Brahms & Korngold (Piano Trios) Feininger Trio

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87:
• 1Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87: I. Allegro09:34
• 2Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87: II. Andante con moto07:51
• 3Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87: III. Scherzo (Presto — Poco meno presto)04:37
• 4Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87: IV. Finale (Allegro giocoso)06:10
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957): Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 1:
• 5Korngold: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 1: I. Allegro non troppo, con espressione10:53
• 6Korngold: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 1: II. Scherzo (Allegro)06:54
• 7Korngold: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 1: III. Larghetto06:08
• 8Korngold: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 1: IV. Finale (Allegro molto e energico)07:28
• Total Runtime59:35

Info for Brahms & Korngold (Piano Trios)

".......One can clearly hear the time from which Erich Wolfgang Korngold's trio originates.

Some ideas are reminiscent of Richard Strauss, but what is peculiar is the way of dealing with them, of counteracting or contrasting them, so to speak. For example, the dissonant piano chords in the first movement, which seem to break off what has just been built up. And not surprising is the Viennese, which seems much lighter in Korngold and has nothing morbid about it, as is sometimes peculiar to the waltz. It is locally located thoughts that he expresses. This is something that Korngold also shares with Brahms. For we also find moments of this "perfume" in the elective Viennese, which suddenly appears as "Viennese charm" between the lines. Korngold will have absorbed it without visiting the coffee house. Through his talent, he possessed open ears and an ease to absorb and appropriate everything and make something of his own out of it. And in some passages, the need to question tonality shimmers through, because even the 12-year-old Korngold felt that the expressive power of tonality could be exhausted. Later, he was to have no more problems with this.

It was perhaps the "clumsiness" of his young age that allowed him to scratch the boundaries of tonality without immediately having to draw consequences. This makes the piece particularly fascinating beyond the composer's youth. He certainly saw himself as a modern composer; only later did he consciously turn away from the Second Viennese School." (Excerpt from the conversation in the booklet by Volker Michael with Adrian Oetiker)

Feininger Trio:
Adrian Oetiker, piano
Christoph Streuli, violin
David Riniker, violoncello

Feininger Trio
In 2005, Adrian Oetiker (piano), Christoph Streuli (violin) and David Riniker (cello) formed the Feininger Trio. They named it after painter, designer and Bauhaus co-founder Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956), whose former atelier in the Berlin district of Zehlendorf was located in the vicinity of the room where the musicians now rehearse. Having known one another since their studies, the three musicians had gathered experience in the meantime as chamber musicians in other formations. All three of them wanted to apply that experience to an intense, prolonged study of the piano trio, a genre which possesses a rich, wide-ranging repertoire. They started by mastering the Classical and Romantic core repertoire, particularly the piano trios of Brahms and Dvoˇrák. At the same time they pursued a particular interest in Modernism (Ives, Zemlinsky, Korngold). The current release featuring Czech piano trio masterpieces is dedicated to the memory of the great violinist Josef Suk (1929-2011).

Booklet for Brahms & Korngold (Piano Trios)