WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770 - 1827)
Ferdinand Ries
(1784 - 1838)
Trios op. 9 for Piano Trio
Trio Parnassus
MDG 903 2270-6
(SACD)
Price: 21,99 €
Employment
Hardly anyone was as closely associated with Beethoven as Ferdinand Ries. His parents took the young Beethoven under their wing after his mother's death; Ferdinand himself later became Beethoven's pupil and private secretary in Vienna. The Trio Parnassus has already surprised us with many discoveries - here we present for the first time the three piano trios that Ries made after Beethoven's String Trios op. 9 and which Beethoven's enterprising publisher Simrock immediately sold as his opus no. 61.
Impostor
Not at all, for such arrangements were absolutely common - and Ries mastered his craft as virtuosically as he was familiar with his teacher's tonal language. Nevertheless, Beethoven must have been surprised by the publication - after all, no one had asked him about it before. That he held his pupil and "allrounder" in the highest esteem is evidenced by a letter of recommendation that he sent to his young colleague on his departure from Vienna.
"Kreativ arrangiert. Das aufnahmetechnisch perfekt in Szene gesetzte Trio Parnassus spielt alles mit feiner Artikulation, reicher dynamischer Differenzierung und vor allem mit der spielerischen Leichtigkeit, die diese Musik braucht." - Klassik Festival
"...diese Bearbeitungen sind derart aus dem Geist Beethovens entwickelt, dass sie durchaus von ihm selbst stammen könnten. Insbesondere, wenn sie so fesslend, klanglich ausgewogen und engagiert dargeboten werden wie hier." - Klassik-Festival
"...begeistern nicht nur durch die schlüssige Bearbeitung von Ferdinand Ries, sondern vor allem durch die mitreißende Wiedergabe des Trio Parnassus. Hier begegnen sich die Interpreten im gemeinsamen Schwung und in der Durchsichtigkeit der Wiedergabe." - Klassik-Heute
Publisher
Ries understands how to preserve the character of the originals in the transfer to the piano trio and at the same time find Beethoven's tone for the new version. The violin part remains almost unchanged; the cello takes over the part of the viola, while the left hand of the piano takes care of the basses. Since Ries also provided Beethoven's publishing correspondence, the path to publication was only a few lines of letters long.
Clarification
Today, the trios are correctly assigned to Beethoven's Opus No. 9 (No. 61 belongs to the famous Violin Concerto). The Trio Parnassus approaches these delightful additions to the repertoire with the necessary respect and a good portion of original joy in playing. Luxuriously presented as a Super Audio CD, this high-quality new production should convince even the most critical Beethoven admirers!
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