Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios Vol. 4 Van Baerle Trio

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 ‘"Archduke":
• 1 Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 ‘"Archduke": I. Allegro moderato 12:57
• 2 Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 ‘"Archduke": II. Scherzo. Allegro 10:37
• 3 Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 ‘"Archduke": III. Andante cantabile, ma però con moto 11:01
• 4 Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 ‘"Archduke": IV. Allegro moderato 07:11
• Allegretto in B-Flat Major, WoO 39:
• 5 Allegretto in B-Flat Major, WoO 39 05:26
• Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, WoO 38:
• 6 Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, WoO 38: I. Allegro moderato 04:34
• 7 Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, WoO 38: II. Scherzo. Allegro ma non troppo 04:58
• 8 Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, WoO 38: III. Rondo. Allegretto 05:12
• Variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’, Op. 121a:
• 9 Variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’, Op. 121a 16:50
• Total Runtime 01:18:46

Info for Beethoven: The Complete Piano Trios Vol. 4

Beethoven’s most famous piano trio is dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, himself an accomplished musician. The importance of Rudolph as a patron can be seen in the number of other prominent works that Beethoven dedicated to him. Beethoven started work on the trio in the second half of 1810, but much of the work was done in March of the next year. Some descriptions give an inkling of how novel a composition this was perceived to be, and a young Ignaz Moscheles reported: “In the case of how many compositions is the word ‘new’ misapplied! But never in Beethoven's, and least of all in this, which again is full of originality.”

A year after the Archduke, Beethoven wrote another piano trio in B-flat major. The autograph dates it 26 June 1812, but besides the similarity in key it is different in every way. It consists of a single movement, was not published during the composer’s lifetime, and was written to encourage the nine-year-old Maximiliane Brentano in her piano playing.

The Trio in E-flat WoO 38 might have been once intended to be part of op. 1 and although there are no extant sketches to support this, the style of the composition makes a dating of around 1790-1 plausible. The trio contains some surprising twists and turns, particularly in its lengthy codas.

The last piece for piano trio that Beethoven published during his lifetime has one of the longest compositional histories of all of his works. It consists of a long introduction, followed by ten variations on ‘Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu’ from Wilhelm Müller’s popular opera Die Schwestern von Prag. The first version of this piece was probably composed between 1801 and 1803, but it was substantially revised in 1816, and most likely further revised before publication in 1824. This final trio therefore includes elements from Beethoven’s early, middle, and late styles.

Van Baerle Trio

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.