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Complete Piano Trios vol. 3
Ludwig van Beethoven

Van Baerle Trio

Complete Piano Trios vol. 3

Price: € 19.95
Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917278125
Catnr: CC 72781
Release date: 16 November 2018
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917278125
Catalogue number
CC 72781
Release date
16 November 2018

"Considering that the theme is barely more than a string of arpeggios, it's a little miracle to hear just how much humour and verve the Van Baerles find in this far-from vintage Beethoven."

Gramophone, 19-6-2019
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About the album

The year 1808 was a period of superlative productivity for Beethoven: In the midst of all this, Beethoven somehow found the time and energy to compose two major piano trios. They were completed while Beethoven was living with Countess Marie Erdödy, to whom the trios were also dedicated.

Some previous piano trios were rather lengthy affairs with pretentions to the symphonic repertoire, but the opening movement of op. 70 no. 1 immediately lets the listener know that this time, things are different. The piece starts seemingly in medias res with a tempestuous figure in all three instruments at the same time. The second movement is the one that gave the trio its nickname ‘ghost’. Carl Czerny, Beethoven’s student, seems to have been the first to use this name. According to him, the movement ‘resembles an appearance from the underworld. One could think not inappropriately of the first appearance of the ghost in Hamlet’. Superficially, the sibling of the ‘Ghost’ may seem closer to Haydn and Mozart in style.

For a long time, the Variations op. 44 were known as ‘Variations on an Original Theme’, as the first publication did not name the theme. It has since been identified as a theme by Dittersdorf. The variations were presumably written in 1792 and published in 1804, when various other early works were being offered to publishers.
Het Van Baerle Trio zet er vaart achter. In een jaar tijd brachten ze drie delen uit in een reeks met alle pianotrio's van Ludwig van Beethoven. Opnieuw is het pianist Hannes Minnaar, violiste Maria Milstein en cellist Gideon den Herder gelukt om een mooi album samen te stellen. Het uitgebalanceerde spel van het trio maakt het een genot om naar te luisteren.

Pianotrio's opgedragen aan gravin

In 1808 was Beethoven buitengewoon productief: hij voltooide zijn Vijfde en Zesde Symfonie, die beide op 22 december dat jaar hun première beleefden tijdens een van de meest bijzondere concerten ooit. Het programma bestond uit nog meer werken waardoor het concert uiteindelijk ongeveer vier uur duurde. Blijkbaar vond Beethoven het nog niet genoeg en had hij tijd en energie om tussendoor de twee grote pianotrio’s te schrijven, die op dit album staan. De stukken werden geschreven in de tijd dat Beethoven bij Gravin Marie Erdödy inwoonde, aan wie de trio’s zijn opgedragen. Het feit dat zij gedurende deze tijd gescheiden van haar man leefde zorgde voor veel speculaties over een mogelijke romantische relatie met Beethoven, maar daarvoor is geen betrouwbaar bewijs.

Symfonische pretenties

Sommige eerdere pianotrio’s van Beethoven waren tamelijk lang met symfonische pretenties. Maar het begin van op. 70 nr. 1 is totaal anders, dit keer geen langzame introductie die een snel deel inleidt. Het lijkt of het stuk in het midden start met een stormachtige figuur, gespeeld door alle drie de instrumenten tegelijkertijd. Wat volgt is een compact maar complex tweede deel, waaraan het trio zijn bijnaam ‘Geistertrio’ dankt. Carl Czerny, Beethovens leerling, schijnt de eerste te zijn geweest die deze bijnaam gebruikte. Volgens hem stelt dit deel “een verschijning uit de onderwereld voor. Het is niet onlogisch om aan de eerste verschijning van de geest uit Hamlet te denken”. Of Beethoven er ook zo over dacht is niet bekend, maar de beschrijving lijkt goed bij de sfeer van het deel te passen. De finale is daarentegen veel vrolijker, met een uitbundig slot.

Gracieus trio dat de ziel doet smelten

Op het eerste gezicht lijkt op. 70 nr. 2, het broertje van het ‘Geistertrio’ veel meer op Haydn en Mozart qua stijl, met een langzame opening en vrolijke eenvoud in het eerste thema. Het derde deel, een Allegretto ma non troppo, werd destijds door iemand die de première van beide trio’s op oudejaarsavond 1808 meemaakte beschreven als “het mooiste en meest gracieuze dat ik ooit heb gehoord: het verheft en smelt mijn ziel steeds als ik er aan denk,” en het lijkt twee eeuwen later aan kracht nog niets te hebben ingeboet.

Onstuimig slot

Lang waren de Variaties op. 44 bekend als ‘Variaties op een eigen thema’, omdat de eerste publicatie de naam van het thema niet noemde, maar het bleek een thema van Dittersdorf te zijn. Na variaties in majeur en mineur klinkt de finale van Beethovens op. 44 als een hommage aan Mozart, die in 1791 overleed en bij wie Beethoven les had willen nemen. Na een humoristisch Allegro komt de vorige mineurvariatie even terug, maar niet voor lang: de reis terug naar de grondtoonsoort gebeurt hier met een Mozartiaanse achteloosheid en leidt tot een heerlijk plagende herhaling van het thema, voordat het stuk onstuimig eindigt.

Een combinatie van oud en nieuw

Net als op de andere twee albums speelt Minnaar op de, in 2017, gebouwde Chris Maene Concert Grand vleugel. In dit bijzondere instrument zijn kennis en materialen van de moderne pianobouw gecombineerd met die van oudere, historische instrumenten. De soliditeit van de moderne vleugel in combinatie met het transparante klankideaal van oude instrumenten zorgt voor een bijzonder effect. Deze symbiose van oud en nieuw was een inspiratiebron bij het opnemen van Beethovens Pianotrio’s.

Gevestigde reputatie

Het Van Baerle Trio is in 2004 opgericht door pianist Hannes Minnaar, violiste Maria Milstein en cellist Gideon den Herder. De naam van het trio is ontleend aan de straat waar hun muzikale wortels liggen: de Van Baerlestraat in Amsterdam. Hier ontmoetten de drie musici elkaar tijdens hun studie aan het Conservatorium van Amsterdam, op een steenworp afstand van het Concertgebouw, dat het trio als zijn muzikale thuis beschouwt. Inmiddels heeft het trio een gevestigde reputatie opgebouwd in binnen- en buitenland.

Lees ook de recensie van Michel Dutrieue op zijn blog stretto.be.
Das Jahr 1808 war für Beethoven eine Zeit größter Produktivität, in der er neben vielerlei anderem auch noch die Zeit und Energie für zwei große Klaviertrios fand. Beethoven vollendete sie, während bei Gräfin Marie Erdődy lebte, der die Trios gewidmet sind.

Einige vorangegangene Klaviertrios sind recht ausgedehnte Kompositionen mit Anlehnung an das symphonische Repertoire, doch der erste Satz des Trios Op. 70 Nr. 1 zeigt dem Hörer unmittelbar, dass es sich hier um etwas ganz anderes handelt. Das Stück scheint in medias res zu beginnen, mit einer stürmischen Figur in allen drei Stimmen. Der zweite Satz gab dem Trio seinen Beinahmen „Geistertrio“. Carl Czerny, Beethovens Schüler, scheint diese Bezeichnung als erster verwendet zu haben. Ihm zufolge ist dieser Satz „gleich einer Erscheinung aus der Unterwelt. Nicht unpassend könnte man sich dabei die Erscheinung des Geist’s im Hamlet denken.“ Auf den ersten Blick scheint dessen Schwesterwerk stilistisch näher an Haydn oder Mozart zu liegen.

Die Variationen Op. 44 waren lange als „Variationen über ein eigenes Thema“ bekannt, denn die erste Veröffentlichung nannte das Thema nicht. Seitdem wurde es als eine Melodie von Dittersdorf identifiziert. Die Variationen entstanden vermutlich 1792 und wurden 1802 veröffentlicht, als Verlegern verschiedene andere Frühwerke angeboten wurden.

Artist(s)

Van Baerle Trio

The Van Baerle Trio was founded in 2004 by the pianist Hannes Minnaar, violinist Maria Milstein and cellist Gideon den Herder. The name of the trio refers to the street where it all started: the Van Baerle street in Amsterdam. The three musicians met there during their studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, at a stone‘s throw from the Concertgebouw, which they consider as their musical home. After winning the 2011 Vriendenkrans Competition in the Concertgebouw and performing there on numerous occasions since, the Van Baerle Trio was nominated by this celebrated concert hall for ECHO Rising Stars 2013/14, a tour which brought the trio to major concert venues across Europe, including Vienna‘s Musikverein, the London Barbican, Cité de la Musique...
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The Van Baerle Trio was founded in 2004 by the pianist Hannes Minnaar, violinist Maria Milstein and cellist Gideon den Herder. The name of the trio refers to the street where it all started: the Van Baerle street in Amsterdam. The three musicians met there during their studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, at a stone‘s throw from the Concertgebouw, which they consider as their musical home.
After winning the 2011 Vriendenkrans Competition in the Concertgebouw and performing there on numerous occasions since, the Van Baerle Trio was nominated by this celebrated concert hall for ECHO Rising Stars 2013/14, a tour which brought the trio to major concert venues across Europe, including Vienna‘s Musikverein, the London Barbican, Cité de la Musique in Paris, L‘Auditori in Barcelona and the Philharmonie in Cologne.
Before starting this European tour, the Van Baerle Trio had already established its international reputation, after being awarded top prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2013 and the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2011, as well as receiving the audience prize at both contests. In the Netherlands the trio was awarded the Kersjes Prize, a bursary which supports an outstanding, young Dutch ensemble each year.
The Van Baerle Trio was formed under the guidance of Dmitri Ferschtman and received lessons from Ferenc Rados and Claus-Christian Schuster, among others. The encounter with Menahem Pressler in 2008 was a great inspiration to the three musicians, who subsequently played for him on several occasions. Eager to share their experience with the next generation of musicians, the trio members have been teaching at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since 2014.
The Van Baerle Trio’s debut CD, featuring works by Saint-Saëns, Loevendie and Ravel, received an Edison Award in 2013. This CD was followed by an album dedicated to Mendelssohn’s piano trios, which includes the world premiere recording of the early version of his Piano Trio in D minor. The latest project of the Van Baerle Trio is recording the complete piano trios by Beethoven. Already four cd's appeared. The last one is nominated for the Edison Klassiek 2019, the last volume, number 5, will appear in spring 2020.

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Hannes Minnaar (piano)

Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2010, 3rd prize) and the Geneva International Music Competition (2008, 2nd prize) and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (2011). He studied with Jan Wijn at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating with the highest distinction and took master classes with Menahem Pressler and Ferenc Rados. In addition, he studied organ with Jacques van Oortmerssen. Minnaar was soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, during which time he worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Jiří Bělohlávek, Herbert Blomstedt, Frans Brüggen, Eliahu Inbal, Edo de Waart and Xian Zhang. He gives recitals in many European countries and around the world. He performed at the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus...
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Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2010, 3rd prize) and the Geneva International Music Competition (2008, 2nd prize) and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (2011). He studied with Jan Wijn at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating with the highest distinction and took master classes with Menahem Pressler and Ferenc Rados. In addition, he studied organ with Jacques van Oortmerssen.
Minnaar was soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, during which time he worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Jiří Bělohlávek, Herbert Blomstedt, Frans Brüggen, Eliahu Inbal, Edo de Waart and Xian Zhang. He gives recitals in many European countries and around the world. He performed at the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Musashino Hall (Tokyo) and the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow) and was invited to the festivals of La Roque d’Anthéron, Bordeaux (Jacobins) and Guangzhou.
Minnaar is also active as a chamber musician. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio he won prizes at competitions in Lyon (2011, CIMCL, 1st prize) and Munich (2013, ARD, 2nd prize). The trio gave 18 concerts in an international tour in the “Rising Stars” series in 2014, including the Barbican (London), Musikverein (Vienna) and Cité de la Musique (Paris). Minnaar also performed with musicians such as Janine Jansen, Isabelle van Keulen and Mischa Maisky.
His two solo albums are highly acclaimed. His debut album was awarded an Edison and Gramophone published a full-page article about this album. The same magazine wrote about his second album “Bach inspirations”: “After Minnaar’s debut disc, this makes two hits in a row”. BBC Music Magazine selected it as “Instrumental choice of the month” with 5 stars.
Minnaar is currently recording all of Beethoven’s piano concertos for Challenge Classics. Other future concert highlights include Liszt’s Totentanz and a new concerto by Robert Zuidam with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Markus Stenz – at which occiasion he will be awarded the Dutch Music Prize by the Dutch Minister of Culture – and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Daniele Rustioni.


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Maria Milstein (violin)

Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Maria Milstein studied in Amsterdam with Ilya Grubert, in London with David Takeno and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium) with Augustin Dumay. Maria is a prizewinner of major international competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, such as “Città di Brescia” and “Premio Rodolfo Lipizer” in Italy, the ARD Competition in Munich, the Lyon Chamber Music Competition and the Kersjes Prize in the Netherlands. In 2016, Maria is awarded the Fellowship of the Borletti Buitoni Trust, and in 2018, she receives the Dutch Music Prize - the highest recognition for a classical musician in the Netherlands awarded by the Ministry of Culture. Maria performs extensively across Europe...
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Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Maria Milstein studied in Amsterdam with Ilya Grubert, in London with David Takeno and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium) with Augustin Dumay.
Maria is a prizewinner of major international competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, such as “Città di Brescia” and “Premio Rodolfo Lipizer” in Italy, the ARD Competition in Munich, the Lyon Chamber Music Competition and the Kersjes Prize in the Netherlands. In 2016, Maria is awarded the Fellowship of the Borletti Buitoni Trust, and in 2018, she receives the Dutch Music Prize - the highest recognition for a classical musician in the Netherlands awarded by the Ministry of Culture.
Maria performs extensively across Europe in halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, BOZAR in Brussels, Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie of Cologne and Cité de la Musique in Paris. She has appeared as a soloist with a.o. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Hague Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic and Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and worked with conductors such as Vasily Petrenko, Giancarlo Guerrero, Michel Tabachnik, Jean-Jacques KA keen chamber musician, Maria formed the succesful Van Baerle Trio together with pianist Hannes Minnaar and cellist Gideon den Herder, one of the leading trios of its generation. After winning the ARD Competition and the Lyon Chamber Music Competition, the Trio made the ECHO Rising Stars Tour in 2014, peforming in famous concert halls all over Europe. The Trio already released two CD’s, both praised in the international press, and is presently recording the complete works for piano trio by Beethoven for Challenge Records.
Maria’s own debut CD « Sounds of War », recorded with pianist Hanna Shybayeva for Cobra Records and featuring Sonatas by Poulenc, Janáček and Prokofiev, received lavish reviews in the international press and won the Edison Klassiek Prize 2015 in the category “best chamber music album”. In October 2017 her second album “La Sonate de Vinteuil”, recorded with pianist Nathalia Milstein is released on the French label Mirare, and is voted “best CD of 2017” by the Dutch press.
Maria plays on a violin by Michel Angelo Bergonzi (Cremona, ca. 1750), on loan from the Dutch Music Instruments Foundation, and holds a teaching position at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.antorow, Christian Arming and Reinbert de Leeuw.

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Gideon den Herder (cello)

  Gideon den Herder initially started at Monique Bartels in Amsterdam and at Hagen in Salzburg. In Zurich he obtained his solo degree with Thomas Grossenbacher. In baroque cello he trained under the guidance of Jaap ter Linden and Roel Dieltiens. In 2003 Gideon den Herder won the title Young Music Talent of the Year, and in 2009 he won the old music competition À Tre in Trossingen (Germany) with the Trio Otone. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio Gideon den Herder won several prizes, including the Kersjesprijs and the first prizes of the ARD Competition 2013 in Munich and the international chamber music competition of Lyon in 2011. The Van Baerle Trio performs frequently and is a guest...
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Gideon den Herder initially started at Monique Bartels in Amsterdam and at Hagen in Salzburg. In Zurich he obtained his solo degree with Thomas Grossenbacher. In baroque cello he trained under the guidance of Jaap ter Linden and Roel Dieltiens. In 2003 Gideon den Herder won the title Young Music Talent of the Year, and in 2009 he won the old music competition À Tre in Trossingen (Germany) with the Trio Otone. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio Gideon den Herder won several prizes, including the Kersjesprijs and the first prizes of the ARD Competition 2013 in Munich and the international chamber music competition of Lyon in 2011. The Van Baerle Trio performs frequently and is a guest in famous venues as the Musikverein in Vienna, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Philharmonie in Cologne and the Barbican Center in London. Gideon den Herder has also been in charge of the cellular section since 2014 at the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. He played an instrument by builder Giuseppe Dall'Aglio with a bow attributed to Dominique Peccatte, both on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.


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Composer(s)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School.    Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob...
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Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.

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Press

Considering that the theme is barely more than a string of arpeggios, it's a little miracle to hear just how much humour and verve the Van Baerles find in this far-from vintage Beethoven.
Gramophone, 19-6-2019

Which version(s) of these works you ultimately prefer will of course be down to individual taste, but to my ears the Van Baerle Trio is amongst the top rank in terms of performance and recorded quality.
Music Web, 06-3-2019

The piano is powerful, clearly articulating, the cello singing the melody, the violin that gives extra shine, great! It is 'as-live', spontaneous, enthusiastic and not over-polished. ... This episode belongs in the very highest regions of Beethoven's piano trio discography. Rating: 10.
Luister, 01-1-2019

With this third volume the Van Baerle Trio confirm being well on their way to deliver a complete set that doesn’t turn pale in the face of the very best available in any format. Moreover, theirs has the advantage of boasting a supreme sound quality.
HRAudio, 13-11-2018

Van Baerle Trio - Ludwig van Beethoven, Complete Piano Trios Vol. 3 on the Challenge classics label. magnificent!
Stretto, 01-11-2018

This is again a publication that radiates international allure.
Opus Klassiek, 30-10-2018

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