THE BELFAST MUSIC SOCIETY in association with THE ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND and THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT, QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY THE ISRAEL PIANO TRIO ALEXANDER VOLKOV (piano) MENAHEM BREUER (violin) MARCEL BERGMAN ('cello) ELMWOOD HALL, 7.30pm SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 1986

TRIO IN G MAJOR, K.496 Allegro Andante Allegretto - WA Mozart (1756-1791) Mozart was one of the first important composers to write for the piano trio, a medium still very much in its infancy when he published his first trio, that in B flat, K.254 (1776). This work he called a divertimento a title that reflects the lightweight quality of his work, and indeed of the other contemporary work for these instruments. It is notable that Mozart wrote out his piano part between the violin and 'cello parts, rather than below them, reflecting the fact that the stringed instruments have very little independent material to play, largely doubling the piano's melody and bass lines. In this early work we see very clearly the origin of the piano trio - a piano sonata accompanied by two stringed instruments ad libitum. By 1786, however, when Mozart wrote his second trio - the present work in G major the piano trio, though still the preserve of the amateur performer, had begun "grow up"; in Mozart's hands, both violin and 'cello have acquired a measure of independence. to The Allegro is brilliant and powerful and opens with the main theme entrusted to the piano alone. There follows a subtle and contrapuntal Andante, very typical of Mozart's trio slow movements. The Finale is a set of variations, the form so popular with amateur performers (and with audiences). But Mozart is not content with conventionally superficial display sections and although the theme is not very profound, he makes the most of it, notably in the very expressive variation in G minor - the key that called forth much of his best music.

TRIO IN F MAJOR, OP. 80 2 Sehr Lebhaft mit innigen Ausdruck Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Schezzo (in mässigez Bewegung) nicht zu zasch Most of Schumann's early compositions were for the piano; as a pianist passionately in love with another pianist, Clara Wieck, this was hardly surprising. After his marriage to Clara in 1840, Schumann turned first to song writing, pouring out masterpiece after masterpiece. Then, encouraged by his wife, he felt the need to strike out in larger forms. His first two symphonies (Numbers 1 and 4) date from 1841 and the following year saw the composition of five major chamber works: three String Quartets and the Piano Quartet and Quintet. He then turned to the piano trio; his first composition in that form was, like Mozart's, a divertimento, a set of Phantasiestücke (1843) charming, but little more than piano music with added violin and 'cello, in the accepted salon He lavished much more thought on the three. extended trios which followed. The second of these, Op.80 (1847), is an extrovert and happy work, with a wonderfully expressive slow movement (in D flat) which looks interesting too, as it jumps from flats to sharps and back again with surprising frequency. After a captivating Scherzo (in the minor key!) comes the exciting and powerful Finale in which Schumann shows off his contrapuntal skills to great advantage. manner. * * * * * * * * INTERVAL * *** ** *

3 Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) TRIO IN A MINOR (1914) Modéré Pantoum (assez vif) Passacaille Final (animé) Ravel had been planning his Trio for several years: he had actually described it as indeed it was on one occasion "finished except for the themes" his custom to work out the architecture of a piece of music in detail before turning his attention to the content. Ravel provides unity in his Trio by including in the last movement echoes from the earlier movements; in addition, the main theme of this finale is derived from an inversion (ie. an up-side down version) of the opening theme of the first movement. There is also a pervading influence of Basque and Spanish folk music running through the work. The Trio also reflects Ravel's habit of building many of his melodies on irregular metrical schemes something we even in some of his earliest compositions (the first Violin Sonata, for example. Here, the finale alternates. bars of five and seven beats. see The title of the scherzo requires some elucidation: Pantoum is a type of Malayan poetry in which the second and fourth lines of each verse are repeated as the first and third lines of the next verse. Perhaps Ravel gave his movement this title as elements of the first part of the movement re-appear in the middle section. In the rather free passacaglia which follows, the theme with each statement gradually ascends from the bass of the piano, through the instruments, disappearing briefly section, then returns, gradually in the central descending to its original low register.

4 The comparative piano trio as composers is due unpopularity of the a medium for romantic and modern. both to the problems of balancing and blending a keyboard instrument especially the modern grand piano - and the two stringed instruments and to the salon or palm court reputation which the piano trio enjoyed (or suffered) right up to 1914 - and beyond. Ravel, in his Trio, as did Shostakovich after him, made an attempt to break free from these "cissy" sounds (as Charles Ives might have said). We may, at times, feel that the composer is asking his three players to be an orchestra and is straining medium beyond its capabilities. The result, the however, is undeniably thrilling. Programme notes by Alec Macdonald NEXT RECITAL SUNDAY 9 MARCH 1986 ELMWOOD HALL 3.30pm SOPHIE LANGDON (violin) SHELAGH SUTHERLAND (piano) Music by Janacek, Philip Hammond, Baztok and Beethoven

TONIGHT'S ARTISTS ISRAEL PIANO TRIO In 1972, three joined forces to ISRAEL PIANO distinguished Israeli musicians form the TRIO. The artists, each a regular orchestral soloist and member of the faculty of Music at the Academy of Tel-Aviv University, combined technical mastery and depth of interpretation with perfect tonal balance and colour, to create an intense experience in chamber music listening. Since its inception, the Trio has been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike all over the world. ALEXANDER VOLKOV was already established as а solo pianist in the USSR before coming to Israel in 1971. Born in the Ukraine, he studied at the Academy of Music in Kharkov and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He regularly appears as soloist with the major orchestras of the Soviet Union and Israel. MENAHEM BREUER who was born in Austria and arrived. in Israel as a child, graduated from the Israel Academy of Music. He has performed under the batons of such international conductors as Krips, Mehta, Bernstein and Tennstedt and his numerous television performances include premières of contemporary compositions by Israeli composers as well as works by Berg, Penderecki and Bernstein. MARCEL BERGMAN was born in the USSR and graduated from the Leningrad Conservatoire as a major prize- winner. Immediately upon his arrival in Israel he was appointed Principal 'Cello of the Israel. Philharmonic Orchestra and appeared soon after as soloist in the Shostakovich Concerto under the baton of Zubin Mehta.