Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 1 TrioVanBeethoven

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Trio No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1 No. 1:
• 1 I. Allegro 09:53
• 2 II. Adagio 07:21
• 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro assai 05:01
• 4 IV. Finale: Presto 07:44
• Piano Trio No. 5 in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost Trio":
• 5 I. Allegro vivace e con brio 06:50
• 6 II. Largo assai ed espressivo 10:14
• 7 III. Presto 08:13
• Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, WoO 38:
• 8 I. Allegro moderato 04:32
• 9 II. Scherzo: Allegro ma non troppo 04:53
• 10 III. Rondo: Allegretto 05:26
• Total Runtime 01:10:07

Info for Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 1

Beethoven as the symbol of affinity to the masters of Viennese Classicism, but also as a visionary and a trigger of the new – this is in keeping with the ‘main focus’ of the TrioVanBeethoven: the cultivation of classical trio literature, but also composition commissions for world premieres or crossover projects are features of its activity. Nevertheless, with their first CD recording Clemens Zeilinger, Verena Stourzh and Erich Oskar Huetter devote themselves to the name giver of their ensemble with an arch from Beethoven’s first listed work, the Piano Trio in E flat major op. 1/1, the even earlier Trio in E flat major WoO 38 (work without opus number) up to one of the best-known works of the genre, the Piano Trio in D major op. 70/1, which was later given the sobriquet of ‘Ghost Trio’ because of the sometimes mystic mood in the slow movement.

Why „van Beethoven“? Beethoven stands for independence in thinking, for what is revolutionary and for what points ahead of its time. Hence, he is a lone wolf, on the one hand, and, on the other, the central base for many compositional traditions of the future that referred to him, e.g. the axis from Brahms to Schoenberg. For the three musicians, the affinity to Beethoven is evident: Clemens Zeilinger has perfor- med all the 32 Beethoven sonatas in a cycle, Verena Stourzh has already held con- cert performances of and recorded the entire piano trio oeuvre with the Haydn Trio in Eisenstadt and Erich Oskar Huetter has maintained an intensive interest in the cello sonatas by the maestro.

TrioVanBeethoven

TrioVanBeethoven
Why „van Beethoven“? Beethoven stands for independence of mind, for revolutionary ideas, for music that reaches far beyond his own time. Beethoven was a “lone wolf”, but at the same time the central point of departure for new traditions of composing, like for example the line from Brahms to Schönberg. Beethoven as a symbol of the three musicians’ closeness to the works of the Viennese Classic, but also as a visionary and creator of a new mode of composing - this fits the main purpose of theTrioVanBeethoven: the care of the classical trio works, but also the commissioning of new compositions or Crossover projects.

Jointly with the the Scottish singers Lorna Anderson (soprano) and Jamie MacDougall (tenor), the TrioVanBeethoven puts a focus on Beethoven’s and Haydn’s folksong arrangements, in order to present this unique combination of classical music and folksong tradition to a broader public.

In its foundation year in 2011, the Trio held its debut at the renowned Festival Tage der Alten Musik in Herne (Germany). Since then, the ensemble has appeared in Austria, Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Poland, Serbia and Greece. In 2014, the TrioVanBeethoven has set accents with two concert series in Upper Austria (Kremsegg Castle) and Styria (Rein Monastery) to be continued this year. Besides the Trio will perform at the Klassikmusikfest Mühlviertel, at the International Brucknerfest Linz, in London (Kings Place), as well as in Italy, Slovenia, Belgium and Lithuania.

The ensemble is releasing a complete recording of the piano trios by Ludwig van Beethoven for the renowned Austrian label Gramola.

Clemens Zeilinger, 2011/12 “Artist in Residence” at the Brucknerhaus Linz, counts among Austria’s leading pianists. He was winner of the European Youth Musik Competition in Antwerp and won awards at the European Chamber Music Competition in the Hague and at the Beethoven Competition in Vienna. As soloist he performed with several renowned orchestras like the Orchestra of the Royal Academy in London, the Bruckner Orchester in Linz, the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg and the Lower Austrian Symphony. He gave concerts in many European countries, in the USA and Japan as well as in Korea, Morocco, Iran and Oman.

In 2008, Clemens Zeilinger played all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas at the Brucknerhaus in Linz, in 2010 he presented a series of Schubert’s piano works at the same venue. He teaches at the University of Music in Vienna and at the Anton-Bruckner University in Linz.

Verena Stourzh was a member of the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt from 1998 to its disbanding in 2010 and has an impressive record of numerous concert appearances in Austria and abroad: She has performed at the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein in Vienna, at the Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt (annual subscription concerts), at the Cheltenham Festival in England, in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Basel (Stadtcasino), Paris (Louvre), London (King’s Place), Bonn (Beethovenfest), Potsdam (Musikfestspiele Sanssouci), New York City (Metropolitan Museum) and Washington, D.C. (Library of Congress), as well as in Canada, South America, South Africa, Australia and East Asia.

As violinist of the Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Verena Stourzh has presented complete CD-recordings of the piano trios of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as well as the first complete recording of Haydn’s 429 folksong arrangements of Scottish and Welsh folk songs (with Lorna Anderson and Jamie MacDougall).

Franz Ortner very early established his reputation as soloist and member of chamber music ensembles. He is prize winner of the International Brahms Competition 2004 and the „Gradus ad Parnassum“ Cello Competition in 2005. Furthermore he was recipient of a stipend of the Lucerne Festical Academy directed by Pierre Boulez.

2006-2008 he was the principal cellist of the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (Portugal), 2009-2014 he held the position of first cellist of the Esbjerg Ensemble in Denmark, currently he is a member of the Musikkollegium Winterthur.

In 2010 Franz Ortner released a CD with french pianist Caroline Boirot comprising works of Brahms, Fuchs, Kirchner and Schumann, in 2011 he recorded a live-CD featuring Antonin Dvořák’s cello concerto with the Kammerorchester Niederösterreich (Austria).

As a soloist he has recently appeared with the Chamber Orchestra Miskolc (Hungary), the Philharmonie Bad Reichenhall (Germany) and the Kammerorchester Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany). In 2013 he made his debut with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

Booklet for Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 1