It's with considerable chagrin that I have just realized, after the last concert on the cruise ship, that I never posted a review of the concert in Bonn. Oh, my. Mea culpa. First time I have ever forgotten to review an event I attended.
In Bonn, on Tuesday afternoon, we had a chance to visit the Beethoven House (the composer's birthplace) which is now a museum. Afterwards, we stepped out into the back garden, and then were ushered into a modern addition at the rear, and took our seats in a lovely little 200-seat concert hall for a concert of music by -- who else? -- Beethoven. The hall sits on top of the underground facility which houses the Beethoven Archives.
So there we sat, listening to the master's music in the literal backyard of the house where he was born. And sitting directly above the manuscript of at least one of the works we heard. Quite an experience, to put it mildly.
This concert opened with an early work, the Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano in B-flat Major, Op. 11. Since the work is also playable with violin, there is disagreement as to whether it should be considered as the "Piano Trio # 4" (in between Op. 1/1-3 and Op. 70). This is the kind of musicological fine detail that can sometimes drive amateur audiences to distraction. Maybe we'll even meet some of the artists there, too!
At any rate, this is a delightful work with the kind of mixed atmosphere one would expect from a maturing composer. Some pages sound positively Mozartean, while other passages present the kinds of terse musical motifs, ripe with possibilities, which we associate with the mature Beethoven. The three movements are an allegro con brio, an adagio, and a theme with variations (allegretto) based on a melody from a then-well-known dramma giocoso, L'amor marinara ossia il corsaro (no, I've never heard of it) by Joseph Weigl (never heard of him either). The tune, Pria ch'io l'impegno, must have been hugely popular because other composers such as Eybler, Hummel, and Paganini also made use of it (thank goodness, yes, I have heard of them!). The theme and variations is the most interesting part of the work for me, as the switches in tone and technical demands from one variation to the next take the musicians through a wide range of playing styles and techniques in a short time period.
James Campbell, Roman Borys, and Jamie Parker gave a nicely-sprung account of the opening movement, played the second with lovely singing tone, and then finished with a lively account of the variations movement which only once became arguably a trifle heavy-handed for an early work such as this. The point is certainly arguable, either way.
The larger work on this concert was the Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, commonly referred to as the Archduke Trio. The sobriquet refers not just to the dedication to Beethoven's friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolf, but also to the tone of the work. This trio can be, by turns, imposing, stately, even regal, and is eminently well-mannered -- but rarely does it become dramatic after the fashion of either the Seventh or Ninth Symphonies, which bracket it in the order of composition. Given the elevated art which Beethoven brought to this composition, it's sad to relate that it was the final work which he played before retiring from public performance -- and his playing was so irregular and uncontrolled that listeners could scarcely grasp the music without looking at the score.
No such charge could be leveled against the Gryphon Trio on this occasion. I was especially struck by the unity of style which stretched across the entire work, giving it a strong through line as if in the telling of a story. That's a doubly apt metaphor, because I was reminded time and again of the famous axiom that chamber music is a conversation between friends. The sense of question or comment and following response was rarely absent. Balance among the three players was well-nigh ideal throughout the work. This was, like the Dumky Trio later in the week, a performance that one would be glad to hear again.
This, by the way, is the work which James Campbell mentioned at the opening of the concert as being the manuscript reposing in the Archives directly underneath us.
At any rate, this is a delightful work with the kind of mixed atmosphere one would expect from a maturing composer. Some pages sound positively Mozartean, while other passages present the kinds of terse musical motifs, ripe with possibilities, which we associate with the mature Beethoven. The three movements are an allegro con brio, an adagio, and a theme with variations (allegretto) based on a melody from a then-well-known dramma giocoso, L'amor marinara ossia il corsaro (no, I've never heard of it) by Joseph Weigl (never heard of him either). The tune, Pria ch'io l'impegno, must have been hugely popular because other composers such as Eybler, Hummel, and Paganini also made use of it (thank goodness, yes, I have heard of them!). The theme and variations is the most interesting part of the work for me, as the switches in tone and technical demands from one variation to the next take the musicians through a wide range of playing styles and techniques in a short time period.
James Campbell, Roman Borys, and Jamie Parker gave a nicely-sprung account of the opening movement, played the second with lovely singing tone, and then finished with a lively account of the variations movement which only once became arguably a trifle heavy-handed for an early work such as this. The point is certainly arguable, either way.
The larger work on this concert was the Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, commonly referred to as the Archduke Trio. The sobriquet refers not just to the dedication to Beethoven's friend, student, and patron, the Archduke Rudolf, but also to the tone of the work. This trio can be, by turns, imposing, stately, even regal, and is eminently well-mannered -- but rarely does it become dramatic after the fashion of either the Seventh or Ninth Symphonies, which bracket it in the order of composition. Given the elevated art which Beethoven brought to this composition, it's sad to relate that it was the final work which he played before retiring from public performance -- and his playing was so irregular and uncontrolled that listeners could scarcely grasp the music without looking at the score.
No such charge could be leveled against the Gryphon Trio on this occasion. I was especially struck by the unity of style which stretched across the entire work, giving it a strong through line as if in the telling of a story. That's a doubly apt metaphor, because I was reminded time and again of the famous axiom that chamber music is a conversation between friends. The sense of question or comment and following response was rarely absent. Balance among the three players was well-nigh ideal throughout the work. This was, like the Dumky Trio later in the week, a performance that one would be glad to hear again.
This, by the way, is the work which James Campbell mentioned at the opening of the concert as being the manuscript reposing in the Archives directly underneath us.
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