Piano Trio, Op. 28 (Ries)

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The Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello in B-flat major, Op. 28 was composed by Ferdinand Ries in either Bonn in 1809 or Aachen in 1810 during the period he left Vienna to avoid being drafted into the Austrian army. [1] [2] It was published in 1811 by Simrock with a dedication to a Mademoiselle Clairette Ludwigs. [3]

Contents

Composition history

Little is known about the precise circumstances under which the composer wrote this trio. Martin Harlow in his thesis points out that the composer listed the work as being composed in 1809 in Bonn in his thematic catalog, [1] while Bert Hagels, in the liner notes to the cpo recording states that he believes the work was composed in Aachen about a year later. [2]

The publication of the work in 1811 by Simrock is well documented, but there is no surviving documentation relating to the first performance of the work. The publication history of the work, which shows that the work was printed multiple times, suggests that the work was well received. [3] [4]

Instrumentation

The Trio is scored for piano, clarinet (or violin) and cello. [3]

Structure

The composition is in four movements:

  1. Allegro
  2. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
  3. Adagio
  4. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

Hagels, points out in his liner notes that, while using the instrumentation and key of Beethoven's Op. 11 Trio, the structure of Ries's Op. 28 Trio makes use of a four movement plan similar to the older composers Op.1 Piano Trios or the Op. 9 String Trios. [2] Both Harlow and Robert Silvertrust state that, in this work, Ries managed to compose a work that was not a chamber concerto for piano but true chamber music, where all three instruments share in the thematic material. [1] [5] Harlow speculates that in the case of the cello, this may have been due to the influence of cellist, Bernhard Romberg, a former teacher and dedicatee of Ries's Opp.20 and 21 cello sonatas. [6] Both authors agree, however that at one point in the work the piano becomes dominant, Silvertrust believed this moment occurs in the Adagio movement, where the piano states the theme for the cello to repeat. [5] Harlow, believes that this moment lies in the last movement where the piano is given virtuoso passagework causing it to overshadow the other instruments. [7]

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The Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 24 by Ferdinand Ries, was composed around 1810 while the composer was living in Bonn. It appears to have been written for his father, Franz Anton Ries, who gave the first performance of the work at a concert in Bonn on 15 December 1810.

Clarinet Sonata (Ries)

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Ferdinand Ries composed his Violin Sonata in E-flat major, WoO. 7 in 1804, when he was 22 years old. Surviving in manuscript form in the Berlin State Library, there is no evidence the work was performed during the composer's lifetime and was amongst a number of compositions that remained unpublished at the composers death.

Ferdinand Ries's Violin Sonata in E-flat major Op. 18, was published in 1810 by Simrock with a dedication to a "Mademoiselle Maria Held". As with all of the composers published violin sonatas the work is for piano with violin accompaniment.

Ferdinand Ries composed the Violin Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 10 in 1808, while he was in Paris. During the same period he also composed his Op. 20 & Op. 21 cello sonatas and a D-minor violin sonata that remained unpublished until 1818. The B-flat major sonata was first published in 1810 by both Breitkopf & Härtel and Simrock with a dedication to a "Monsieur Eichhof, directeur Général de l'Octroi de Navigation du Rhein". Subsequent editions were published in the 1820s.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 Harlow 2004 , p. 98
  2. 1 2 3 Hagels 2006 , p. 13
  3. 1 2 3 Hill 1977 , p. 24
  4. ↑ Hagels 2006 , p. 15
  5. 1 2 Silvertrust 1995 , p. 10
  6. ↑ Harlow 2004 , p. 100
  7. ↑ Harlow 2004 , p. 101
Sources
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