Clarinet, Viola, and Piano TriosĪgain there is a work for this combination, which stands far above all the rest. A very unusual work is Seven Balkan Dances by Marko Tajcevic (Tai-CHEV-its) These feature exotic Balkan rhythms and modes in seven short movements. It reminds me a bit of Samuel Barber's style. It is an exciting, well-written work with jazz elements. Another find is the Fantasy Trio by Robert Muczynski, an American composer. 70, in neo-classical style by Gunther Raphael. The twentieth century is also well represented in this genre. This is a major work, often recorded, but I personally am not very fond of it, perhaps because it is so difficult to play. This piece uses the cyclic structure d'Indy copied from his teacher, Cesar Franck. Written in 1886 as he turned from German music to French themes, he chose to replace the violin with a clarinet, as he played the clarinet. The Trio in Bb op 29, by Vincent d'Indy, represents the French school. This last work I find a bit overwrought and too chromatic for my taste. Another pleasant, enjoyable work is the Trio opus 45 by Robert Kahn, a Bavarian composer who lived into the 1930's. The best, in my opinion, is the Trio in g minor, op. There are three post-Brahmsian, late-romantic era Trios, which are most interesting to play. Again it was originally for clarinet and bassoon, but works well with cello, and I have heard a group play it with viola instead of cello.
One of the earliest is by Mikhail Glinka an early 19th century Russian composer. The romantic era in music gave rise to a plethora of trios for this combination. They are beautiful, not too difficult pieces. Taken from various opuses, there are four movements combined in the edition by R. Another easier work is the Trio-Miniaturen by Paul Juon. Both are virtuosic pieces for the instruments, but the piano is chiefly only accompaniment. Written originally for basset horn and bassoon, they are now usually played by clarinet and cello. Both are very rewarding to play.Ī couple of trios that are a bit easier to play (at least for pianists), are the two Concert-pieces by Felix Mendelssohn: #1 in f minor, op. 38 Trio is a version of the famous septet arranged for trio. The fourth Trio of Ludwig van Beethoven, op. It is the trio I recommend the highest.Īnother famous composer wrote two excellent trios for this combination.
All four movements of the Trio are excellent, with that wistful, nostalgic lyricism so prevalent in late Brahms. Then he met Richard Mühlfeld, a lyrical clarinetist for whom he wrote several pieces, including the famous Quintet, and two Sonatas. It is one of the several magnificent pieces written in 1890, after Brahms had told his publisher he had decided to quit composing. Without a doubt, the most famous and beautiful of the clarinet trios is the Trio in A minor by Johannes Brahms, op. I hasten to add that this listing is by no means an exhaustive survey, just some friendly, choice selections. I will cover the other combinations in a later article. This instrument alone probably has a preponderant amount of the works available for mixed groups. I shall limit this article to trios with clarinet. I will not discuss Trio Sonatas, as they are too numerous to cover. I have limited myself here to mixed trios with piano, for which there is a vast literature available, from the Baroque Trio Sonata to modern combinations. You probably read the excellent article by Merlyn Doleman about the Brahms Horn Trio in the last issue. To continue the theme of recent newsletters. I have been asked to write about some of the wonderful mixed wind, piano and string literature,
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