Presents
Carl Nielsen
Piano Trio in G Major-World Premiere Edition
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) was born on the Danish island of Fyn (Funen) in a village not far from its capital Odense, Denmark's third largest city. He eventually entered the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen where he studied violin and composition with the famous composer Niels Gade. He himself became Denmark's leading composer during the first part of the 20th century. Both of his parents were amateur musicians. His mother sang and his father played the violin and cornet in a military band and at local barn dances. Before obtaining a scholarship which allowed him to study with Gade, Nielsen studied the violin and cornet with his father and joined him in the military band as well as playing at the barn dances. He began composing sometime in the late 1870s while taking violin lessons from Carl Larsen, one of the leading musicians in Odense. Larsen also taught him the rudiments of composition. In his partial autobiography, My Childhood in Fyn, Nielsen recalled playing string quartets and piano trios with friends as well as some players from the military band. This most likely was the impetus for his composing the Piano Trio in G Major which he completed in 1883. It was also probably this work along with a string quartet in d minor which were shown to Gade and impressed him enough to offer Nielsen a place at the Royal Conservatory.
The trio is in three movements and shows the influence of the Vienna Classics. Nielsen recounted how he and his compadres would play the music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and one can hear their influence upon his writing. The trio's manuscript bears no tempo marking to the opening movement, although it is clearly music meant to be played at a quick tempo. It begins with three loud chords which are repeated frequently throughout the movement. The music sounds like a cross between Mozart and early Beethoven. The second movement is marked Andante. Here, the Op.1 trios of Beethoven come to mind, although Nielsen gives the strings better parts than Beethoven and piano in no way dominates affairs as it does in Beethoven's Op.1. The finale is marked Allegretto grazioso and is charming as well as graceful. Nielsen shows that he had a gift for melody.
Parts $29.95
