Music Chamber

Bela Bartók (1881-1945) Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano Sz 111

Verbunkos (Recruiting dance) ~ Pihenö (Relaxation) ~ Sebes (Fast dance)

 

 

The O3 Trio are currently undertaking a postgraduate diploma at Trinity College of Music, where they met in September 2009. Ruben Marques Jacinto (Portugal) has been focusing his recent career in contemporary solo and chamber repertoire, performing several world premieres. He is a founder member of the Ensemble Contemporaneus and member of the New Lisbon Orchestra. Cristina Ocaña (Spain) has played in several prestigious youth and professional orchestras across Europe - including the Malaga Chamber and Symphony Orchestras. Diego Ghymers (Chile/Belgium) has been performing as a soloist and with chamber ensembles such as the “4 hands & 4 feet piano” duet. He has performed across Spain and given conferences about Stravinsky in a variety of Conservatoires.

 

The Hungarian Composer Béla Bartok was highly influenced by folk music of his country. Contrasts was written for clarinet, violin and piano in 1938 and is based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies. Bartók wrote the work in response to a letter from violinist Joseph Szigeti, although clarinettist Benny Goodman officially commissioned it. Szigeti originally asked Bartók to write a short piece in two movements of a total duration of 6-7 minutes. This was most likely in order to fit the recording on a single gramophone record, one movement on each side - with capacity for approximately four minutes running time. The first version of the work, titled Rhapsody, was premièred on 9 January 1939 at Carnegie Hall, with Szigeti, Goodman, and pianist Endre Petri. Bartók subsequently added a middle movement and changed the work's title to Contrasts. Szigeti, Goodman and Bartók on piano first performed the final, three-movements work at Carnegie Hall on 21 April 1940, and left a historical recording of the piece. The work was published in 1942 and is dedicated to Szigeti and Goodman.

 

L’Histoire du Soldat was originally scored for one dancer, three actors and seven instruments. Its was first performed in Lausanne Switzerland, in September 1918. The story is based on a Russian folk-tale: a soldier trades his violin with the Devil who promises to fulfil his every wish, but the Devil proves a tricky protagonist. The suite for violin, Clarinet and piano was arranged in 1919. It is a selection of five movements from the 13 of the original version. The violin is guttural and raw, while the clarinet seems to have an erratic will of its own, often breaking in at “inappropriate” moments and interrupting the violin. The piano acts as a combination of the original rhythm section (percussion and double bass) and a piano in a “honky tonk” bar.