This is the third and final volume in the little series by Beethoven Trio Bonn of Original Trio versus home music version of large scaled symphonic works by Beethoven. Coupled with the very well-known Gassenhauser Trio is the lyric pastoral symphony No. 6 by Beethoven, in a completely unknown trio arrangement by the Brahms friend Christian Gottlieb Belcke.
In a series of 3 CDs, the Beethoven Trio Bonn explores the confrontation between one of Beethoven's standard works for piano trio with a furtherhouse music arrangement of one of his orchestral works. More than providing an interesting pairing, the Beethoven Trio Bonn was keen oninterpreting an original work for piano trio alongside an arrangement of an orchestral work downsized to piano trio format. This new conceptdelivers surprising, unforeseen results.
Composers and publishers in Beethoven's day sought to indulge the pleasures of the middle class: dozens of arrangements and transcriptions oforchestral works were in wide circulation for domestic use. Haydn, Mozart and many others had always tried to provide access to the wonders ofsymphonic music for those members of the population who could not gain entrance to the grand concerts of the upper classes.
Up to the 1930s, music publishers continued to commission composers to arrange and transcribe symphonies and other orchestral works, in order tomake them readily available as chamber music; no composer found the task too lowly, since such work was a good source of steady income.
The very well-known Piano Trio No. 4 (Gassenhauer) with his enormous witty playfulness (we listen to the version with the violin instead of theclarinet) and his three (!) movements is partnered with the Symphony No. 6, in an arrangement of the Brahms friend Christian Gottlieb Belcke(1796-1875). Listening to it will be a big surprise, as the Sixth is a lovely flowing full body music piece with all the details not forgotten, wonderfullybalanced with all its pastoral melodies.
Vol. 3 rounds up the trilogy Original versus Home music-versions of large-scale symphonic works. And surely some of the six pieces contains quitenice surprises, showing the music in different (new?) aspects. All of that is owed to the playing of the Beethoven Trio Bonn (BTB) with its richness ofnuances and colours, interpreting the six trios, highly expressive as well as impressive.
