Amabile

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Trio, Op. 11 (Beethoven)

i Allegro con brio
ii Adagio
iii Tema con variazioni

The Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1797 and published in Vienna the next year. It is one of a series of early chamber works, many involving woodwind instruments because of their popularity and novelty at the time. The trio is scored for piano, clarinet (or violin), and cello (sometimes replaced by bassoon). The work is also sometimes known by the nickname "Gassenhauer Trio". This arose from its third movement which contains nine variations on a theme from the then popular dramma giocoso L'amor marinaro ossia Il corsaro.

David Lancaster (1960-)

Anatomy of Angels (Lancaster)

Robert Kahn (1865-1951)

Clarinet Trio, Op. 45 (Kahn)

i Allegro
ii Allegretto quasi andantino
iii Presto

Kahn's Op.45 Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, like most of his chamber music, is marked by authentic melodic inspiration, excellent part writing and a brilliant use of instrumental color and timbre.

Performers

Lesley Schatzberger - Clarinet

Lesley Schatzberger has spent much of her career as principal clarinet with the English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. She was also a member of Stockhausen’s chamber group, taking part in many performances and recordings with him. Chamber music recordings include the clarinet quintets by Mozart and Brahms, Mozart’s quintet for clarinet, basset horn and strings, the two Konzertstücke for clarinet, basset horn and piano by Mendelssohn, Schubert’s Shepherd on the Rock, and Spohr’s Six German Songs. Lesley teaches at the University of York, by which she was awarded an honorary doctorate. She has also been awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Northern College of Music.

Nicola Tait Baxter - Cello

Nicola Tait Baxter studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Lionel Handy, winning prizes for both solo and chamber music and graduating with a first-class honours degree. Further scholarships took her to Germany and London, studying with cellists Johannes Goritzki and William Pleeth. At the age of 24 she gave her first solo broadcast for Radio 3 and she joined the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra. For 5 years she was cellist in the renowned Fitzwilliam String Quartet, performing and giving masterclasses throughout Europe, Russia, North America and South Africa.

Paul Nicholson - Piano

Paul Nicholson’s musical career has ranged from employment at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies – where he coached and accompanied alongside its co-founder, Peter Pears – to solo performance, and recording and directing with groups such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. His recordings for Hyperion have included Handel’s Organ Concertos (directed by Roy Goodman), and his Eight Harpsichord Suites of 1720 – this has been the reviewer’s choice in BBC Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library’. He is also an Anglican Priest – now retired from parish ministry – and is increasingly returning to chamber music with piano.