Verdehr Trio / International Connections 2
Album: International Connections 2   Collection:Classical
Artist:Verdehr Trio   Added:May 2017
Label:Crystal Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2017-05-25 Pull Date: 2017-07-27 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Jul 16
Airplays: 1

Recent Airplay
1. Jul 10, 2017: Mixed Up Class
Harvey: Clarinet trio (2005)

Album Review
Gary Lemco
Reviewed 2017-05-16
The Verdehr Trio, estab. ca. 1976, resides at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Nicolas Bacri”s (b. 1961) A Smiling Suite (2007) is a transcription of five neoclassical pastiche piano pieces, Diletto classico. The Suite is dedicated to the Verdehr Trio.Yang Liqing (1942-2013) was pianist and professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. His 2010 Trio combines a Chinese folk element with 12-tone technique and a contrapuntal style he likens to Dmitri Shostakovich, what he calls “the Renaissance of the old Chinese culture.” Peter Dickinson (b. 1934) has been associated with the U. of London’s music dept. The 3 pieces of his Celebration Trio (2009) depict a modern fantasy by poet John Heath-Stubbs about capturing African unicorns. Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012), wrote the Clarinet Trio (2005) for the Verdehr Trio. The piece is influenced by the serial ideas of Stockhausen, but depends on pentatonic scales. Wolfram Wagner (b. 1962) is a Viennese composer whose virtuoso 2005 Trio for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano, dedicated to the Verdehr Trio, is in four distinct mvmts. The 1st is motivic; the 2nd contrapuntal; the 3rd melodic; the 4th dances. Kam Kee Yong (b. 1938) is associated with Singapore and Malaysia. His Tang Dynasty Poem: “And the Fallen Petals” (2013) invokes enchantment with Nature, a ripe, nostalgic pantheism. Cuban composer Guido Lopez-Gavilan’s (b. 1944) Como un antiguo bolero (2011) is a result of a discussion with cellist Carlos Prieto about creating a piece referential to Cubans and Mexicans. The bolero and cinquilla cubano motifs provide the materials for this work’s three sections. Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014) was a Tasmania-born composer. Reef Singing (2007) was conceived for clarinet and piano, for young players.

Track Listing
1. Bacri: A Smiling Suite 1. Capriccio (1:54)   9. Dance (2:00)
2. Menuet Lent (2:15)   10. Harvey: Clarinet Trio (8:05)
3. Gavotte (1:39)   11. Wagner: Trio For Violin, Clarinet And Piano. Prelude (4:26)
4. Air (2:57)   12. Scherzo: Canon (1:41)
5. Fuga Diatonica (1:56)   13. Intermezzo (4:49)
6. Liqing: Trio (10:37)   14. Finale (3:36)
7. Dickinson: Celebration Trio 6. Fugue (3:13)   15. Yong: And The Fallen Petals (3:08)
8. Lullaby (3:37)   16. Gavilan: Como Un Antiguo Bolero (7:05)
  17. Sculthorpe: Reef Singing (2:38)