Beethoven: Trio L'Archiduc & les Esprits Trio Chausson

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 « Les Esprits »:
• 1Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 « Les Esprits »: I. Allegro vivace e con brio07:04
• 2Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 « Les Esprits »: II. Largo assai ed espressivo08:37
• 3Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70 No. 1 « Les Esprits »: III. Presto08:10
• Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 « L'Archiduc »:
• 4Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 « L'Archiduc »: I. Allegro moderato13:02
• 5Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 « L'Archiduc »: II. Scherzo. Allegro06:45
• 6Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 « L'Archiduc »: III. Andante cantabile ma però con moto12:12
• 7Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 « L'Archiduc »: IV. Allegro moderato07:27
• Total Runtime01:03:17

Info for Beethoven: Trio L'Archiduc & les Esprits

On October 6, 1802, in Heiligenstadt, a village near Vienna where he had sought peace and quiet in order to treat the hearing loss that had caused him psychological pain for several years, Beethoven signed a letter intended for his two brothers in which he voiced his despair. Never sent and secretly kept in a desk drawer, the “Heiligenstadt Testament” is one of the first manifestoes in music history on the subject of romantic interiority. It shares the depression of a man cut off from the outside world and powerless in front of his own tragic destiny. It is an even doubly tragic destiny, since Beethoven wrote that he was “ born with an ardent and lively temperament, even susceptible to the diversions of society “, but he had to lead a life of solitude to remain hidden and misunderstood by his contemporaries, because it was impossible for him to reveal his deafness. In social life, he was always “harshly repulsed by the doubly sad experience of the bad hearing, and it was impossible for [him] to say to men: speak louder, shout, for I am deaf! “ “My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas. I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished; I can mix with society only as much as true necessity demands. If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me… But what a humiliation for me when someone standing next to me heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone standing next to me heard a shepherd singing and again I heard nothing. Such incidents drove me almost to despair; a little more of that and I would have ended my life - it was only my art that held me back. Ah, it seemed to me impossible to leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me. So I endured this wretched existence – truly wretched.”

Trio Chausson:
Matthieu Handtschoewercker, violin
Antoine Landowski, cello
Boris de Larochelambert, piano

Trio Chausson
formed in 2001, has become an essential point of reference on today’s musical scene. Its three members, who together won first prize at the Weimar International Chamber Music Competition in 2005 and were named ‘Rising Stars’ in 2007, present here their fifth recording on Mirare.

The trio has appeared at the world’s leading venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Vienna Musikverein, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Cité de la Musique, Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Festival of La Roque d’Anthéron, the St Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, and the Moscow Conservatory. It is regularly invited to La Folle Journée in Nantes, Tokyo, Warsaw, and Bilbao.

The repertoire of the Trio Chausson testifies to a passion for French music and Viennese Classicism, in particular the trios of Haydn, whose freedom and rich invention are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. With their admiration for the generosity and poetic feeling of Ernest Chausson, the three musicians are also eager to perform the trios of sometimes unfairly neglected French Romantic composers. Their taste for transcription has led them to perform around a dozen arrangements for trio of works such as Ravel’s La Valse and Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante. The year 2013 saw their wide repertoire further enriched by the triple concertos of Beethoven and Chausson – the latter a transcription by the composer Mathieu Lamboley of the Concert op.21. Philippe Talec, Antoine Landowski, and Boris de Larochelambert met at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMDP), where they were taught by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Claire Désert. They then went on to study at the European Chamber Music Academy, where they paid especial attention to the classes of Hatto Beyerle, a musical personality who became the keystone of their career.

The members of the Trio Chausson attach great importance to passing on their musical knowledge and skills. All three of them obtained the Certificat d’Aptitude (higher teaching diploma) in 2008, and they now teach at three different conservatoires: the violin in Geneva, the piano in Torcy, and chamber music in Angers.

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