PROGRAMA
Primera Parte
Trio op.63 en Sol m. Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
-Allegro moderato
-Scherzo (Allegro vivace)
-Schäfers Klage (Andante espressivo)
-Finale (Allegro)
Segunda Parte
Trois Aquarelles Ph. Gaubert (1879-1941)
-Par un clair matin
-Soir d’Automne
-Sérenade
Prémier Trio en Sol M. C. Debussy (1862-1918)
-Andantino con moto allegro
-Scherzo-Intermezzo
-Andante espressivo
-Finale appassionato
(Bis)
Verano Porteño (Estaciones Porteñas) A. Piazzolla (1921-1992)
«The somber first movement (Allegro moderato) begins with long cello and flute lines over a throbbing piano accompaniment and is full of dramatic outbursts. The second theme abounds in more conventional, Classical-style twittering and this tension between dark Romanticism and bright Classicism drives the movement’s development with Romanticism having the last word. The Scherzo begins with a rugged, offbeat figure reminiscent of the out-of-kilter scherzo from Beethoven’s «Spring» Sonata, though lacking Beethoven’s humor. This alternates with a flighty waltz melody, a strong contrast that allows Weber to leave out the scherzo’s customary trio section. The third movement, Andante espressivo, bears the title «Schäfers Klage» or «Shepherd’s Lament.» The simple flute tune creeps along, seemingly unsure of itself, gradually elaborated by all three instruments except for a strange, chromatic interruption similar to the spot where Weber’s Oberon Overture harmonically falls apart. The long finale (Allegro) is more conventional, a loose assemblage of chipper tunes, some lyrical and some of the sewing-machine variety. Weber gives the instruments free rein, allowing each to come to prominence through the movement’s course and then recede into the general trio texture.» (J. Reel)
«In his 1915 Trois aquarelles (Three Watercolors), Gaubert tried to translate into sound the visual effect of watercolor technique. Just as paint colors can be perceived alone and blended with other colors, simultaneously obscuring and revealing the texture of the paper underneath, the distinct tonal colors of the flute, cello, and piano sound alone and in combination, with melody and rhythm providing basic textures.
In the first movement (Par un clair matin), the flute opens with a spirited wakeup call, while the piano arpeggios might suggest the rays of the morning sun. Marked by a brooding passage in the cello, Soir d’automne has a subdued and autumnal quality. Sérénade is in a Spanish style, with imitations of the sound of castanets.» (J. Weitz)
«The reconstruction of Claude Debussy’s Piano Trio in G major, once thought to be among those early works either destroyed by the composer or lost during the ensuing hundred years, surely must count among the musicological triumphs of the 1980s. Though a certain amount of recomposition was necessary, most of the work was pieced together from a variety of authentic sources, including several partial manuscripts and a copy of the original cello part. (The reconstruction involved a number of parties, most notably the musicologist Ellwood Derr.)
Debussy composed the work during the summer of 1880 while employed by Madame von Meck (the legendary sponsor of Tchaikovsky). The eighteen-year-old composer’s unique musical voice was far from developed at this stage of his career, and throughout the work the influence of Franck and Schumann — two of young Debussy’s favorite composers — overshadows the few hints of Debussy’s future stature.
The form of the opening movement is a far cry from the venerable sonata-allegro form as found in many concert works of the nineteenth century. The initial gesture (which is ingeniously presented with the «wrong» metric alignment during the piano’s introductory phrase, only to be shifted back by one beat to its proper location upon the violinist’s entrance four bars later) is followed by more active music marked Allegro appassionato. As the movement nears its midpoint, Debussy allows the cellist to introduce a gentle, triplet-dominated melody which is soon taken up by the violinist as well. The pianissimo reprise of the opening material (one hesitates to call it a recapitulation) is dislodged by the Allegro appassionato (now in the home key of G major) after only twenty-two bars. Shortly before the close of the movement, which is executed with the same kind of pianissimo dissolution typical of Debussy’s mature style, the opening material is allowed to once again take its rightful place in G major.
Perhaps the most immediately charming music in the Trio is to be found in the relatively brief Scherzo. A great deal of Schumann’s witticism has found its way into the mix, although the ornamented, concealed parallelisms of the Un poco piu lento are all Debussy. If the gentle melody of the ensuing Andante espressivo, and the manner in which it is taken up directly by the violin after the cellist’s initial presentation, seems somewhat contrived, the rolling arpeggiations of the movement’s middle section cannot but remind one of the composer’s earlier style of piano writing (Clair de lune and the like).
The Finale provides a strong end to the work, despite an occasionally distracting lack of harmonic coherence (it should be pointed out that the weakest sections of the movement are Debussy’s own, while the reconstruction is performed with consummate skill). The chromatic relations of the tonal areas contained within the movement (from the opening G minor through A-flat major, E major and its parallel minor) and the harmonically agitated way in which Debussy moves from one tonal (and thematic) area to the next, developing his well-drawn motifs along the way, are among the characteristics that would have drawn the most criticism during the early stages of the composer’s career. Debussy’s decision to weaken the final (already very brief) cadence by landing on an altered tonic chord (V of IV) and then presenting a series of non-cadential chords over the tonic pedal, shows that the young composer was already beginning to explore ways of circumventing traditional harmonic formulae.» (B. Johnston)
Sergio Bernal Bernal 