great-grandchildren for years to come’. The music has a determined energy and sparkling brilliance. The first movement starts with a flowing cello melody, followed by the violin, but the piano’s agitated accompaniment turns into flying arpeggios that urge the music through its development to a passionate climax at the end. The slow movement is a beautiful and serene ‘song without words’, and is followed by an exuberant scherzo, whose fleeting lightness evokes the fairies of his Midsummer Night’s Dream overture. The Finale demonstrates the power and joy that the piano trio combination can provide as the three instruments drive together to a virtuosic climax.