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The Gould Piano Trio introduce their Marschner project: “Imagine discovering a whole body of repertoire for your ensemble and finding a quality that could make you reevaluate your perception of the medium…! Heinrich Marschner is not a composer’s name that rings many bells except among the truly initiated, and to our surprise this early romantic, German opera composer has also penned no less than seven, superbly crafted, ‘Grand Piano Trios’! We have been exploring the complete cycle, spanning over three decades of Marschner’s creative life, and are near to finalising our recordings for Naxos. It was a revelation to find such symphonic scope plus mastery of form in his chamber output. We’ve discovered elfin scherzos, (more akin to Mendelssohn) with a devilish twist, set alongside spacious slow movements that provide the violin and cello the chance to ‘sing’ to their heart’s content. How could these fascinating pieces have fallen from the repertoire? Principally an operatic composer, Marschner (1795-1861) was evidently inspired by the piano trio- this formation allowing him to both vocalise and orchestrate, producing large scale dramatic and poetical works that easily sit alongside those of his colleagues, Mendelssohn and Schumann. This exciting Marschner cycle will surely become a pillar of the Trio repertoire, providing a most fascinating link between the great classical Viennese school and the romantics.” Sample programmes: |
| Option 1 |
| Marschner met Beethoven as a young man and was inspired to pursue a musical career. The slow movement of the Ghost Trio is composed from material for a possible opera on Macbeth that he never realised. Marschner was principally an operatic composer, but Beethoven only completed one. |
| Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in D Major, op. 70, no. 1, Ghost |
| Robert Schumann: Piano Trio in A minor, op. 88, Fantasiestücke |
| Interval |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 3 in F minor, op. 121 |
| Option 2 |
| Robert Schumann greatly admired Marschner’s Piano Trios and produced his own towards the end of Marschner’s trio writing career. Marshner was a frequent guest at the Wieck household from when Clara was a child prodigy so would have known her wonderful playing well. |
| Clara Schumann: Three Romances for violin and piano, op. 22 |
| Felix Mendelssohn: Variations concertantes in D major, op. 17 |
| Interval |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 6 in C minor, op. 148 |
| Option 3 |
| Mozart of course was a composer of both opera and chamber music like Marschner. The various imaginary characters leap off the page even in his smaller scale works. |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Trio no. 5 in C Major, K. 548 |
| Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, op. 17 |
| Interval |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 4 in D major, op. 135 |
| Option 4 |
| This is the largest of Beethoven’s trios in scale and scope. Marschner was to entitle his pieces, ‘Grand Piano Trios’ following Beethoven’s example. |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 2 in G minor, op. 111 |
| Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio in B flat major, op. 97, Archduke |
| Option 5 |
| Haydn was really the father of the piano trio and left a huge body of work over many years. The two Marschner trios here show how his style developed in the 32 years between between his first and his seventh! |
| Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio no. 44 in E major, Hob.XV:28 |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 1 in A minor, op. 29 |
| Interval |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 7 in F major, op. 167 |
| Option 6 |
| Marschner was a near contemporary of Schubert, but of course was lucky enough to live much longer. Schubert didn’t enjoy the success of Marschner as an operatic composer but his immortal lieder creates a huge inner world. Brahms inherited the enormous wealth of not only classical and early romantic music but also Baroque music and beyond. A great song writer himself, like Marshner he liked to work with folk material for inspiration. |
| Heinrich Marschner: Grand Piano Trio no. 5 in D minor, op. 138 |
| Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio no. 3 in C minor, op. 101 |
| Interval |
| Franz Schubert: Piano Trio in B Flat, D. 898 |
Discovering Heinrich Marschner
