ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The three B's arranged: Beethoven, Bruch, and Bridge
Come enjoy a celebration of chamber music for clarinet, cello, and piano with the Meiningen Trio featuring clarinetist Jonathan Cohler, cellist Sebastian Bäverstam, and pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite!
The program will include arrangements of three great works originally written for other instrumental combinations. Two of the works, the Bruch and the Beethoven, were arranged by the composers themselves, while the Bridge is presented here in the group's own arrangement replacing the original violin part with clarinet.
In 1799, Beethoven wrote a piece that capped off the great 18th-century tradition of serenade and divertimento, his
Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20. Premiered on April 2, 1800, it was extremely popular, and appeared in numerous transcriptions including solo piano, two guitars, piano four-hands, piano quartet, and Beethoven’s own trio arrangement for either clarinet or violin with cello and piano which became the Opus 38 on this program. Perhaps most famous for his violin concerti and
Scottish Fantasy, late romantic composer Max Bruch wrote his
Eight Pieces, Op. 83 (1908) for his clarinetist son to play with viola and piano, but included alternate parts for violin and cello as well. One year before Bruch wrote
Eight Pieces, English composer Frank Bridge wrote a short fantasy for piano trio to enter in a contest. That it won the top prize of the 1907 Cobbett Competition is testament to its quality and brilliance.
Named after a city closely associated with Brahms and all his clarinet works, the Meiningen Trio includes renowned clarinet soloist Jonathan Cohler, Concert Artists Guild prize winning cellist Sebastian Bäverstam, and multiple prize winning pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite. For a sample performance, see
this YouTube video. The performances include historical introductions by trio members and promise to be exciting events. For more information on the performers, see their individual websites: