Music Chamber
Concerts
DateJul 21 2010, 7:30 PM
TitleConcert Mozart Mendelssohn Schumann Piano Trios
LocationSt John's Church, Lansdowne Crescent, W11 2NN
ArtistFournier Trio
Fournier Trio: Chiao-Ying Chang (piano) Sulki Yu (violin) Pei-Jee Ng (cello)
Programme:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Trio No 5 in C major, K548
Allegro ~ Andante cantabile ~ Allegro
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 49
Molto Allegro agitato
Andante con moto tranquillo
Scherzo, Leggiero e vivace
Finale, Allegro assai
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 63
Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch - Trio
Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung - Bewegter
Mit Feuer
Formed in 2009, the Fournier Trio is mentored by renowned pedagogues David Takeno and Christopher Elton and has been awarded a Leverhulme Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music for 2010/11. They are Park Lane Group Young Artists, appearing in the New Year Series at the Southbank in January 2011, and have also been awarded a Purcell Room recital from the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund. In September the trio travels to Norway to participate in the Trondheim Chamber Music Academy and Festival.
Programme Notes:
In the summer of 1788, Mozart found himself in a quandary. Although his financial fortunes continued to sink, his artistic genius blazed, having just driven him to complete the monumental 39th symphony, the E flat K. 543, and simultaneously, a piano trio, the E major, K. 542, his finest work in that form. In days, he began yet another magnificent symphony which would become the G minor, K. 550, and during its gestation, he seems to have found time to work on the C major trio. As there are differences between the two symphonies, there are differences between the two piano trios. Whereas the E major symphony and the E flat trio are complex, exuberant works, full of expression and chromatic adventure, the G minor symphony and this trio are much more constricted and smaller in scope. The trio in fact seems suspiciously to have been written for performance by amateur musicians in the hope that the composer might make a few quick florins by selling it. The first movement opens as simply as any teaching exercise and although there are some bravura passages and runs, the work is after all in C major and the difficulty is slight. A center, development section, contains accidentals and modulations but these are timid as opposed to the aggressive, even maniacal ones found in the K. 542 trio and the K. 543 symphony.
Mendelssohn completed this Piano Trio on September 23, 1839 - published it the next year and ever since it has been one of his most popular works - lively, melodic and satisfying to perform. After his initial work on the Trio Ferdinand Hiller, a pianist and friend of Mendelssohn, suggested the composer revise the piano part to make it more brilliant. It was this piece that prompted Schumann, in a review, to assert that "Mendelssohn is the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians...." Without introduction, the cello states the song-like main theme of the first movement against a syncopated accompaniment in the piano. Later, the violin joins the cello with a distorted version of the theme. Variations of the theme fill the transition to the second subject, an arching melody on the dominant that is also introduced by the cello. Mendelssohn fragments and layers both themes in the development, which does not stray very far from D minor, the key on which the movement closes. In the recapitulation, Mendelssohn adds a violin counter-melody to support the return of the main theme. The piano introduces the second movement with the melody in the right hand and the accompaniment divided between the hands, as in a number of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words. Below this, the bass line in the piano walks along methodically and must be carefully balanced with the accompanimental figure and the melody. After the piano states the lyrical, eight-measure theme, the violin repeats it with a counterpoint in the cello. Mendelssohn's Scherzo is concise and light. As in the Andante, the piano first states the main theme, which begins to reduce itself to fragments almost immediately. A rhythmic germ from the first theme permeates the movement, except in the more lyrical central section, the theme of which resembles material from the first movement. After its first few pages, the Finale begins to sound heavy handed, largely because of the busy piano part. All types of keyboard writing occur in the movement, from close-position chords to swirling arpeggios and chromatic octaves. The cantabile moments are refreshing, as is the shift to D major shortly before the close.
For Schumann, the year 1847 was relatively "dry" in terms of composition. He composed a few songs and two Piano Trios including this one, generally regarded as the strongest. He indulges his preference for intricate figurations and subtle harmonic inflections that are such a salient feature of his solo piano pieces. Not surprisingly, the piano chamber works are clearly piano driven, with the strings either following the keyboard part or acting in opposition to it as a unified block. The sonata-form massive first movement of this Trio is in 4/4 meter and marked, "Mit Energie und Leidenschaft" (With energy and passion). Built from a searching chromatic theme, restless and unresolved as it tumbles its way through canonic imitations, rumbling figurations and rhythmic feints. Throughout the expansive first theme, the pianist plays rapid arpeggios outlining the harmony. Schumann's most ingenious stroke in the movement is the new theme in the development section. Constrained energy marks the second movement, "Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch" (Lively, but not too fast) a Scherzo and Trio in F major. The strings join in unison to play a game of follow-the-leader with the piano moving up and down simple scale passages in canonic imitation. The rising melody appears again in the Trio, although here it is much slower and more relaxed, and rounds off with a descent. Marked "Langsam, mit inniger Empfindungen" (Slowly, with inner feeling), the third movement is a ternary structure (ABA) with a wandering harmonic structure. A definite center of gravity, it is intimate, lonely, vulnerable, a protracted lament gives the appearance of a violin sonata. The Finale, marked "Mit Feuer" (With fire), begins without a break after the slow movement. Schumann links the finale to the first movement through thematic reference. The music steadily builds to a glorious ending. The composite work is a definitive study in bi-polarity, perhaps a personal reflection of Schumann’s own soul.
Biogs: Taiwanese-British pianist Chiao-Ying Chang has distinguished herself as one of the leading pianists of her generation after winning major prizes in the Leeds, ARD Munich, Taiwan, AXA Dublin and Ettlingen International piano competitions. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and the late Maria Curcio. As soloist she has performed with the Halle, Royal Philharmonic, National Irish Symphony, Vienna Operetta, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Regensburg Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and made her debuts at London's Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York. International Festival appearances include the Busoni Festival in Bolzano, the Europaisches Klassik, Mosel Musikfestival International Piano Summer and the Kammermusikfest des ARD-Wettbewerbs in Schloss Elmau, Munich and Berlin in Germany. She is represented by the Young Concert Artists Trust in London.
Korean violinist Sulki Yu has currently completing a Masters Degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she graduated with First Class Honours studying under David Takeno. She is a laureate of the 2006 Yehudi Menuhin and 2007 Szigeti-Hubay International violin competitions. She has performed as soloist at the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, UNESCO Centre in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Seoul Arts Centre in Korea and with the Sung-Nam Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Lille, Yalta Symphony, Budapest Symphony and Pecs Chamber Orchestras. Last season she made her debuts at both the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room to critical acclaim and recently appeared in the Spring Chamber Music Festival in Seoul where she performed with artists including violinist Dong-Suk Kang, cellist Antonio Meneses, and clarinettist Charles Neidich.
Australian cellist Pei-Jee Ng has recently completed his studies with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music. He was winner of both the 2001 Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year competition and the 2008 Young Concert Artists Trust auditions in London. He recently toured the USA as soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra appearing at Royce Hall, Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall, New York, made his debut at the Konzerthaus in Berlin as part of the Classic Young Stars International series and gave recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room in London. He has appeared with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic, and the Oulu, Adelaide, Queensland, Tasmanian, Melbourne, West Australian, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and performs with the Estonian National Symphony this season.