Album

This collection of 18 piano trios dedicated to Haydn is itself an homage on the centennial anniversary of another Haydn homage: a collection of six piano pieces commissioned in 1909 by the Revue Musicale Mensuelle de la S.I.M. That project resulted in works by Ravel, Debussy, Dukas, Reynaldo Hahn, d'Indy, and Widor; inasmuch as those works are not well known, it might have been interesting to juxtapose them with the present pieces in some way. As it is, the new trios fill three CDs. They are divided into an unusual set of categories, "Austria," "Europe," and "Continents," but the categories are mixed together in the program itself. One test for a musical tribute is whether you might guess the honoree without having prior background information, and certainly that's not a problem here; several pieces contain direct quotations from Haydn's music (mostly not trios, which may not have been the best choice for the project as a whole), and each one handles the quotations in a different way. One of the choice contributions is Haydn-Destillate by German composer Dieter Schnebel (CD 3, tracks 2-3), which begins with the finale of Haydn's String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 33/2, "The Joke," and variously either synthesizes or further atomizes its elements. Also making use of Haydn directly are Lalo Schifrin's Elegy and Meditation (CD 3, track 1) and William Bolcom's Introduction and Rondo: Haydn Go Seek (CD 2, track 1), and it is a pleasure to have contributions from these two aging giants of composition in the Western hemisphere. The pieces that do not refer directly to Haydn's thematic material are generally in modern idioms. They fall roughly into four groups: those that take Haydn's tightly knit thematic structure as a starting point, those influenced more generally by his humorous mood, those that use single features of Haydn's music that connote something to non-Western hearers, and those with more tenuous connections. Among the most intriguing is Two Nguni Dances by South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen, which could fall into both the second or third categories; Ndodana-Breen states as his inspiration Haydn's use of folk or folk-like melodies, adapting them to African polyrhythms transferred to the piano trio medium, and fitting with the Haydn spirit surprisingly well. A few works feel as though they were already in progress and then had the Haydn label slapped on top, but generally an intriguing collection that could serve as a useful overview of the question of how contemporary composers see their work in relation to the High Classical tradition.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1 of 3
Gerhard Krammer Composer ... und licht ..., for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
1	... und licht ..., for piano trio	13:04			$2.49
John Woolrich Composer The Night will not draw on, for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
2	The Night will not draw on, for piano trio	10:03			$1.99
Xiao-gang Ye Composer Piano Trio, Op.59 Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
3	Piano Trio, Op.59	7:58			$1.49
Johanna Doderer Composer Piano Trio No.2, DWV 52 Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
4	Piano Trio No.2, DWV 52	10:59			$1.99
Bongani Ndodana-Breen Composer Nguni Dances (2), for piano trio Work 6:46 Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
5	1.Inyanga	4:08			$0.99
6	2.Intsomi	2:38			$0.99
José María Sánchez-Verdú Composer Piano Trio No.4 ("Hekkan 2") Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
7	Piano Trio No.4 ("Hekkan 2")	6:31			$0.99
CD 2 of 3
William Bolcom Composer Haydn Go Seek, rondo for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
1	Haydn Go Seek, rondo for piano trio	10:25			$1.99
Jury Everhartz Composer Haydntrio, for piano trio Work 5:56 Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
2	1.Allegro	1:50			$0.99
3	2.Menuett	1:34			$0.99
4	3.All'ongarese	2:32			$0.99
Yui Kakinuma Composer Kagetsu, etude for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
5	Kagetsu, etude for piano trio	10:26			$1.99
Jacqueline Fontyn Composer Lieber Joseph!, for piano trio Work 8:56 Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
6	1.Allegro moderato	2:24			$0.99
7	2.Andante innocentemente	3:32			$0.99
8	3.Presto assai	3:00			$0.99
Helmuth Hödi Composer An Haydn (To Haydn), for piano trio Work 11:09 Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
9	1.Movement 1	6:26			$0.99
10	2.Movement 2	4:43			$0.99
Márton Illés Composer Torso No.6, for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
11	Torso No.6, for piano trio	8:00			$1.49
CD 3 of 3
Lalo Schifrin Composer Elegy and Meditation, for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
1	Elegy and Meditation, for piano trio	10:59			$1.99
Dieter Schnebel Composer Haydn-Destillate, for piano trio Work 9:00 Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
2	1.Äußerst rasch	4:19			$0.99
3	2.Finale: Presto	4:41			$0.99
Gernot Schedlberger Composer Übermalung (Overpainting) No.1, for piano trio, Op.20 Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
4	Übermalung (Overpainting) No.1, for piano trio, Op.20	9:14			$1.49
Elena Kats-Chernin Composer Calliope Dreaming, for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
5	Calliope Dreaming, for piano trio	7:03			$1.49
Betsy Jolas Composer Ah! Haydn, for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
6	Ah! Haydn, for piano trio	11:28			$1.99
Elisabeth Harnik Composer Schatten.risse (Shadow.cracks), for piano trio Work Haydn Trio Eisenstadt Ensemble
7	Schatten.risse (Shadow.cracks), for piano trio	8:37			$1.49