Presents
Waldemar von Baussnern
Trio for Clarinet (or Viola), Violin & Piano
Richard Walthew (1872-1951) was born in the English town of Islington
. He studied piano and composition and the Royal College of Music in London, the latter with Sir Hubert Parry. Besides working as a composer, he taught at the Guildhall Music School in London and was later a Professor at the Queen's College in that city. His especial interest was in chamber music and most of his compositions were for chamber music ensembles and include trios, quartets and quintets as well as several sonatas. His musically consistently received high praise and excellent reviews and yet virtually none of it has ever been recorded. This is true of his Trio in c minor which dates from 1897. We could find no commercial recording. All we were able to uncover was a Youtube video of a group of students performing the first movement of the work.
The combination of clarinet, violin and piano is relatively rare. Bartok's Contrasts, Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat and Bausnern's Serenade are the only three which have become known and they were all composed after Walthew wrote his trio. It is true that Mozart, Schumann and Reinecke all wrote works which became known for clarinet, viola and piano but the overall tamber of those works is very different, darker because of the viola. It is a work in the Brahmsian tradition, which is perhaps not surprising as it was composed shortly after graduating from the Royal College, where both of his main teachers--Hubert Parry and Charles Stanford, were Brahms acolytes. In four movements, the opening movement, Allegro non troppo e maestoso, begins with a leisurely, majestic subject. It is interspersed with intense episodes of passion. This is followed by a lovely Andante non troppo. The Poco allegretto which comes next is a little like an updated Mendelssohnian intermezzo. The finale is an appealing Allegro semplice.
Walthew handles this combination with great applumb and has created a work which is not only a valuable addition to this repertoire and should interest amateurs and professionals alike. It has been out of print for many years and deserves to be rediscovered. The original publisher asked Walthew, with a view to increasing sales, to produce a viola part in lieu of the clarinet which he did, and it is every bit as effective as the original but has a different feel.
| (A) Clarinet, Violin & Piano | $29.95 |
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| (B) Violin, Viola & Piano | $29.95 |
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| (C) All 4 Parts | $36.95 |
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