De 3489 0 13491 34892 6

DE 3489 0 13491 34892 6

JOHANNES BRAHMS: THE THREE PIANO TRIOS

CD1: CD2:

Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87 Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 (31:58) (29:58) 9. I. Allegro con brio (10:56) 1. I. Allegro (9:57) 10. II. Scherzo: Allegro molto (6:33) 2. II. Andante con moto (8.49) 11. III. Adagio (7:39) 3. III. Scherzo: Presto (5:08) 12. IV. Allegro (6:48) 4. IV. Finale: Allegro giocoso (6:04) Total time: 83:24 Piano Trio No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 101 (21:28) David Perry, violin Paulina Zamora, piano 5. I. Allegro energico (7:54) Uri Vardi, cello 6. II. Presto non assai (3:30) 7. III. Andante grazioso (4:11) 8. IV. Allegro molto (5:53)

2 BEHIND THE EYES Whether clean-shaven or—afer 1876— bearded, he garnered compliments for his Johannes Brahms was photographed eyes. One observer described the young frequently during his lifetime, and took man’s “fne brow with fashing blue eyes pleasure in sharing candid photos with … [and seen standing] apart in pleasant friends. In this professional portrait from company, an unconscious force would 1853, the single feature ofen noted by his emanate from him.” As he aged, his short contemporaries is evident: his powerful stature and casual dress could distress his gaze. friends, yet his eyes kept their appeal. Sir Isidor George Henschel—baritone, conductor, and close friend reported: “What struck me most was the kindliness of the eyes. Tey were a light blue; wonderful- ly keen and bright, with now and then a roguish twinkle in them, and, yet, at times, an almost childlike tenderness.” C. V. Stanford, an Irish-born conductor and advocate for Brahms in England, described the composer’s eyes during his fnal years as “astonishingly deep and luminous velvet.” (Michael Musgrave. A Brahms Reader. Yale Press, 2000: p. 5.)

Yet, despite the directness with which the composer meets his observer in numerous images, Karl Geiringer, a prominent twentieth-century biographer, dubbed him “Brahms the Ambiguous.” Tis ambiguity refects the shifing mu- Johannes Brahms. Leipzig, 1853. sical values concurrent with his maturity,

3 making it unclear whether to consider prevailing aesthetic preferences. Serving him conservative or progressive. Brahms both forward-thinking musical trends and compounded this ambiguity with ap- the pleasures of private engagement with parent expressions of self-doubt and his music was no easy task, but remained cen- destruction of numerous fnished com- tral to his compositional projects. positions as well as unfnished pieces and sketch materials. If self-doubt was his And through it all, he cheerfully pre- motivation, it is curious that he did not ferred to live among the emerging bour- seem worried about the survival of a sub- geoisie, rather than assume the mantle of stantial record of correspondence. “celebrated artist.” Te struggle to create music that addressed both the pleasures Tis material reveals his reliance on of highly sophisticated, yet amateur taste friends from whom he sought unvar- and the desire of professional musicians nished opinions of his works-in-progress, for works suitable for large public con- underscoring the composer’s respect for certs factored into his progress on the connoisseurs and professional musical works of his mature style, particularly friends in equal measure. An engagement the remarkable string quartets, violin so- with both amateur and professional musi- natas, piano quartets, and piano trios. In cians sprang naturally from Brahms’ life- each instance, these magisterial triptychs long engagement with performance. A pi- are unifed by an overarching sense of anist of considerable accomplishment, he chamber style, yet at the same time, are was, however, not among the leading vir- distinctively individual. Te three piano tuosi of his day. Chamber music was the trios, in particular, preserve a lifelong en- genre for which he was most celebrated as gagement with two sensibilities. a composer and the one that ofered him great personal pleasure. He appreciated Breitkopf und Härtel’s publication of that professional musicians would be cog- the Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8 in nizant of emerging musical styles, where- 1854 ramped up attention for the young as dedicated amateurs, many among the composer, whose name was already in prominent intelligentsia, embraced the the limelight due to Robert Schumann’s

4 praise in his 1853 article in the Neue a close. Te movement’s second theme, Zeitschrif für Musik: “May the highest a product of the 1890 revision, adds a genius lend him strength, for which the layer of powerful contrast, not present prospects are good, for another genius, in the frst version. Overall, the revision that of modesty, dwells within him.” Af- shortened the work by a third, synthe- ter a premiere performance in Danzig, sizing the broad lyricism with a tautness Boston was the site for the North Amer- governed by forward-looking elements. ican premiere. Numerous performances Whereas the cello’s opening long-limbed followed, with the composer at the key- melody is characteristic of an earlier style board. Correspondence with his friends favored by music for the home, the revi- preserves some doubts about this trio sion’s more tightly controlled unfolding from the beginning. Over thirty years lat- sufuses the work with drama, tension, er, in 1890, he jumped at the opportunity and technical complexity, qualities that to undertake a substantial revision when appeal to high-caliber professional per- his principal publisher, Fritz Simrock, formers. Te minor-mode Scherzo’s ob- took over the rights. With typical humor sessive rhythmic drive builds drama, sug- he quipped, “I didn’t provide it with a new gesting Beethovenian qualities. A return wig, just combed and arranged its hair a of the lyrical style in this movement’s little.” Both versions remain in print, al- middle section prepares the major mode though performers have long favored the conclusion. Te third movement’s open- revised version with its leaner propor- ing chorale texture establishes a feeling of tions. Te success of the revision speaks Arcadian peace until the more mysteri- well of his youthful maturity—no doubt, ous second theme destabilizes this calm, the coherence of the earlier version made echoing the B major/G-sharp minor key possible the sleeker later version. relationship from movement I. Extensive revisions in the last movement create Te trio opens with the cello’s radiant intensity, its stormy blasts of downward lyrical theme, establishing B major de- arpeggios and minor mode scales sug- cisively without a hint that a somber, gesting the impossibility of a return to B-minor mood would bring the work to the warmth of the trio’s B major begin-

5 ning, a shocking denouement given that one dominate the overarching drama. Te works which begin in major, most always composer’s autograph exposes his uncer- fnd a way to conclude in this more opti- tainty as to whether the scherzo or the vari- mistic mode. No doubt, the revised ver- ation movement should come next: sion successfully embodies two opposing worlds—the openhearted expressiveness of the connoisseur and the forward-lean- ing drive of the professional.

Te Piano Trio No. 2 in C, Opus 87 (1880- 82) reached its frst audience with a performance in Frankfurt-on-Main. Once again, the composer sat at the keyboard. Since his Opus 8 inaugural Piano Trio, the composer, who also played the French horn, combined piano, violin, and horn—Opus 40 in E-fat Major (1865)—in inventing a Opus 87. Brahms Autograph. combination ideal for a pastoral range of Composer’s crossed out direction celebration and mourning. Returning to (top right) to follow the frst movement the traditional piano trio combination with with the Scherzo Opus 87, the majestic C major resounds in the frst and last movements, framing the exquisite variations in A minor, Andante Te Andante’s theme features a distinc- con moto, and the enigmatic scherzo, Pres- tive rhythmic declamation, suggestive to, in C minor. Te strings resound a broad, of a nationalistic style, most likely Hun- noble tune in unison to begin movement garian. Remarkable for a variation move- I—they remain a united force throughout. ment theme, it continues for twenty-sev- Te piano ignores the triple meter in the en measures without internal repeats, strings, asserting a counterweighted duple marked by a distinctive four-measure organization. Rhythmic battles such as this close in which the string unison and

6 steady eighth notes dissolve into a brief the texture takes on symphonic qualities moment of imitation and modal shif to in its resolve to close in the major mode. A major. Tis strategy pays signifcant Again, the composer provides substantial rewards, marking closure at the end of public presentation scale mixed with the each variation. Tese same measures also pleasures of chamber music dialog. move decisively away from the theme’s characteristic exotic coloring, creating an In 1886, vacationing at his favorite sum- intriguing cultural mixture. For the ffh mer retreat at Lake Tun, Switzerland, variation and coda, a fowing compound near Interlaken, he completed the Piano meter draws the movement to a close, Trio No. 3, Op. 101 along with Cello So- a strategy that succeeds by virtue of the nata No. 2, Op. 99 and Violin Sonata No. movement’s overall inner cohesion. Te 2, Op. 100. He circulated all three com- Scherzo’s C minor spinning song reunites positions through performances instead the strings in close partnership for most of ofering them for publication immedi- of the way. Te movement’s middle sec- ately: the second cello sonata performed tion breaks out in uninhibited lyricism, on 24 November by Brahms and cellist until the scherzo returns, and eventu- Robert Hausmann; the second violin ally exits without dramatic closure. Te sonata on 2 December with Brahms fnal movement, Allegro giocoso, begins and Josef Hellmesberger; and the trio with a boisterous quickstep, resembling in Budapest, Hungary, on 20 December in spirit the Violin Concerto’s fnal last 1886 with Brahms at the piano, joined movement. Its rising arpeggio fgure cre- by violinist Jenő Hubay and cellist David ates a strong pull toward the second half Popper, soon followed by the Vienna pre- of each measure, lingering on the sharp- miere on 26 February 1887. Simrock, at four scale degree, urgent for resolution. the composer’s request, waited to publish Tis chromaticism soon spreads, giving the compositions until April 1887. a sense of urgency to the fast-moving accompaniment fgures. Te expansive Tis cluster of new chamber works coda is announced with a slow-motion brought praise for his mature late style version of the main tune, at which point and reinforced the prestige the compos-

7 er added to chamber music. His musical Te exposition does not repeat, ofering confdant Heinrich von Herzogenberg a tightly coiled form. Te distant key of described the trio as “ripe and wise in C-sharp minor emerges in its develop- its incredible compactness.” (Johannes ment, and although C major attempts to Brahms im Briefwechsel mit Heinrich take control, C minor returns, creating und Elizabet von Herzogenberg II. Ber- a devastating, tragic-hued landscape. lin, 1921, p. 146.) Afer the Viennese Muted strings whisper feet-footed utter- premiere an anonymous reviewer wrote: ances in the C minor hush of movement “Tis time the composer has drawn from II, Presto non assai. A broad lyricism en- the depths of his undeniably great lyr- sues through spacious piano chords and ic talent and given us a work that ofers charming string pizzicato that replace the pleasure not only to the expert through opening gossamer texture. Tis middle its artistic working out, but also to the section ultimately cannot overcome the soul and ear of the naïve listener.” (Il- restlessness that reasserts control with lustrirtes Wiener Extrablatt, 27 February the return of the opening section. Te 1887, quoted in Margaret Notley, Late- Andante grazioso of movement III re- ness and Brahms. Oxford, 2007: p. 47.) treats to a faraway world, where a mes- merizing tune in C major cunningly al- With this last work for piano trio, he con- ternates a triple meter measure with two tinued to honor his lifelong dual loyalties: measures of duple. Tese seven beats are to chamber music afcionados—sweeping introduced in alternating utterances— lyricism creating immediate appeal, and contrapuntally intertwined strings alone, to the cognoscenti—motivic depth and then piano without strings. Te string emotional complexity adding intellectual partnership suggests Brahms thinking challenges. Te trio’s frst movement, the ahead to his next undertaking, the Dou- Allegro energico, pours forth a powerful ble Concerto for Violin and Cello, Op. timbral force with the strings assigned 102. Tis separation of forces—strings grand four-note chords. Te characteris- vs. piano—sets up the exploration of new tic triplet fgures carry distinctive profles combinations as the movement proceeds. that permeate the main melodic material. Leaving the world of seven beats behind,

8 fve groups of triplets create another fow- Considering once more the “sparkling ing unfamiliar meter of 15/8. Te fnal blue eyes” and imagining what lies be- Allegro molto in movement IV reasserts hind the gaze, one senses encouragement C minor. Gradually, the 6/8 drives to a C — for performers and audiences—to major close, fulflling the iconic Beetho- share the journey. venian Fifh Symphony paradigm—from struggle to triumph. Jenny Kallick Amherst, Massachusetts Te composer’s presence at the keyboard June 2015 for each of the trio’s earliest performances underscores their purpose: a means for companionship, musical pleasure, and deep joy. Tey invite us to enter a Brahm- Violinist David Perry joined the Pro sian world designed for everyone, for Arte Quartet and the University of Wis- amateurs and professionals, flled with consin - Madison music faculty in 1995 generous emotion. and was granted a Paul Collins Endowed Professorship in 2003. He is artist in residence and professor of violin.

Perry is concertmaster of the Chicago Philharmonic and the Aspen Chamber Symphony (Colorado), and frequently serves as guest concertmaster of groups including the Ravinia Festival Orches- tra (Illinois), the American Sinfonietta (Washington, D.C.), and the China Na- rhms mong is riends tional Symphony Orchestra. He has been hoto err ugen von iller zu a soloist with numerous symphony or- ichholz (oert Schufer The chestras in the United States, including Unknown Brahms. St. Louis and Chicago, and abroad. He is ew or p ) 9 10 a founding member of the Aspen Ensem- cus Gobetti violin thanks to the generous ble, a quintet of faculty artists of the As- support of the UW Foundation. pen Music Festival, which regularly tours the United States and Japan. Cellist Uri Vardi has performed as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber player For more than twenty years Perry has across the United States, Europe, Far been active with the Orpheus Chamber East, South America, and his native Isra- Orchestra (New York), renowned for el. Born in Szeged, Hungary, Vardi grew playing without a conductor. He has per- up on Kibbutz Kfar Hahoresh, Israel. formed with the group, ofen as concert- He studied at the Rubin Academy in Tel master, in Carnegie Hall and at most of Aviv, was an Artist Diploma student at the major cultural centers of North and Indiana University, and earned his mas- South America, Europe, and Asia, and he ter’s degree from Yale University. His cel- can be heard on many of their Deutsche lo teachers have included Janos Starker, Grammophon recordings. His solo re- Aldo Parisot, Eva Janzer, and Uzi Wiesel. cordings include music of Pleyel (Naxos), Other infuential musicians in his life Mendelssohn (Sonos), and Sarasate (So- have been Gyorgy Sebok, Rami Shevelov, nari), and he has numerous releases with Rachel Adonaylo, and Lorand Fenyves. the Pro Arte Quartet. Vardi served as Assistant Principal cellist of the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Prin- A 1985 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the cipal cellist of the Israel Sinfonietta, and Arts, Perry’s frst prizes include the Inter- was a founding member of the Sol-La-Re national D’Angelo Competition, Nation- String Quartet. In 1990, following an ex- al Music Teachers’ National Association tensive teaching and performing career, Auditions, and the Juilliard Concerto Vardi was appointed cello professor at Competition. Perry’s early training was the University of Wisconsin - Madison. with John Kendall and Almita Vamos, followed by studies with Dorothy DeLay, Vardi is the founder and artistic direc- Paul Kantor, and Masao Kawasaki at Te tor of the National Summer Cello In- Juilliard School. He plays a 1711 Francis- stitute in Madison, Wisconsin. He is

11 12 regularly invited to perform and pres- Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Or- ent workshops, seminars, and master chestra, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in classes at major music schools, summer Caracas, Venezuela, and the Seattle Sym- music festivals, and professional orches- phony Orchestra. tras. Trained as a Feldenkrais practi- tioner, Vardi focuses on the correlation Chilean-American pianist Paulina between musical expression, sound, body Zamora was born in Antofagasta, Chile. awareness, and movement in his teaching She was educated at the University of and performance. Troughout his career, Chile, the Eastman School of Music, Uri Vardi has continuously initiated new and Indiana University (DMA). Her projects and collaborations, bringing to major teachers have included pianists life rarely performed music (e.g., a CD Mercedes Veglia, Rebecca Penneys, and of Jewish music from the St. Petersburg Gyorgy Sebok, and cellist Janos Starker School), and bridging cultural and mu- in the area of chamber music. Paulina’s sical divides (e.g., Fusions - a chamber solo recitals, concertos with orchestras, music project of Jewish music and Arab and chamber music appearances have art music that toured the US and Israel taken her throughout the Americas, Eu- on multiple occasions and culminated rope, Asia, and the Middle East. She is in the commission of Forty Steps by Joel a sought-afer collaborative pianist, and Hofman, a double concerto for cello, has concertized with distinguished cel- oud, and symphony orchestra, premiered lists Janos Starker, Iseut Chuat, Uri Vardi with the Madison Symphony Orchestra). and Pablo Mahave-Veglia; with violinists Corey Cerovsek and David Perry; with Vardi’s students have been successful as violists Atar Arad and Jodi Levitz; with soloists, chamber players, faculty mem- pianists Rebecca Penneys, Cecilia Cho bers of major music schools (such as and Karina Glasinovic; and with tenor Oberlin College and the Peabody Insti- Alan Bennett and futist Jacques Zoon, tute), and members of major orchestras among others. such as Te New York Metropolitan Op- era Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic

13 She taught at the Valencia Conservatory Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Uni- in Spain and was Associate Professor of versidad de Antioquia, Colombia, and Piano and Teory at EAFIT University in Conservatorio Nacional de Lima, Peru. Medellín, Colombia, from 1999 to 2001. From September 2001 through August of 2005, she was a member of the Felici Pia- no Trio in residence in Mammoth Lakes, California, an integral part of Chamber Music Unbound, a nonproft organization. From 2006 to 2010, Ms. Zamora was professor of piano, theory, and coor- dinator of the Teory Department at the ‘Instituto Profesional Escuela Moderna de Música’ in Santiago, Chile. At present she is associate professor of Piano at the University of Chile School of Music, where she maintains a successful studio for graduate and undergraduate students.

Dr. Zamora is frequently invited to give piano master classes combined with solo and chamber recitals. Recent engage- ments have taken her to Central Conser- vatory of Music in Beijing, China, Boston Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, Carleton College in Carleton Minnesota, University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, Wisconsin, University of Arizona in Tuc- son, Arizona, Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, as well as University of

14 Recorded Mills Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison, August 2010 Producer/Engineer: Orion Vargas Editing/Mixing: Nathaniel Yafe Mastering: David Bowles Booklet cover design: Steven Driscoll Hixon Art Design/Layout: Lonnie Kunkel

DE 3025 DE 3066 DE 3198 A Brahms/Schumann Soirée BRAHMS: The Shanghai David Shifrin, clarinet String Quintet Quartet Carol Rosenberger, piano Clarinet Quintet Plays Brahms

DE3489Booklet.indd 15 10/19/15 2:08 PM THE THREE PIANO TRIOS

David Perry, violin Paulina Zamora, piano Uri Vardi, cello

Dedicated to the memory of György and Eva Sebök 16