Joachim Raff - Piano Trios Nos. 2 & 3 (Trio Opus 8)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

• Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, Op. 112
• Piano Trio No. 3 in A minor, Op. 155

Trio Opus 8

    Eckhard Fischer, violin

    Mario de Secondi, cello

    Michael Hauber, piano

Date: 1999

Label: CPO

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Review

Joachim Raff (1822-82) is little known today, but he enjoyed considerable success as a composer and teacher during his lifetime. Although he composed an appreciable quantity of orchestral music, Raff was most adept in the chamber music medium. His piano trios are fine examples of his inventiveness, craftsmanship, and gift for melody. Though Trio No. 2 in G major (1863) sounds Brahmsian in its tender opening phrase, it nevertheless goes its own way, displaying Raff’s novel approach to individual voicing and thematic development. Beethoven comes to mind in the beautiful theme and variations movement, while the rollicking finale features a repeated episode distinctly Tchaikovskian in character.

The Trio No. 3 in A minor, composed seven years later, follows the same basic pattern of movements. After an ardent opening allegro agitato, a light-hearted scherzo delightfully suggests Schubert’s Trout Quintet. Another theme and variations slow movement follows (presenting the opportunity for some fine solo cello work by Mario de Scondi), and the finale returns to the minor mode with a brisk and lively Hungarian dance. The ensemble Trio Opus 8 offers uniformly stylish, impassioned performances, and although CPO’s up-close recording gains clarity at the expense of depth and low bass, this imperfection won’t prevent you from enjoying this engaging, entertaining music.

— Victor Carr Jr

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Joachim Raff (27 May 1822 —  24 or 25 June 1882) was a German composer and teacher who was greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten by the late 20th century. Initially a self-taught musician, he was influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann before aligning with Liszt and Wagner's "New German School". He served as Liszt's assistant in Weimar and later taught piano in Wiesbaden. From 1877, he directed the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. A prolific composer, Raff wrote 11 symphonies, concertos, operas, choral, chamber and piano music. Many of these works are now commercially recorded.

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Trio Opus 8, founded in 1986, quickly gained recognition by winning prizes in Colmar, Trieste and Florence. The group's name honors notable piano trios composed as Opus 8 by composers such as Brahms, Chopin, Pfitzner and Shostakovich. The trio has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Prize in Berlin and a gold medal the Festival de Jeunes Solistes in Bordeaux. Performing globally and at major festivals, they have collaborated with prominent musicians and recorded extensively for radio, television, and labels such as Tacet, CPO, Arte Nova, NEOS and Profil.

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