af 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 MENAHEM BREUER MARCEL BERGMAN (piano) (violin) ('cello) ELMWOOD HALL, 7.30pm SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 1986

TRIO IN G MAJOR, K.496 Allegro Andante Allegretto WA Mozart (1756-1791) important composers medium still very published his first Mozart was one of the first to write for the piano trio, a much in its infancy when he 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, eflecting 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 to "grow up"; in Mozart's hands, both violin. and 'cello have acquired a measure of independence. The with There Allegro is brilliant and powerful and opens the main theme entrusted to the piano alone. 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 Sehr Lebhaft mit innigen Ausdruck 2 Scherzo (in mässiger 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 first to song writing, masterpiece. Then, Clara in 1840, Schumann turned pouring out masterpiece after 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 (1843) charming, but Phantasiestücke little more than piano music with added violin and 'cello, in the accepted salon manner. 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 shows off his contrapuntal skills to great advantage. Schumann * * * * * * INTERVAL * * * * Robert Schumann (1810-1856) * * *

TRIO IN A MINOR (1914) Modéré Tantoum (assez vif) Passacaille Ravel had been on one occasion "finished except Final (animé) planning he had for the his custom to work out the of music in detail before the content. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) his Trio for several years: actually described it as themes" indeed it was architecture of a piece turning his attention to - 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 second and fourth The title of the scherzo requires some elucidation: Pantoum is a type of Malayan poetry in which the 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 in the central section, then returns, gradually descending to its original low register.

4 The comparative a medium for piano trio as composers is due and blending a the modern grand - unpopularity of the romantic and modern both to the problems of balancing keyboard instrument especially piano and the and two stringed instruments 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 the medium beyond its capabilities. The result, 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, Bartok and Beethoven

TONIGHT'S ARTISTS ISRAEL PIANO TRIO In 1972, three joined forces to distinguished Israeli musicians form the TRIO. ISRAEL PIANO 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 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. tonal ALEXANDER VOLKOV was already established as a 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 he was appointed Principal 'Cello of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Israel Israel after appeared soon as soloist in the Shostakovich Concerto baton of Zubin Mehta. under the