Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Clarinet Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11 (1798)
Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Max Levinson, piano
Johannes BRAHMS Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 (1886)
Stefan Jackiw, violin; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello, Max Levinson, piano
Arnold SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4 (1899)
Alyssa Wang, violin; Stefan Jackiw, violin; Wenting Kang, viola; Marcus Thompson, viola; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; Thomas Van Dyck, double bass
Featured musicians
Max Levinson
Stefan Jackiw
Alyssa Wang
Wenting Kang
Marcus Thompson
Raman Ramakrishnan
Thomas Van Dyck
Romie de Guise-Langlois
An assertive unison statement opens Beethoven’s Clarinet Trio, a genial work from the composer’s early period. The opening Allegro and serene Adagio each demonstrate a clear sonata form, while the last movement is a theme and variations based on the aria “Pria ch’io l’impegno” by Joseph Weigl.
Brahms’s Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor gives economical expression to various transformations of a four-note motive, voiced explosively in the piano at the work’s outset and serving as a thematic anchor throughout. The third movement’s grace and tenderness are packaged in a highly uncommon meter — effectively 7/4 — that brings a notable rhythmic inventiveness to this work.
In Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, six string instruments conjure the atmosphere of a couple walking in a moonlit night, exchanging a range of passionate emotions. Based on the eponymous poem by Richard Dehmel, Verklärte Nacht is a rare example of a tone poem in the chamber music literature and remains Schoenberg’s most popular and approachable work.
