Boulanger Trio News
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2020-11-23 15:56:00
Why is classical music selling itself short?
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows shows that the number of cases of depression among adults in Britain has doubled over the last twelve months. This means one in five people are exhibiting depressive symptoms compared with one in ten before the pandemic. Obviously an effective vaccine is needed. But, equally obviously, therapies are needed to counteract this alarming and overlooked increase in depression. In recent years authoritative neurological research has identified that classical music is medicine for the brain. Yet the classical music community is singularly failing to exploit these therapeutic powers, instead choosing to compete in the entertainment market. Why is classical music selling itself short in this way? In a booklet interview for the recording by the Boulanger Trio of the piano trio Canto Perpetuo by Peteris Vasks the composer proposes that: "...people go to the concert hall because they are looking for answers. […]
2020-02-08 16:16:00
Beethoven channels Walter Scott's Scotland
[…] Hill" get its name and what is the "holy fane of Melrose rise in ruin'd pride". Even the syntax is strange. Yet Beethoven's phrasing makes sense : all the singer has to do is trust the score, not tidy it up. Notice how subtle Beethoven's setting is : as realization sinks into the poet's mind, bows beat wood, rhythmically, like faint heartbeats. Of the many recordings, my particular favourite is Andrè Schuen with the Boulanger Trio. This set's interesting too because the songs are so well chosen, showing how Beethoven adapted similar figures into different songs, so the songs are connected by a cohesive thread. Anyone with time on their hands could probably check the scores for greater detail, but it mkes for a very satisfying whole. Buy the CD on jpc.de or amazon and attend the recital at the Elbphilharmonie on 20th February (details here) Please also read […]
2018-09-14 16:29:00
Full of promise : Andrè Schuen Schubert Wanderer
[…] is a fairly typical collection of favourites, compiled to introduce a new singer to a wider audience, and it is very good indeed as such. But I would also recommend getting Schuen's earlier recording with Heide, with songs by Schumann (Liederkreis op 24), Hugo Wolf and Frank Martin, which is even better and more unusual. Rarely have Frank Martin's 6 Monologs from Jedermann sounded so good. There's also another set of Beethoven songs with the Boulanger Trio. Together these three discs give a fuller impression of Schuen's talents and interests. Please also read here about his Munich recital in November 2017. "Ich komme vom Gebirge her". Everyone knows Schubert's Der Wanderer D483, but Schuen makes it feel personal. He comes from Bolzano in the Südtirol, and is fluent in Italian, German and Ladino. That in itself means little, for we are all wanderers in the Romantic sense of […]
2014-09-09 17:02:25
Boulanger Trio.
Beethoven: Piano Trios. When Ludwig van Beethoven began his journey as a composer, some of his earliest works were for violin, cello and piano. As I recall there are works designated as Opus 1, Opus 7, and similar numbers for other early compositions. Beethoven liked this combination, and he went on to write some amazing works. One of the best known is the “Archduke” trio that is a part of this recording. We get to hear the following: Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 11 in G major, Op. 121a ‘Kakadu’ Piano Trio No. 9 in B flat major, WoO 39 Piano Trio No. 7 in B flat Major, Op. 97 ‘Archduke’ Performed by the Boulanger Trio . The trio members are: Ilona Kindt, Cello Birgit Erz, violin Karla Haltenwanger, piano Let me share with you some music from […]