Thursday 26th June
Fresh from the recording studio, the Linos Trio come to Bradfield for their first live engagement of 2025 with a programme of romantic period works.
Felix Mendelssohn published 8 books each of 6 songs without words between 1829 and 1845. All of these lieder are short lyrical pieces for piano and as far as we know it was Mendelssohn himself who coined the term “Songs Without Words” for this type of composition. There is also one later work, “Romance sans paroles” Op. 109 outside of these books composed for for cello and piano with which The Linos open the concert. There are many arrangements of the “Lied ohne worte,” some by the composer (for piano duet) and for full orchestra, and for many other ensembles. Tonight we hear The Linos’ own arrangements of Op. 53 No. 2 and No. 4.
Felix’s sister Fanny was of course a composer and gifted pianist in her own right. However, the D minor Piano Trio was not published until 1850, three years after her death. Between the Mendelssohns, it was common to compose works for gifts – the first of the Songs Without Words by Felix was written for Fanny, and in the same vein, Fanny wrote the Piano Trio for her sister Rebecka’s birthday. This is a tense, fiery work, demonstrating the originality of Fanny’s compositional style and in the pianistic demands, her ability with that instrument.
A late work, Fauré’s D minor Piano Trio was first performed in 1923 on his 78th birthday. The trio has a conventional three movement structure with a sonata form first movement, a rondo in the finale and a slow meditative Andantino between. Despite that, the turns the music takes are often unexpected, especially with its harmonies.
The Linos’ own arrangement of the Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite ends this concert. Based on The Nutcracker Ballet, Tchaikovsky arranged 8 pieces for concert performance in 1892. It remains one of those works that was instantly popular and has remained so ever since.
I. Miniature Overture
II. Danses caractéristiques
a. Marche
b. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
c. Russian Dance (Trepak)
d. Arabian Dance
e. Chinese Dance
f. Reed-Flutes
III. Waltz of the Flowers