Complete Piano Trios Vol. 2 Van Baerle Trio

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1 No. 2:
• 1 I. Adagio - Allegro vivace 11:38
• 2 II. Largo con espressione 09:44
• 3 III. Scherzo. Allegro 03:58
• 4 IV. Finale. Presto 07:51
• Piano Trio after the Symphony in No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36:
• 5 I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio 12:56
• 6 II. Larghetto 11:35
• 7 III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio 04:41
• 8 IV. Allegro molto 06:54
• Allegretto in E-Flat Major, Hess 48:
• 9 Allegretto in E-Flat Major, Hess 48 03:14
• Total Runtime 01:12:31

Info for Complete Piano Trios Vol. 2

Chamber music arrangements of symphonies were very common in the late 18th and early 19th century, and it is probably true that a large proportion of the people who were familiar with the symphonic repertoire at the time were so because of them. The Second Symphony is the only one for which Beethoven himself produced an arrangement, although there is evidence that his student Ferdinand Ries did the bulk of the work, with Beethoven adding the finishing touches.

Of the three piano trios published under op. 1, the second announces its pretentions to the symphonic genre earlier than its siblings and has several common points with the Second Symphony that was written ten years later.

The Allegretto in E-flat, Hess 48, probably was one of the first works for piano trio that Beethoven wrote, dating back to the early 1790s. Its form is a short, but humorous conversation between three different instruments.

Van Baerle Trio:
Hannes Minnaar, piano
Maria Milstein, violin
Gideon den Herder, violoncello

The Van Baerle Trio
was founded in 2004 by the pianist Hannes Minnaar, violinist Maria Milstein and cellist Gideon den Herder. The name of the trio refers to the street where it all started: the Van Baerle street in Amsterdam. The three musicians met there during their studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, at a stone‘s throw from the Concertgebouw, which they consider as their musical home.

After winning the 2011 Vriendenkrans Competition in the Concertgebouw and performing there on numerous occasions since, the Van Baerle Trio was nominated by this celebrated concert hall for ECHO Rising Stars 2013/14, a tour which brought the trio to major concert venues across Europe, including Vienna‘s Musikverein, the London Barbican, Cité de la Musique in Paris, L‘Auditori in Barcelona and the Philharmonie in Cologne.

Before starting this European tour, the Van Baerle Trio had already established its international reputation, after being awarded top prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2013 and the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2011, as well as receiving the audience prize at both contests. In the Netherlands the trio was awarded the Kersjes Prize, a bursary which supports an outstanding, young Dutch ensemble each year.

The Van Baerle Trio was formed under the guidance of Dmitri Ferschtman and received lessons from Ferenc Rados and Claus-Christian Schuster, among others. The encounter with Menahem Pressler in 2008 was a great inspiration to the three musicians, who subsequently played for him on several occasions. Eager to share their experience with the next generation of musicians, the trio members have been teaching at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since 2014.

The Van Baerle Trio’s debut CD, featuring works by Saint-Saëns, Loevendie and Ravel, received an Edison Award in 2013. This CD was followed by an album dedicated to Mendelssohn’s piano trios, which includes the world premiere recording of the early version of his Piano Trio in D minor. The latest project of the Van Baerle Trio is recording the complete piano trios by Beethoven, of which the first volume just appeared.

This album contains no booklet.