Schumann Piano Trios in a New Decade

Cover of new Schumann piano trio album (courtesy of Crossover Media)

Once again, I find myself thinking about the past days of my tenure with Examiner.com after reflecting on Lorin Maazel’s recordings of two of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner. This time the article, written in June of 2011, involved the EMI Classics collection of Robert Schumann’s complete works for piano trio performed by violinist Christian Tetzlaff, his sister Tanya on cello, and his frequent colleague Leif Ove Andsnes on piano. Presumably, at least some readers know that this collection is relatively modest and all fits between the years 1842 and 1851. The first two trios, Opus 63 in D minor and Opus 80 in F major were both composed in 1847, while the third, Opus 110 in G minor, was completed in 1851. Before this “triad” Schumann composed one of his “Fantasiestücke” works for piano trio, a four-movement collection completed in 1842 later published as Opus 88. Taken as a whole these works constitute a sample of his productivity after his marriage to Clara Wieck.

At the end of last month, Deutsche Grammophon released a new two-CD album of this entire collection. It is now available for purchase through a Web page on the Decca Classics Web site. This is actually my third “complete works” encounter. The trio for the first was violinist Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras on cello, and pianist Alexander Melnikov. This was a three-CD collection with each of the trios coupled with a Schumann concerto performance. The musicians on the new release are violinist Ante Weithaas, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker on cello, and pianist Dénes Várjon. My past encounters have included the pianist, who released a particularly engaging ECM New Series album that began with Alban Berg’s Opus 1 piano sonata, followed by the cycle of four short pieces V mlhách (in the mists) by Leoš Janáček, and concluding with Franz Liszt’s B minor sonata. Both Weithaas and Hecker are new to me, but I am definitely interested in where their “repertoire adventures” will next lead them!

Ironically, the “Fantasiestücke” was performed by the Sixth Station Trio this past January at a house concert in Parnassus Heights. Sadly, I had other plans for the evening of that house concert. As a result, I was particularly delighted to encounter a new recording of that composition; and I look forward to where Weithaas, Hecker, and Várjon will next direct their collective attention!