LEA Trio - Lars Wouters (clarinet), Esra Pehlivanli (viola),

Anastasia Safonova (piano)

Concert LIVESTREAM: 20:00 — 21:00

The moonlight serenades are sung by a romantic combination of clarinet, viola and piano. Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer, Esra Pehlivanli and Anastasia Safonova came together quite recently. During one of their first performances as an ensemble, our musicians would like to get the audience acquainted with the rarely played pieces of the late Romanticism.

Not many composers wrote some of their best works after the age of 70, but Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) from Germany is one them. He is remembered as one of the most influential and versatile musicians of his time. He served as a teacher for 35 years, and after retirement from the Conservatory in 1902, Reinecke devoted his time fully to composition. This wonderful ‘Trio’, a bright representation of the late Romantic period dating from 1903, was completed just before his 80th birthday. As a performer, Reinecke was, during the mid-19th century, for three decades recognised by the public as one of the finest concert pianists. Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt were all favourably impressed by his playing and helped him to build a career. This ‘Trio’ is infused with the developments of late, and even Post-Brahmsian romanticism. The thematic material of the first movement is very calm and reflective. The second movement is a muted pastorale. Next comes the Legende, with a beautiful and sad slow folk song as the main theme. The last movement suddenly makes a resilient contrast by its lively and joyful melodies.

Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) was a productive British composer. His output has more than 700 compositions for all kinds of instrumentations. He was influenced more by early 20th century French and Russian examples rather than the German tradition. His style has clarity of structure and an instrumental writing that shows a keen awareness of the capabilities and limitations of every instrument. He wrote this ‘Trio for clarinet, viola and piano’ in 1969. The piece is unusually structured, with two slow movements (1 & 3) that hint at the Russian solemnity in their plodding, somber character. Jacob’s genius in color and texture is evident here, notable in several duets between the clarinet and viola.

Program

Carl Reinecke — Trio in A Major op.264 (1903)

I. Moderato – Allegro

II. Intermezzo. Moderato

III. Legende. Andante

IV. Finale. Allegro moderato

Gordon Jacob — Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (1969)

I. Adagio molto

II. Menuetto

III. Adagio molto

IV. Presto assai