Music Chamber

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)   Piano Trio in D major, XV:24, Op 73 no 1

Allegro ~ Andante ~ Allegro ma dolce

 

By the time this trio was written in 1795 there had been great advances in keyboard instruments with the piano usually replacing the harpsichord and already Haydn was looking to take the medium out of the drawing room into the concert hall. The piano tended to dominate the ensemble, and the keyboard writing for these “London” trios demands considerable virtuosity. The strings, meanwhile, make much use of doubling, with the cello often consigned to double the left hand of the piano but this does not prevent Haydn from making full use of his mature skills to produce technically assured works full of imaginative writing, and not a few surprises! Written during Haydn’s second visit to London, the trio is dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter, a widow with whom he enjoyed a close friendship and to whom he gave piano lessons. The first movement is a joyous affair with typical unexpected changes of key which involve many skilful manoeuvres of thematic material. The Andante makes a feature of dotted rhythms and is in D minor as is the central section of the final movement. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2012

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)  Piano Trio in C major, K548

Allegro ~ Andante cantabile ~ Allegro

 

This piano trio was written in 1788 and is the last of a group of three. It shows how far Mozart had taken the development of the genre which was to be further developed by Beethoven, Schubert and others. Like the Jupiter Symphony it is in the key of C and is full of inventiveness both in the scoring for the three instruments and in the use of thematic material. The first movement is a masterpiece of thematic development and exploits Mozart’s contrapuntal writing to the full, while the second sonata form movement must rank as one of Mozart’s greatest achievements in writing for the medium. The first theme contains what appears to be a simple arched scale passage, but during the development this becomes a dialogue between the piano and strings which passes through numerous keys before returning to the home key of F major for the recapitulation. The joyous final rondo movement concludes with a brilliant coda. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2012

 

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)  Cinq pièces brèves

Allegro Moderato ~ Adagio ~ Allegro ~ Allegro Moderato ~ Allegro con brio

 

Martinů left his native Czechoslovakia in 1923 at the age of 33 to study in Paris with Roussel, who in turn had been much influenced by Stravinsky. This brought about a refining and maturing of style which nevertheless continued to show the strong influences of Martinů’s homeland. This was his first venture into writing for the piano trio medium and the two subsequent piano trios were not written until 1950 and 1951 by which time he had moved to the United States. Written in 1930, this work consists of five pieces of which only the second movement is written in a more gentle style and consists of a beautiful duet for the strings accompanied by quiet chords on the piano. The other four movements are strong and dynamic with dissonance and chromaticism much in evidence and with brilliant and colourful instrumental writing, yet with each movement retaining its own individual character. © Christine Talbot-Cooper 2012

 

 

Although only one year old, the Orion trio has already attracted a very positive and enthusiastic response. It was formed at the Royal College of Music, in September 2010. The trio is currently working under the tutelage of Michael Bochmann and also benefited from advice from Melissa Phelps and Gordon Fergus-Thompson. Amongst other projects, the Orion Trio gave a concert at the Saint Peter’s Church in London for the Piano Trio Society and participated in the Piano Trio Day at Warwick University. Recently the Trio was offered a full scholarship to take part in a masterclass organised by Gina and Michael Bochmann which included a recital playing Beethoven and Brahms. The trio is currently developing a new programme for concerts and competitions.

 

Emmanuelle Turbelin graduated with distinction in piano performance and accompaniment at the National Conservatory of Music in Lyon and further at the National Conservatory in Montpellier, winning the Leopold Bellan Competition (Paris) with the Trio Carpe Dièze in 2002. She obtained the MMus Diploma with distinction at the Royal College of Music in 2009, where she accompanied many masterclasses by distinguished musicians, later acting as accompanist at many important French festivals. She is now staff accompanist at the Conservatoire in Arras.

 

Samuel Godefroi was born in Paris in 1987. He started playing the violin at the age of 6. After Graduating in 2003 in Meudon conservatoire, as a student of Guy Comentale he continued his studies at the Versailles Regional Conservatoire with Alexandre Brussilovsky, where he graduated  in 2006. Samuel is now studying at the Royal College of Music in London with Yossi Zivoni. Between 2003 and 2010 Samuel made several appearances in different events including Belesbat Masters, Musique en Pays d’Olt, and with the ORCJ Orchestra.

 

Axelle Porret began playing the cello at the Conservatory of Reims (France) at the age of 7 later studying with Marc-Didier Thirault in Reims, Yvan Chiffoleau in Perpignan and Hélène Dautry in Paris and received first prize in both cello and chamber music at Reims and Perpignan Conservatoires. She participated in the summer academies of Prades and Courchevel, also playing in numerous masterclasses and performing with orchestras such as the Orchestre Régional de Cannes provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, and as a soloist and chamber musician in many chamber music festivals throughout France such as Le Coeur en Musique et les Rencontres de Louvergny. Axelle is currently studying at Royal College of Music with Melissa Phelps and plays a 1985 Pierre Causse cello, generously lent by the Fond Instrumental Français.