January 8/9, 2023
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Trio No. 2 in G Major, Op. 1
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
Blue/s Forms for Solo Violin
Maurice Ravel
Piano Trio in A Minor
World-renowned violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to perform with celebrated Cincinnati artists Ilya Finkelshteyn and Ran Dank. These works for piano trio showcase the sonic colors of Ravel and the influence of Haydn on Beethoven. Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s piece for solo violin expresses a masterful balance of classical and jazz.
We are grateful to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for helping to make possible the appearance of Mr. Hadelich who performs with the CSO on January 6 & 7.
Program Notes
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Piano Trio No. 2 in G Major, Op. 1
Opus numbers can be somewhat deceiving. A composer’s “Opus 1” is rarely their first composition, but rather the first work they selected to introduce themselves to the broader musical public. In Beethoven’s case, his Opus 1 set of piano trios was written in 1795 after he was already an experienced craftsman who had already composed a ballet, two cantatas, a piano concerto, nine quartets, four trios, four duos, a quintet, a wind octet, nine violin pieces, 15 piano pieces, and 30 songs. Given such an established catalog to choose from, Beethoven’s decision to first publish a set of piano trios can be viewed as a strategic move for a number of reasons. For one, Beethoven was an accomplished pianist, and publishing a set of trios provided the added benefit of also creating performance opportunities for himself. It was also a safe choice—the piano trio was viewed as a lighter genre with a less daunting history than the string quartet. Perhaps most importantly, the piano trio offered an opportunity for Beethoven’s characteristic expansion of a genre. Earlier trios by Haydn and Mozart had earned their place within the canon, but all with three or fewer movements, and generally under 20 minutes. Beethoven’s choice to use “Opus 1” allowed him to enter the public eye with an expanded trio form that included a fourth movement, extending the length of the trio and deepening the emotional expression of the works to give equal roles to all three instruments.
Beethoven follows Haydn’s model for the first movement with an opening Adagio that introduces the Allegro vivacemain section. Yet his larger ambitions for the Trio can be seen early in the sheer length of the introductory material as Beethoven delays the movement to the home key by continually developing new material. This sense of expansiveness is reinforced in the second movement. The longest of the four movements, the Largo con espressione presents a lyrical song that brings to mind Mozart.
The final two movements return to the Haydn model. By Beethoven’s standards, the Scherzo is relatively tame—no fierce tempo or jarring syncopations, but simply clever writing that creates a perpetually rising theme throughout the movement. The finale is a presto Rondo filled with humor wherein Beethoven quickly moves through rapid exchanges of leading motifs. As the composer’s introduction to the public, the Op. 1 serves to aptly demonstrate both Beethoven’s technical abilities and potential to push the envelope of traditional form. Although Beethoven draws heavily from his predecessors throughout the Trio, the second movement alone foretells the strong Romantic he would eventually become.
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932 – 2004)
Blue/s Forms for Solo Violin
While Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson may not be a household name, the American pianist, composer and conductor is well worth remembering for his accomplishments across a range of musical endeavors. Educated at NYU, The Manhattan School of Music and Princeton University, his innovative approach to composition made an impression not only on classical music, but also jazz, blues, film scores and popular genres. Throughout his career he composed instrumental and vocal music, ballets and film scores, but he also branched out by writing arrangements for artists ranging from the Max Roach Quartet to Harry Belafonte and Marvin Gaye.
Blue/s Forms (1972) for solo violin is dedicated to violinist Sanford Allen (b. 1939), the first African American violinist hired by the New York Philharmonic, who premiered the work at Carnegie Hall. The three-movement work plays on the idea of “blue” notes—the flat 3rd and 7th scale degrees used in jazz—to blend jazz harmonies with the lyrical melodies and virtuosic passage work of classical solo violin works.
This play on major and minor intervals is evident right from the start in the arresting opening of the first movement, “Plain Blue/s,”with its slip-sliding double-stops and soulful swing. Just as “blue” and even more soulful is the meditative and painfully lyrical second movement, “Just Blue/s.”The concluding movement, “Jettin’ Blue/s,” channels Paganini through the rollicking musical personality of the country fiddler.
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)
Piano Trio in A Minor
From a modern perspective, the sheer number of piano trios in the repertoire can easily make it seem that this combination of instruments has always been a natural draw to composers. Yet the combination of piano, violin and cello creates some natural challenges. The timbre of the piano against a small number of strings can prove a tricky blend for composer and performer alike, but perhaps the greatest challenge is one of simple dynamics—the piano is easily capable of overpowering the strings. Tackling this musical puzzle seemed to attract Ravel, who spent several years thinking about the A Minor Trio before he ever set about composing it in 1913. Yet even with this forethought, Ravel struggled to make progress on the work, not finishing the first movement until the following year and then stalling once again before completing the work. Ultimately, it was France’s entry into the First World War that spurred Ravel to declare his intention to complete the Trio before joining the war effort.
The Trio opens with a free sonata built on a theme Ravel called “Basque in color,” which drew its distinctive rhythms from his never-completed concerto on Basque themes, Zazpiak Bat. There are two clear themes—one rhythmic, brief and somewhat dark and the other lyrical, bright and poetic. These themes progress either dreamily or in seeming conflict until Ravel ultimately draws together elements of both for the movement’s concluding theme. The second movement’s name, “Pantoum,” refers to a Malaysian poetic form of interlocking verses that had gained popularity with many French poets of the day. Ravel incorporates this idea into his existing A-B-A-Scherzo-Trio form by carrying material from the Scherzo into the Trio and repeating those themes. Ultimately, it is less the form and more Ravel’s unique talent for charging his music with brilliant rhythms and color that sets this movement apart as one of the composer’s most memorable.
The Passacaille is a series of variations on an eight-bar theme that is first presented deep in the piano’s bass. As the variations progress, the theme wanders its way upward through the cello and violin, eventually swelling to a climax before retreating to the spare texture from which it began. The final movement is Ravel’s most orchestral, and arguably the most challenging for the instrumentalists. It opens with a four-string arpeggio pattern in the violin played entirely in harmonics. This motif kicks off a series of colorful splashes throughout. As the movement alternates between 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures, these gestures help accentuate what feels like a spontaneous and eccentric race to the finish line that concludes with the final pages marked toujours ff—continuously very loud.
