KeyWinds Trio

CARL REINECKE - TRIO FOR CLARINET, FRENCH HORN, and PIANO, Op. 274

Carl Reinecke was born in Germany in 1824 and, he was not only an amazing composer, he was also a good violinist, a fantastic pianist, and renowned conductor.  He performed his first piano recital at age 12 years and when he was 19 years undertook a concert tour.  He studied with Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Liszt and eventually was appointed conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position he held for thirty years.  During this time, he was also a professor of composition and piano, teaching many well know musicians including Grieg and Bruch, and composing many new works.  

After his retirement from conducting and teaching, Reinecke devoted his energy to composition, writing over 300 hundred works.  When he was 81, he wrote the Trio for Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano in B flat major, Op. 274.  The work is in four movements and is technically demanding for all players.  The opening movement begins with a grand solo by the French Horn presenting a passionate main theme which pervades the entire movement, being handed back and forth amongst the instrumentalists, and developed from beginning to end.  The second movement is entitled “Ein Marchen” or a Fairy Tale and the influence of Schumann can be heard in the atmospheric and programmatic approach.  This is followed by a Scherzo with two trios and the energetic final movement which harkens back to the first movement with statements of the main theme.  

Reinecke's writing is in the late romantic style and, although his luscious chromaticism is presented in a very classical or conservative manner through the utilization of traditional forms, he was able to produce an incredibly unique musical creation with a wide dynamic and emotional range.  His absolute control over the presentation and development of his thematic and harmonic materials produces a wonderful Trio that is captivating from beginning to end.

ROBERT KAHN - SERENADE IN F MINOR FOR CLARINET, FRENCH HORN, and PIANO, Op. 73

Robert Kahn was born in Mannheim in 1865 and began studying composition at the age of 18 years.  Shortly after this he met Brahms who advised Kahn and was musically influential.  Kahn was also a great pianist and often concertized in chamber ensembles or with many renown soloists and singers of his time.  In 1894, he became a lecturer in composition and piano in Berlin where he taught Rubinstein and Kempff.  

Kahn wrote a large number of choral and chamber works and his style is more intimate and lyrical, especially since he disliked what he perceived as emotional extravagance displayed in the music of many of the late Romantics, including Reinecke.  The Serenade was written in 1922 originally for Oboe, Horn, and Piano, yet when it was submitted to a publisher, the publisher refused publication unless Kahn made a version for standard piano trio (Violin, Violoncello, and Piano).  Kahn decided to rewrite the Serenade so it could be played by 9 different ensembles, including the version performed by KeyWinds Trio.

The Serenade is in one continuous movement although there are many clearly defined and contrasting sections.

MAX BRUCH - EIGHT PIECES FOR CLARINET, VIOLA, and PIANO, Op. 83

Max Bruch was born in Cologne in 1838 and began composing at age 9 years.  He was able to spend many years composing and he was enthusiastically supported by his parents.  Eventually he augmented his compositional career by teaching, holding a variety of musical posts in Germany.  

Bruch's musical style is classical Romanticism and his works are well structured and innovative.  His friend, Brahms, was more popular and widely regarded than Bruch and unfortunately Bruch was primarily known as a choral composer despite his large range of works for a variety of ensembles and orchestra.  His chamber music is not very well known and his “Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano” were written when he was 72 for his son, a professional clarinetist.  Each piece in the intimate collection is distinct in mood and tempo.  They are all relatively short, but the music is intense and passionate, each presenting beautiful lyrical melodies supported by conservative but rich romantic harmonies.  KeyWinds Trio performs a version of Bruch's pieces arranged by Yvonne Gillespie for Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano.  

HEINRICH von HERZOGENBERG – TRIO FOR CLARINET, FRENCH HORN, and PIANO, Op. 61

Heinrich von Herzogenberg was born in Austria in 1843.  He studied law, philosophy and political science at the University of Vienna, however, by 1864 he had turned to music and began composition classes.  He studied Bach's works and was also drawn to the classical tradition.  He married a piano pupil of Brahms and Herzogenberg and his new wife corresponded back and forth with Brahms.  In 1872 Herzogenberg moved to Leipzig and founded an ensemble that focused on the revival of Bach's cantatas and was artistic director for ten years.  In 1885 he became a Professor of Composition at the Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin until his sudden death at age 57.  

Although Brahms' influence can be heard in his early works, and he paid tribute to Brahms by writing a set of variations on a theme of his, Herzogenberg's later compositions show little Brahmsian influence.  Instead, many of his works exhibit an almost neo-classical style.  His Trio in D Major, written in 1889 was composed for oboe, horn and piano, but the oboe part worked brilliantly when arranged for the clarinet and the KeyWinds Trio promptly added it to their repertoire.  

The Trio is in four movements and the opening Allegretto is a wonderful combination of part writing and ensemble work that produces a variable texture of interplay amongst all of the instruments.  The second movement is a lively Presto that hints at a hunting scenario as the horn and clarinet synchronize and then abandon the piano which chases them, eventually catching up.  The following Andante is a haunting movement which highlights the horn as the instruments present a quasi-funereal processional.  The final movement returns to the hunt and the galloping of the horses are suggested by a characteristic rhythmic motive that pervades the movement.  The work was originally for Oboe, Horn, and Piano and was adapted to the Clarinet by Yvonne.

FRIEDRICH WILHELM VOIGT - NOCTURNE FOR CLARINET, CELLO, and PIANO

Friedrich Voigt was born in Coblenz, Germany in 1833 and studied music with his father who was a military band leader.  He studied piano at both the Leipzig and Berlin Conservatories of Music and eventually became a military band conductor in the Prussian Royal Army.  He was also a professor at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik.  The majority of his compositions are for military band and his Nocturne is one of the few exceptions.  Being a nocturne, the work is evocative of the night and contains many cantabile melodies.  Despite its primarily serene apprach, the music does evolve into a more turbulent middle section then slowly relaxes back into calmness near the end.  

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART - TRIO IN E FLAT MAJOR, K. 498 FOR CLARINET, VIOLA, and PIANO

Mozart often composed his music for either certain events or specific musicians.  His Trio is no exception as it was written for his favourite piano student, Franziska von Jacquin, and Anton Stadler, his friend who was a renowned clarinet virtuoso.  While writing this Trio, Mozart was writing a substantial amount of chamber music which often featured the new piano instead of the traditional harpsichord.  The clarinet itself was finaly joining the symphony orchestra with composers including it in their operatic and symphonic scores.  Having a outstanding player at his disposal inspired Mozart and he exploited the clarinet in many of his subsequent works.  The Trio is in three movements with a lovely minut middle movement and a Rondeaux finale which highlights Mozart's impressive ability to create constant variation.  This Trio is often called the "Kegelstatt" due to an anecdote that Mozart composed this music while playing an outdoor bowling game (which may or may not be true).  Originally written for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, the trio was arranged for the KeyWinds Trio by Yvonne.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART - EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK, K. 525

Perhaps one of Mozart's most famous works is his Serenade No. 13 in G Major for strings, specifically two violins, viola, cello, and double bass.  This work is played often by string orchestras, however, the pianist from the KeyWinds Trio decided that she would like to arrange if for their unique ensemble.  The work was designated a Serenade by Mozart although there is no specific mention of its origin and first performance.  Nevertheless, a serenade during Mozart's time was a composition of several movements of a lighter nature that a symphony, with tunefulness being more paramount than thematic development.  Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is unique in that it was written solely for string instruments.  Despite the absence of wind or brass instruments in the original score, Mozart's Serenade No. 13 could be comfortably adapted for the Piano, Clarinet, and Horn of KeyWinds Trio.

LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN - TRIO FOR CLARINET, VIOLONCELLO AND PIANO, Op. 11

This trio was composed by Beethoven in 1797 for a clarinettist, thought to be Joseph Baehr, who had suggested to Beethoven that he should use a very popular melody from an opera by the Austrian composer, Joseph Weigl.  This particular melody, Pria ch'io l'impegno (Before I go to work) became the theme for Beethoven's finale of the trio, a set of nine variations, and the trio is often nicknamed "Gassenhauer" alluding to the fact that the melody was often heard being sung or whistled in many of Vienna's lanes, called "Gasse" in German.  Many other composers used this melody in their works including Paganini.  Beethoven was only 27 when he composed the trio and the clarinet was a new woodwind instrument that was becoming more popular during this time.  The key of B flat major was likely used to help the clarinettist perform fast passaged on a clarinet that during Beethoven's time did not have the modern key systems.  The trio was originally written for Clarinet, Violoncello and Piano, so Yvonne rescored the work for the instruments of the KeyWinds Trio.

ROBERT SCHUMANN - DREI ROMANCEN, Op. 94

The three romances by Schumann were his only works written specifically for oboe soloist.  They were written in 1849, one of Schumann's most productive years.  He gifted these Romances to his wife Clara as a Christmas present.  Shortly after this, Schumann's mental health quickly deteriorated, necessitating his admission to an asylum where he eventually died.  The three romances are beautifully written with many tranquil moments alternating with more chromatic and rugged material often reminiscent of Brahms, a long time friend of both Clara and Robert Schumann.  Just prior to composing the romances, Schumann had written two other works, an Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 for French Horn and Piano, and the Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 73.  It seemed fitting for Yvonne to arrange the Romances for Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano given that Schumann had been composing for these three instruments all around the same time.

MAX BRUCH - KOL NIDREI, Op. 47  

Max Bruch wrote this work in 1880 and it was originally written for Violoncello and Orchestra, composing it for Liverpool's Jewish community.  Robert Hausmann, a well known German cellist of the time, had requested Bruch write this for him and he later premiered the piece.  The work was inspired by Jewish folk music and often Bruch was mistakenly believed to be Jewish.  Utilizing two Hebrew melodies, Bruch wrote a series of variations.  The first melody comes from the Kol Nidrei recitative from the evening service on Yom Kippur, with the cello imitating the chanting voice of the cantor.  The second melody is from a musical arrangement by Isaac Nathan of “O Weep for those that Wept on Babel's Stream”, written by Lord Byron in his Hebrew Melodies collection.  The KeyWinds Trio really loved this work and Yvonne decided to arrange it for Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano.

EDVARD GRIEG - PEER GYNT SUITE #1, Op. 46

The Peer Gynt Suite was a byproduct of Edvard Grieg's writing of the incidental music for the five act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. The play is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays and it is based loosely on a fairy tale and several of the characters were inspired by Ibsen's own family members.  The play with Grieg's incidental music was first performed in 1876 and ten years later, Grieg utilized eight movements to create his two four movement suites.  The first suite was published in 1888 and the second in 1893.  The four movements of Grieg's first suite in performance order are Morning Mood, the prelude to Act IV, The Death of Ase, which closes the third Act, Anitra's Dance, from midway through Act IV, and In the Hall of the Mountain King, midway through Act II.  

Despite the popularity of the Peer Gynt music, Grieg did not enjoy writing the music since he had to follow the specifications of the Swedish management of the theatre as to the musical pieces' duration and order.   He complained that he was not free to write as he wanted and was unhappy with the brevity of the pieces.  Nevertheless, the music from the suites are musically compelling and the KeyWinds Trio is delighted to be able to play Yvonne's arrangement of the first suite.

MODEST MUSSORGSKY, PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

Mussorgsky originally wrote a musical work in ten movements for solo piano in 1874 inspired by his visit to an art exhibition of the sketches, stage designs, and architectural works of his recently deceased friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann who had died in 1873 at the age of 39.  Each movement represents one of the drawings or artworks of Hartmann interspersed with a recurring Promenade theme that represents Mussorgsky strolling through the exhibition.  The pictures depicted in the music in order of appearance are:  The Gnomes, The Old Castle, Tuileries, Cattle, The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in Their Shells, Two Jews: One Rich, One Poor, The Market at Limoges, The Catacombs, The Hut on Fowl's Legs, and The Great Gate of Kiev.  

At the time of Mussorgsky's death in 1881, Pictures at an Exhibition had not yet been performed nor published and in 1886 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov facilitated its publication.  In 1922 Maurice Ravel orchestrated the work and it is in this form that the work is most recognized.  Other orchestrations of the work were made by several conductors and the pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy.  In 1971 the British pop band, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, wrote and recorded their own art-rock interpretation of Pictures at an Exhibition.  With a desire to perform this work with the KeyWinds Trio, Yvonne decided to arrange the work for the Trio with the addition of musician friend, Norma Pannell on flute, and her talented husband, Peter Gillespie on percussion.  It has become an exciting addition to the group's repertoire and is an important element of their Youth Program concert.