Complete Works for Piano Trio vol. 5 by Van Baerle Trio

Ludwig van Beethoven

Van Baerle Trio | Residentie Orkest The Hague

Complete Works for Piano Trio vol. 5

Price: € 20.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917280128
Catnr: CC 72801
Release date: 10 April 2020
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917280128

Catalogue number
CC 72801

Release date
10 April 2020

"What energy! The “Triple Concerto” opens with incancatory power."

clicmusique.com, 01-9-2020

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

In 1799, after having made a name for himself with major compositions in the genres of the piano trio, piano sonata, violin sonata, and string quartet, but before finishing his first symphony, Beethoven wrote a work for mixed strings and winds. This piece, the Septet op. 20, would become one of his most popular compositions, with a large number of arrangements, including the one for piano trio on this disc. The form is clearly related to the divertimenti by Mozart, with six movements that alternate fast and slow tempos.

The appearance of the Triple Concerto on the final disc in this series might surprise some listeners, as it is the only work with orchestra, but this composition has more in common with chamber music than with concertos. It was written in 1805, and its instrumentation is highly exceptional if not unprecedented altogether.

In tone, it is rather a stark contrast from Beethoven’s other concertos, which generally contain easily recognisable melodies and strikingly rhythmic material, neither of which are found to a great degree here. Furthermore, the opposition of soloist and orchestra, a central aspect of many solo works with orchestra written up until that point that was the engine behind much of the drama, is also absent, with the orchestra taking a largely subservient role to the three soloists. So, although the work was called a ‘Grand Concerto Concertant’ when it was published, it really has very little in common with other works with a similar title.

The question is whether this piece is a concerto at all, or whether it could be more fruitfully played and judged as a different kind of experimental piece in a more collaborative genre. This disc takes the latter approach, and by contextualising it in a series of piano trios, it presents this work as Beethoven’s most richly instrumented chamber music.

En dit is dan het allerlaatste, vijfde deel uit de complete reeks met pianotrio's van Ludwig van Beethoven van het internationaal erkende Van Baerle Trio. Ook deze opname van pianist Hannes Minnaar, violiste Maria Milstein en cellist Gideon den Herder is weer het beluisteren waard. Je hoort, hun ervaring en bevlogenheid en hoe het drietal Beethoven doorgrond heeft. Dit werk is gedaan, de reeks is compleet!

In 1799 schreef Beethoven een werk voor strijkers en blazers. Dit Septet op. 20 zou één van zijn populairste composities worden, met een groot aantal arrangementen tot gevolg, waarvan er één op deze cd staat. De instrumentatie van het Septet – klarinet, hoorn, fagot, viool, altviool, cello en contrabas – is ongebruikelijk, hoewel het niet duidelijk is of dit Beethovens keuze was of een verzoek van de onbekende opdrachtgever. De vorm is veel traditioneler, en is te herleiden tot de divertimento’s van onder anderen Mozart, met zes delen in afwisselend snelle en langzame tempi. Zoals vaak het geval bij Beethoven vertonen zijn thema’s veel meer thematische verwantschap dan die van zijn voorgangers.

De compositie werd op den duur een gevoelig onderwerp voor Beethoven. Het stuk overschaduwde niet alleen zijn latere werken, het confronteerde hem ook met zijn toenemende doofheid. Dat drukte hij uit in een brief die nu bekend staat als het Heiligenstädter Testament. In dit document, dat hij zijn hele leven met zich meedroeg, schreef hij hoe wanhopig hij werd door zijn steeds slechter wordend gehoor. De componist vestigde zijn hoop op zijn dokter, Johann Adam Schmidt, van wie Beethoven dacht dat hij hem zou kunnen genezen van de verschrikkelijke oorsuizingen. Gedreven door deze hoop en het feit dat Schmidt ook viool speelde, droeg hij het arrangement van het Septet voor pianotrio aan hem op. Het mocht niet baten, vier jaar nadat Beethoven het arrangement aan Schmidt opdroeg stierf de dokter zonder de beloofde remedie te hebben gevonden en Beethovens gehoor werd steeds slechter. De magie van het arrangement had duidelijk niet gewerkt.

Het Tripelconcert is in hetzelfde jaar geschreven als het Septet en ook hier is de instrumentatie uitzonderlijk. Qua toon verschilt het sterk van Beethovens andere concerten, die over het algemeen eenvoudig herkenbare melodieën en opvallend ritmisch materiaal bevatten; in dit stuk komt geen van beide veel voor. Bovendien is het orkest ondergeschikt aan de drie solisten. Hoewel het stuk ‘Grand Concerto Concertant’ werd genoemd heeft het dus weinig gemeen met andere werken met een vergelijkbare titel. Maar dat heeft velen er niet van weerhouden om het stuk toch als een concert te behandelen, en het ook zo te beoordelen.

Het feit dat het Tripelconcert is opgenomen op deze laatste cd van de serie staat, zal sommige luisteraars misschien verbazen. Het is in deze serie het enige werk met orkest, maar deze compositie heeft meer gemeen met kamermuziek dan met een soloconcert en door het in de context van een reeks pianotrio's te zetten, presenteert het Van Baerle Trio dit werk als Beethovens rijkst geïnstrumenteerde kamermuziek.

Nachdem er sich bereits mit bedeutenden Klavier- und Violinsonaten sowie Stücken für Klaviertrio und Streichquartett einen Namen gemacht hatte, doch vor der Fertigstellung seiner Ersten Symphonie, schrieb Beethoven 1799 ein Werk für Streicher und Bläser. Dieses Septett, Opus 20, sollte eine seiner beliebtesten Kompositionen werden und zahlreiche Arrangements nach sich ziehen, einschließlich des vorliegenden für Klaviertrio. Die Form, sechs Sätze von abwechselnd schnellem und langsamem Tempo, bezieht sich klar auf Mozarts Divertimenti.
Das Tripelkonzert auf der letzten CD dieser Serie mag einige Hörer überraschen, ist es doch das einzige Werk mit Orchester, doch diese Komposition hat mehr mit Kammermusik gemein als einem Konzert. Beethoven schrieb es 1805, und seine Besetzung ist sehr außergewöhnlich, wenn nicht gänzlich beispiellos.
Es besitzt einen gänzlich verschiedenen Duktus zu Beethovens übrigen Konzerten, die sich allgemein durch leicht erkennbare Melodien und markantes rhythmisches Material auszeichnen, doch weder das eine noch das andere findet sich in hohem Maße hier. Zudem fehlt auch die Gegenüberstellung von Solisten und Orchester, die sonst einen zentralen Aspekt vieler Solowerke mit Orchester und die treibende dramatische Kraft eines Werkes darstellt. Stattdessen nimmt das Orchester weitgehend eine den drei Solisten untergeordnete Rolle ein. Wo das Werk bei seiner Veröffentlichung als ‚Grand Concerto Concertant‘ bezeichnet wurde, hat es also jedoch nur wenige Gemeinsamkeiten mit anderen Werken gleichen Titels.
Bleibt die Frage, ob es nun überhaupt ein Konzert ist, oder ob es nicht als andersartiges Experimentalwerk eines kollaborativeren Genres ertragreicher gespielt und bewertet werden könnte. Diese CD wählt den zweiten Ansatz, setzt die Komposition in den Kontext einer Serie von Klaviertrios, und präsentiert sie somit als Beethovens üppigst instrumentierte Kammermusik.

Artist(s)

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. Already four cd's appeared. The last one is nominated for the Edison Klassiek 2019, the last volume, number 5, will appear in spring 2020.

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Residentie Orkest The Hague

Residentie Orkest The Hague proves that even in the 21st century, symphonic music can still be meaningful to large and diverse audiences. Its reputation as one of the finest orchestras in Europe makes it an appropriate figurehead for The Hague as a cosmopolitan city of justice, peace, and culture. The orchestra performs concert series in the Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen and in addition performs at venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, TivoliVredenburg Utrecht and De Doelen in Rotterdam. Special crossover and innovative productions are also provided at The Hague’s prominent pop venue Paard van Troje throughout the season. The Residentie Orkest performs regularly at various other major concert halls abroad. Tours have brought the orchestra to New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Vienna amongst others and the orchestra also performed in countries like Japan, China, Germany, France and South America. There are also many prolific collaborations with a wide range of partners, including the Dutch National Theatre, Gemeentemuseum and the Dutch National Opera. Recent seasons have seen a much acclaimed production of Messiaen’s rarely performed opera Saint François d’Asisse and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites.

A rich history Since its first concert in 1904, the Residentie Orkest has developed into one of the prominent symphony orchestras of The Netherlands. Founded by Dr Henri Viotta, who was also its first principal conductor, it quickly attracted composers like Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Max Reger, Maurice Ravel, Paul Hindemith and Vincent d’Indy. Guest conductors included Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein and Hans Knappertsbusch.

After World War II, Willem van Otterloo was appointed chief conductor. He led the orchestra from 1949 to 1973 and built a strong reputation by combining high-quality performances with adventurous programming. Van Otterloo was succeeded by Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, Evgenii Svetlanov, Jaap van Zweden and Neeme Järvi.

Chief conductor Starting season 2018/2019 Nicholas Collon is chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Residentie Orkest. Richard Egarr will join the orchestra as principal guest conductor in 2019. Until the summer of 2019 Jan Willem de Vriend will act as principal conductor.

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Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor)

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”. An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest...

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”.
An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Belgian National Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestre National de Lyon, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Netherlands Radio and Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Melbourne Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He is Principal Conductor Designate of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille, and former Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and the Brabant Orchestra.
For the Challenge Classics label, de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra have recorded the complete Mendelssohn symphonies and all Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos with, among others, pianist Hannes Minnaar and violinist Liza Ferschtman. De Vriend’s interpretation of the Symphony No 7 prompted Classic FM to admire “a bounding flair that does real justice to the composer’s capacity for joy”. A further landmark of his recorded catalogue is his complete recording of the Schubert symphonies with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
De Vriend’s collaborative spirit is equally evident in his work for the stage, notably with opera director Eva Buchmann and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. In addition to works by Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel and Telemann, their productions in Europe and the USA have included staged versions of Bach’s ‘Hunting’ and ‘Coffee’ Cantatas at the Bachfest Leipzig, and operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Cherubini, among them Mozart’s Don Giovanni und Rossini’s La gazzetta, both toured in Switzerland. De Vriend has also conducted operatic productions in Amsterdam (with the Nederlandse Reisopera), Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lucerne, Schwetzingen and Bergen.

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Hannes Minnaar (piano)

Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2010, 3rd prize) and the Geneva International Music Competition (2008, 2nd prize) and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (2011). He studied with Jan Wijn at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating with the highest distinction and took master classes with Menahem Pressler and Ferenc Rados. In addition, he studied organ with Jacques van Oortmerssen.
Minnaar was soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, during which time he worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Jiří Bělohlávek, Herbert Blomstedt, Frans Brüggen, Eliahu Inbal, Edo de Waart and Xian Zhang. He gives recitals in many European countries and around the world. He performed at the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Musashino Hall (Tokyo) and the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow) and was invited to the festivals of La Roque d’Anthéron, Bordeaux (Jacobins) and Guangzhou.
Minnaar is also active as a chamber musician. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio he won prizes at competitions in Lyon (2011, CIMCL, 1st prize) and Munich (2013, ARD, 2nd prize). The trio gave 18 concerts in an international tour in the “Rising Stars” series in 2014, including the Barbican (London), Musikverein (Vienna) and Cité de la Musique (Paris). Minnaar also performed with musicians such as Janine Jansen, Isabelle van Keulen and Mischa Maisky.
His two solo albums are highly acclaimed. His debut album was awarded an Edison and Gramophone published a full-page article about this album. The same magazine wrote about his second album “Bach inspirations”: “After Minnaar’s debut disc, this makes two hits in a row”. BBC Music Magazine selected it as “Instrumental choice of the month” with 5 stars.
Minnaar is currently recording all of Beethoven’s piano concertos for Challenge Classics. Other future concert highlights include Liszt’s Totentanz and a new concerto by Robert Zuidam with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Markus Stenz – at which occiasion he will be awarded the Dutch Music Prize by the Dutch Minister of Culture – and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Daniele Rustioni.

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Maria Milstein (violin)

Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Maria Milstein studied in Amsterdam with Ilya Grubert, in London with David Takeno and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium) with Augustin Dumay.
Maria is a prizewinner of major international competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, such as “Città di Brescia” and “Premio Rodolfo Lipizer” in Italy, the ARD Competition in Munich, the Lyon Chamber Music Competition and the Kersjes Prize in the Netherlands. In 2016, Maria is awarded the Fellowship of the Borletti Buitoni Trust, and in 2018, she receives the Dutch Music Prize - the highest recognition for a classical musician in the Netherlands awarded by the Ministry of Culture.
Maria performs extensively across Europe in halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, BOZAR in Brussels, Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie of Cologne and Cité de la Musique in Paris. She has appeared as a soloist with a.o. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Hague Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic and Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and worked with conductors such as Vasily Petrenko, Giancarlo Guerrero, Michel Tabachnik, Jean-Jacques KA keen chamber musician, Maria formed the succesful Van Baerle Trio together with pianist Hannes Minnaar and cellist Gideon den Herder, one of the leading trios of its generation. After winning the ARD Competition and the Lyon Chamber Music Competition, the Trio made the ECHO Rising Stars Tour in 2014, peforming in famous concert halls all over Europe. The Trio already released two CD’s, both praised in the international press, and is presently recording the complete works for piano trio by Beethoven for Challenge Records.
Maria’s own debut CD « Sounds of War », recorded with pianist Hanna Shybayeva for Cobra Records and featuring Sonatas by Poulenc, Janáček and Prokofiev, received lavish reviews in the international press and won the Edison Klassiek Prize 2015 in the category “best chamber music album”. In October 2017 her second album “La Sonate de Vinteuil”, recorded with pianist Nathalia Milstein is released on the French label Mirare, and is voted “best CD of 2017” by the Dutch press.
Maria plays on a violin by Michel Angelo Bergonzi (Cremona, ca. 1750), on loan from the Dutch Music Instruments Foundation, and holds a teaching position at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.antorow, Christian Arming and Reinbert de Leeuw.

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Gideon den Herder (cello)

Gideon den Herder initially started at Monique Bartels in Amsterdam and at Hagen in Salzburg. In Zurich he obtained his solo degree with Thomas Grossenbacher. In baroque cello he trained under the guidance of Jaap ter Linden and Roel Dieltiens. In 2003 Gideon den Herder won the title Young Music Talent of the Year, and in 2009 he won the old music competition À Tre in Trossingen (Germany) with the Trio Otone. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio Gideon den Herder won several prizes, including the Kersjesprijs and the first prizes of the ARD Competition 2013 in Munich and the international chamber music competition of Lyon in 2011. The Van Baerle Trio performs frequently and is a guest in famous venues as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Philharmonie in Cologne and the Barbican Center in London. Gideon den Herder has also been in charge of the cellular section since 2014 at the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. He played an instrument by builder Giuseppe Dall'Aglio with a bow attributed to Dominique Peccatte, both on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.

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Composer(s)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.

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Press

What energy! The “Triple Concerto” opens with incancatory power.
clicmusique.com, 01-9-2020

The result is—by a staggering margin—the finest performance and recording of this masterpiece that has ever been put down. Period. I should probably end this review now.
Fanfare, 27-7-2020

The Van Baerle Trio is again superior in playing and sound refinement, with the Residentie Orkest under Jan Willem de Vriend as congenial orchestral partner.
Luister, 17-7-2020

The Van Baerle Trio’s performance is highly attractive, artistically attentive to the details in Beethoven’s skilful arrangement, and while each of these three musicians plays superbly pianist Hannes Minnaar’s touch is the grease in the machine that makes it all run so delightfully effortlessly.
Music web International, 14-7-2020

The musicians pair an exceptional musicality with a magnificent interplay, which is powered by an élan, an eagerness and a playing instinct that you don't come across very often to this extent.
Het Parool, 11-5-2020

With the 'Triple Concerto' and the 'Piano Trio, Op. 38 'The latest CD by the Van Baerle Trio ends a series of five Beethoven albums.
AVROTROS, 30-4-2020

Van Baerle Trio is fully committed to pure fun.
De Gelderlander, 15-4-2020

This last album is just as much an asset as any previous one in this phenomenal series.
Opus Klassiek, 13-4-2020

★★★★ The Triple Concert is sometimes toiling and wrinkling, but not with the delicate Van Baerle.
De Volkskrant, 09-4-2020

Van Baerle Trio plays all the piano trios of Beethoven in three years - now what?
De Volkskrant, 08-4-2020

With this fifth movement from Beethoven's Piano Trio series, Collected Works for Piano Trio op. 56 (Triple concerto) and op. 38, completes this special edition. Bravo!
Stretto, 29-3-2020