Gál, Shostakovich Piano Trios Briggs Piano Trio

• Hans Gál (1890-1987): Piano Trio in E Major, Op. 18:
• 1 I. Tranquillo ma con moto 11:57
• 2 II. Allegro violento 05:42
• 3 III. Adagio mesto 11:01
• Variationen über eine Wiener Heurigenmelodie, Op. 9:
• 4 Variationen über eine Wiener Heurigenmelodie, Op. 9 07:10
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67:
• 5 I. Andante 07:35
• 6 II. Allegro con brio 03:06
• 7 III. Largo 05:15
• 8 IV. Allegretto 11:10
• Total Runtime 01:02:56

Info for Gál, Shostakovich Piano Trios

Continuing AVIE’s acclaimed and influential series of recordings of the music of Austrian émigré Hans Gál, this latest release brings together two of today’s most eminent Gál interpreters, Sarah Beth Briggs and Kenneth Woods with violin virtuoso David Juritz for a recording of Gál’s breathtakingly lyrical Piano Trio in E major and his witty Variations on a Popular Viennese Tune. Gál’s music and destiny was shaped by war and political upheaval, as was that of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose Piano Trio in E minor, one of the monuments of 20th century chamber music, is a harrowing souvenir of the times in which it was written.

Briggs Piano Trio:
Sarah Beth Briggs, piano
David Juritz, violin
Kenneth Woods, cello

Recorded 11–13 March 2018 at Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, UK
Produced, engineered and edited by Simon Fox-Gál

Briggs Piano Trio
United by a commitment to continuing to raise the profile of the Austrian-British composer Hans Gál, the members of the Briggs Piano Trio were brought together by AVIE Records to make the recording which contrasts Gál’s poetic E major Trio with Shostakovich’s dark E minor Trio.

Pianist Sarah Beth Briggs, violinist David Juritz and cellist Kenneth Woods have previously collaborated in various contexts since the 1990s. While Sarah and David were originally brought together through Mozart, in recent years, the Hans Gál connection was what partnered Sarah with Kenneth, when he conducted the world premiere of Hans Gál’s Piano Concerto with Sarah as soloist for an AVIE recording which was awarded a Gramophone Critic’s Choice.

The three musicians enjoy exploring hidden gems as well as returning to great chamber works for the piano trio of the past. The Briggs Piano Trio share a special affinity for the piano trios of the leading composers of the great Austro-German tradition from Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert through Brahms and Zemlinsky to Hans Gál, perhaps the last great figure in that line.

This album contains no booklet.