Presents
Napoléon-Henri Reber
Piano Trio No.5 in C Major, Op.30
Henri Reber's Piano Trio No.5 in C Major dates from around 1872. The opening Allegro, with its triumphant almost orchestral sounding main subject is quickly followed by a soft more lyrical section. The two moods alternate throughout the movement. The middle movement Andante begins with the violin and cello singing a sad almost elegaic melody while the piano softly stays in the background, but is given a filigree accompaniment which little by little is brought to the fore. The finale, Allegro molto, is bouncing, rollicking horseride.
Napoléon-Henri Reber (1807-1880), was no doubt given his first name as the year of his birth coincided with the time when Bonaparte was at the height of his power and popularity. But the composer, who was born in the Alsatian town of Mulhouse, for most of his life went by Henri Reber. He studied composition with Anton Reicha at the Paris Conservatory and thereafter pursued a career with considerable success as a composer, eventually becoming a Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatory and a member of Academie Francaise. Among his many students number Benjamin Godard, Jules Massenet, Pablo de Sarasate, and Wladislav Zelinski. He composed in virtually all genres, including ballet, opera, symphonies and chamber music. His chamber works include a string quartet, a string quintet and seven piano trios. His last four piano trios provide a sound picture of the style appreciated during the Second Empire and Third Republic by the French public and musicians. The music has a timeless dimension, clearly of the mid-romantic era, but with its roots clearly traceable to the late 18th century. Hence one can hear echoes of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn, while at the same the influence of such contemporaries as Berlioz with its typical use of French coloration. Reber’s music unquestably influenced the young Saint-Saëns and Fauré. His piano trios achieved such popularity that by the time of the Fourth Trio, his publishers asked him to provide a viola part which could serve as an alternative to the cello and all of the later trios have such a part. While the piano writing often takes into account that such performers as Chopin, Liszt, Moscheles and other great pianists freuqently were the performers of his trios, the part-writing is entirely balanced and the piano is never allowed to dominate but remains an equal partner.
Out of print for well over a century, this fine mid-romantic era French piano trio certainly deserves to be heard in concert but will also give pleasure to amateurs players.
| (A) Violin, Cello & Piano | $29.95 |
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| (B) Violin, Viola, & Piano | $29.95 |
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| (C) All Four Parts | $34.95 |
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