Marsyas Trio by Marsyas Trio

Haydn spent 30 years in the service of the Esterhazy court as Kapellmeister between 1761 and 1791, providing salon pieces for entertainment in addition to church music. Haydn’s 45 piano trios date almost exclusively from his Esterhazy period, more than likely written for and played by members of the Esterhazy family.

Trio No. 28, Hob.XV:16 is the second of a set of three trios requested by John Bland, an English publisher who visited Haydn at Esterhazy in 1789. Bland had requested ‘some sonatas for piano with violin and cello accompaniment’ but these trios were instead published for the flute, with the option to interchange for violin. It is more than plausible this was done in order to increase the publisher’s sales, since the flute was rising in popularity as a domestic chamber music instrument. Composed in 1790, these works represent the genre of ‘piano sonata with accompaniment’, where the flute and cello play a supporting role to the piano. This partly relates to the sonority of keyboard instruments in Haydn’s day, which, unlike the modern piano, had weak bass notes and a thinner tone in the upper register. The cello is used to reinforce the pianist’s left-hand, while the flute frequently compliments right-hand melodies with doublings and solos. An energetic first movement is contrasted by a more elegantly restrained slow movement, followed by a virtuosic, extroverted final movement.

A gifted child prodigy, Mendelssohn had written symphonies and concertos by the age of thirteen, and completed his famous Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the age of only seventeen. By twenty, he had already held three influential posts as music director – in Dusseldorf, Leipzig and Berlin. Trio No.1, Op. 49 is the first of Mendelssohn’s two piano trios, both ranking among his greatest works. Written and originally scored for the standard piano trio formation of violin, cello and piano, the 1st edition bears the inscription, ‘This Trio is also Arranged for PIANO FORTE, FLUTE & VIOLONCELLO, by the Author’.

It is evident from Mendelssohn’s letters that his arrangement of this work for flute came about as a result of ‘an inquiry’ from the Ewer publishing company. As Mendelssohn’s own comments reflect, the two central movements fair particularly well in the flute version, bringing a fresh light to this well-known work. While the piano and cello parts remain untouched, skilful changes in the violin part take into account not only the flute’s tonal range, but also its timbral differences. A fine example of this can be heard in the second movement. The entire first half of this slow movement could be played at the violin’s original pitch; however the flute is given an octave transposition, where its tone has a more shimmering quality befitting the cantabile melodies. The flute’s agility and lightness suit the ‘fairy-like’ character of the third movement, which bears a strong resemblance to the Midsummer Night’s Dream overture. Framing the inner movements, the Molto Allegro begins with an exquisite cello solo and the Finale ends with thunderous piano writing that befits this large-scale work. [This recording uses the 1997 Zimmerman edition, based on the first print flute edition published by J.J. Ewer & Co in London.]

Bohuslav Martinu is widely acknowledged today as one of the foremost Czech composers of the twentieth century. Son of the municipal watchman in the Bohemian village of Policka, Martinu spent his early years living in the local clock tower. It is generally argued that the kinetic mechanical rhythms in his pieces stem from this childhood experience. In 1923 he won a scholarship enabling him to travel to Paris to study with French composers Albert Roussel and Joseph Suk. However, he soon abandoned these in favour of following his own compositional intuition. Martinu lived in Paris for seventeen years but was forced to flee from the Nazis in 1940. He arrived in New York where he remained until 1956, a return to Prague at the end of the war having been hindered by the installation of the new Communist regime.

Martinu’s music is highly individual, with a spontaneously eclectic style, neo-Classical approach to form and references to his Bohemian roots, especially in his use of rhythm. This work for flute, cello and piano was written in 1944 and throughout one can hear the influence of jazz music (so prevalent in America during his residence there), mixed with elements of Czech folk music and a constant juxtaposition of the rhythmic with the lyric. The overall Classical structure of this work, both as a whole and within movements, relies on chirpy, energetic outer sections contrasted by reflective, melancholic middle sections which utilise a darker harmonic language. © Helen Vidovich
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Marsyas Trio takes its name from Greek mythology - a dedication to the flute-playing satyr, Marsyas. According to the myth, Marsyas dared to compete in a musical contest with Apollo, God of the Lyre, winning the contest but losing his life to the envious wrath of Apollo. Marsyas thus saved his dying breaths for the instrument he immortalized. This mythology encapsulates the spirit of becoming a musician.

Emerging as a leading young Flute, Cello and Piano ensemble, the Marsyas Trio was formed by three alumni of the Royal Academy of Music in London. Australian flautist Helen Vidovich, Canadian cellist Valerie Welbanks and pianist Fei Ren from New Zealand, met as postgraduate students and have been performing as a trio across the UK and abroad since 2009. Venues include St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’ Piccadilly, Lake District Summer Music Festival and the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. The trio has appeared on Bulgarian National Television, Classic FM radio and was recorded by the Bulgarian National Radio. Studies have been undertaken with members of the Chilingirian and Skampa Quartets, chamber musician Carol Presland and Michael Cox of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Currently the trio takes part in the Chamber Studio masterclass series at Kings Place, London. Dedicated to the performance of music for flute, cello and piano from all eras, the trio is also proactive in the performance of new music. In 2011 the Marsyas Trio commissioned a work by Elena Firsova thanks to an award from the PRS for Music Foundation. A Triple Portrait received its premiere at The Forge in London in April 2012. Other activities for 2012 include new works being written for the trio by Laura Bowler and Ricardo Nillni, and concert tours in China and South-West England. The Marsyas Trio has recently completed its debut CD and is in the process of funding a subsequent recording project of Elena Firsova’s chamber works, for release in 2015.

The Marsyas Trio was formed by Australian flautist Helen Vidovich, Canadian cellist Valerie Welbanks and pianist Fei Ren from New Zealand. The trio met as postgraduate students at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and has been performing across the UK and abroad since 2009. www.marsyastrio.com

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