Programme
Composers have been unable to resist the challenge of a theme with variations since the Baroque period, when magnificent chaconnes and passacaglia were created, reaching their peak in Bach's Goldberg Variations, and the Classical period brought new freshness to this form in which the challenge was set by a simple singing theme and a series of brilliant, often contrasting variations, which became one of the standard finales of multi-movement works, such as quartets, symphonies or sonatas. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) would transform them in his works from a simple technical challenge to a dramatically shaped form, giving the theme various characters from lyrical to grotesque and ironic. The Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11 is an early work, with variations in the final movement, which set the tone (and nickname) for the entire work – the "Gassenhauer" trio, after a "street song" (Gasse – street), which Beethoven used as the theme in the last movement, written in the form of a theme with variations. It was the popular aria "Pria ch'io l'impegno" from the opera L'amor marinaro ossia Il corsaro by Josef Weigl (performed in October 1797 at the Vienna Court Theater). The same popular aria would be used in other composers, such as Hummel and Paganini. Beethoven's Trio was composed in late 1797, probably at the instigation of Franz Josef Bähr, an accomplished clarinetist who occasionally performed with Beethoven. Beethoven had already composed his first three piano trios, in which – moving beyond Mozart and Haydn – he composed four-movement works of wide range, great virtuosity and strong expression. However, in this trio, he opts for a three-movement structure and a lighter, more fun tone, perhaps at Bähr's persuasion. In addition, Beethoven leaves the option of replacing the clarinet part with that of the violin, making the trio easily accessible to the wider amateur market, where the violin was more popular than the clarinet. The youthful work of Beethoven brings a fine interwoven harmony of three instruments, in which all three are represented in a balanced manner in true chamber manner, although the piano, Beethoven's instrument, on which he was a virtuoso, still has the most difficult task. The first movement is a lively sonata form, which rests on singing melodies, which move through a series of modulations and a daring development section, so that in the recapitulation Beethoven would introduce some surprises, bringing new freshness to the thematic material. The middle movement is an aria-like cantilena, in which the cello and clarinet parts are interwoven. The finale brings the famous theme and variations, in which Beethoven's simple theme
runs through nine diverse variations, brilliantly ornamented, full of harmonic surprises and deceptive cadences, in which his unique energy, dynamism, in the manner of articulation, dynamics, distribution of material among the instruments is strongly felt, and the inexhaustible inventiveness that will flourish in a series of later examples of movements and compositions of this type, culminating in the Diabelli Variations, is clearly visible.
The sound of the clarinet was partly responsible for Johannes Brahms' (1833-1897) return to composition, after he announced to his publisher Fritz Simrock in late 1890 that "it was time to stop [composing]". Although not old by today's standards, the 57-year-old Brahms was going through a compositional crisis. During a stay at the Bad Ischl spa the following year, he nevertheless returned to composition, after listening to clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld in Meiningen, of whom Clara Schumann wrote that "No one can play the clarinet as beautifully as Herr Mühlfeld". This inspired him to compose three new chamber works with the clarinet. In the summer in Bad Ischl, he composed the Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114, while working on the Clarinet Quintet (Op. 115) in parallel. After the first performances in Meiningen, the Trio was also performed in Berlin and Vienna with great success, and soon published, with the alternative instrument viola (again due to market popularity) instead of the clarinet, although the clarinet was Brahms' first choice.
The first movement sets the dark tone of the Trio, with the main theme beginning in the low register. The cello joins the moving lines of the clarinet, almost imitating the wind idiom, which carries great technical demands, while the piano provides a common space for their exchange, obtaining equally intriguing material. Brahms's sensitivity to the colors of the clarinet is most beautifully felt in the middle movement, where the deep chalumeau register, the mysterious middle timbre and the violin-like bright clarion register are clearly heard. The third movement resembles a folk melody, and in the final Allegro Brahms returns to a dark, serious mood, with a series of strong modulations, including in the harmonic weave of the movement his signature FAF, Frei aber froh (Free but joyful), a symbol of freedom and cheerfulness despite the fatigue and resignation of this stage of life.
Marija Pavlović, born in Dubrovnik, graduated from the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Milko Pravdić, and then studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Alois Brandhofer) and with Walter Boeykens, Guy Deplus, Pascal Moraguès and Yehuda Gilad. She is the winner of numerous awards, including the Yamaha Award, the Porin for the best classical music album, the Orlando Dubrovnik Summer Festival Award, as well as the international AudiMozart and Ibla Grand Prize awards.
She has given numerous solo recitals and chamber music performances at festivals in Europe, the USA, Israel and China, including the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Art Masters (St. Moritz), Kasseler Musiktage, Zomer van Antwerpen, Podium Jonge Musici, Syros International Music Festival and others. Her collaborations include orchestras such as the Montreal Chamber Orchestra, the Brussels Chamber Orchestra, the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, the Gli Archi Scaligeri, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Croatian Chamber Orchestra and the HRT Symphony Orchestra, as well as many other renowned ensembles. She has collaborated with numerous conductors, including: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Valery Gergiev, Ben Gernon, Vjekoslav Šutej, Pavle Dešpalj, Philippe Herreweghe, Eliahu Inbal and many others.
She expresses her passion for chamber music as a member of the DeBewoners ensemble, and with the Focus chamber ensemble she recorded the album Hidden Facts. She regularly performs with bassoonist Pieter Nuytten and collaborates with artists such as Martina Filjak, Radovan Vlatković, Gordan Nikolić, Stefan Milenković, Monika Leskovar and Maja Bogdanović. Since 2018. Artist in
Residence of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Stradun Classic festival. Since 2021, guest professor at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp, and since 2023, she has led her own clarinet class together with Julien Hervé and Renaud Guy-Rousseau.
Justus Grimm He began cello lessons at the age of five, first with his father and then with Ulrich Voss, Claus Kanngiesser and Frans Helmerson in Stockholm and Cologne. His talent was proven by numerous awards, including first place at the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona and the German Music Council Prize.
Solo performances have taken him all over Europe and the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Music Hall Hamburg, Théâtre du Châtelet, Munich's Hercules Hall and the Cultural Center in Lisbon. He has collaborated with renowned orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra, the Orchester Royal de Wallonie, the Orchester Symphonique de la Monnaie, the Classical Philharmonic from Bonn and the Brandenburg State Orchestra from Frankfurt.
As a chamber musician, he has performed with prominent artists such as Abdel Raman El Bach, Augustin Dumay, Stephen Kovacevich, Katie and Marielle Labeque, Antonio Pappano and Kazushi Ono, and has appeared at festivals such as Ludwigsburg Festival, Festival van Vlaanderen, Dias da Musica (Lisbon), Klara Music Festival and Resonances Festival. His CDs include Trio Wiek (rated 5/5 Diapason) and the complete chamber music of Cesar Franck, awarded the Prix Cecilia in 2012. Since 2008 he has been a member of the Malibran Quartet, and since 2008 he has been professor of cello at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where he has also served as artistic director since 2013. Since 2010 he has played the cello of the French master Christian Bayon.
Nino Gvetadze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and has an active international career as a soloist and chamber musician. She is the winner of numerous awards, including the Second Prize, the Audience Award and the Press Award at the International Franz Liszt Competition (2008) and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award (2010).
She has collaborated with prominent conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Klaus Mäkelä, Jakub Hrůša and Jaap van Zweden, and has performed with orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Seoul Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic and many others. She has also toured with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Nino has performed at prestigious festivals and halls around the world, including the Lucerne Piano Festival, Wigmore Hall London, Tonhalle Zürich, Bunka-kaikan Tokyo, Festival Piano aux Jacobins (Toulouse), Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. She has recorded seven solo albums, which have been praised by international critics (BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, Het Parool, etc.).
In addition to her solo career, she is the co-founder and artistic director of the Naarden International Piano Festival and the Delft Chamber Music Festival. Since 2008, she has performed in a piano trio with Frederieke Saeijs and Maja Bogdanović. She is a professor at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and plays a Steinway concert piano on loan from the Dutch National Foundation for Musical Instruments.
