Argyle Trio, with Michael Houstoun standing in as pianist Photo: Supplied
This Wellington Chamber Music Trust concert features Argyle Trio.
In normal circumstances, Argyle Trio consists of acclaimed New Zealand violinist Wilma Smith one of New Zealand's most successful young cellists, Matthias Balzat, and the talented young Australian pianist Laurence Matheson.
Due to Covid restrictions, Laurence Matheson was unable to join them from Australia, so New Zealand pianist Michael Houston stepped into the breach, generously joining the remaining musicians for their New Zealand tour.
In this concert you’ll hear them play an exquisite piano trio by Ravel, and the concert begins and ends with Beethoven.
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in Eb Op 1 No 1
Don’t be fooled into thinking this was the first thing Beethoven had written. Opus numbers are not reliable chronological guides to Beethoven’s music. The composer was in his mid 20s and had written dozens of pieces before this, nor was this his first piano trio.
The three piano trios of Beethoven’s Opus 1 are “statement” works, carefully crafted for maximum return. They were dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky, in whose Vienna home they were premiered. Lichnowsky persuaded many of his aristocratic friends to subscribe to the edition Beethoven published in 1795, which proved to be a great artistic and financial success.
This trio contains Beethoven’s first true scherzo movement. He traded his earlier minuets for something faster paced, bouncy and comical in this scherzo third movement. The spirited Finale has brief moments of mock-introspection, sudden fits of dramatic passion and key changes – all examples of the ingenuity and skill for which Beethoven is remembered.
RAVEL Piano Trio in A minor
In 1914, composer Maurice Ravel spent the summer months in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a Basque fishing town across the port from where he was born writing his Piano Trio in A minor. Although initial progress was slow, the outbreak of World War I forced him to work quickly in order to finish before enlisting.
Ravel innovatively scored the string parts in their upper ranges so that the violin can be heard high above the piano, and the cello’s notes occupy the space between the pianist’s hands. The string music is full of wonderful technical features – trills, tremolos, harmonics, arpeggios and glissandos that add to the innovative, almost orchestral texture of the music.
The opening theme is an ethereal reflection on the zortziko, a Basque dance rhythm, so listen out for that!
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio in Bb Op 97, Archduke
The Archduke this trio was named after was Archduke Rudolf of Austria, the youngest child of Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor. He was an amateur pianist, composer, loyal patron and one of Beethoven’s few composition students. In addition to this piano trio, Beethoven dedicated 14 works to the Archduke.
Beethoven played the piano at the premiere of this piece in Vienna in April 1814. However, his deafness was catching up with him and just weeks later, after a reprise of the piece, the celebrated virtuoso never played the piano in public again.
This four-movement work opens with a glorious yet tranquil first theme, followed by a contrasting and jaunty one.
Recorded by RNZ Concert, St. Andrew's on the Terrace, 12 September 2021
Producer and Engineer: Darryl Stack
