TRIO KANDINSKY - PRESS
[CD - CLARA SCHUMANN i JOHANNES BRAHMS]
Muy grata noticia, la grabación de dos tríos con piano de Johannes Brahms
por el Trío Kandinsky. Acopladas con una interesante versión del trío de
Clara Schumann, con quien -como se sabe- Brahms tuvo una amistad
especial, las obras reciben una lectura sobria y profunda. Una lectura que
confirma la trayectoria de este conjunto formado en Barcelona, con un
importante historial de conciertos y grabaciones, entre las que se cuentan
dos CDs de gran calidad dedicados respectivamente a Schoenberg y
Guinjoan.
En el presente disco se abordan algunas composiciones capitales del
repertorio romántico para conjunto de cámara, como el Trio nº1, op. 8, de
Johannes Brahms. Se trata de una pieza de juventud, que su compositor
retocaría en 1891. El primer movimiento comienza con un tema de gran
intensidad, que enuncia el piano y que el violoncello repite y modula, tras
lo cual se incorpora el violín en una nueva repetición. El fraseo de las
cuerdas avanza con el acompañamiento del piano, hasta que los tres
instrumentos se unen en una sola declamación. Intenso y contundente,
verdadera declaración de principios, el trío deviene complejo a medida que
avanza en sus cuatro movimientos. La versión del Trío Kandinsky destaca
por su encomiable voluntad de claridad, alejada de la demasiado a menudo
tópica emotividad romántica. Con mesura, sin jugar tampoco la carta del
virtuosismo superficial, los intérpretes demuestran un buen entendimiento.
El diálogo entre instrumentos resulta especialmente notable en el Trío nº3,
op.101, de 1887, donde el contrapunto es más violento y fecundo, las
melodías más áridas y angulosas que en la pieza que inaugura la serie,
inicialmente concebida en 1854.
Clara Wieck vivió a la sombra de su marido Robert Schumann, pero fue una
gran compositora. Nos ha dejado en su catálogo un elenco admirable de
piezas para piano solo, que raramente se interpretan (escúchese por
ejemplo el ligero y no obstante apasionado Deuxième scherzo pour le
pianoforte, op.14), algunas obras para teclado y voz, así como unas pocas
composiciones de cámara, entre las cuales su Trio, op.17, que en el pasado
fuera ya grabado por conjuntos de reputación como el Beaux Arts Trio.
Ubicado aquí entre los tríos brahmsianos, recibe un tratamiento
comparable a aquéllos, prevaleciendo la claridad expositiva y el
entendimiento empático entre instrumentos. La obra de Clara Wieck data
de 1846, de cuando Brahms contaba con sólo trece años (todavía no había
iniciado el recuento de su opus), y presenta algunos puntos de interés
desde el Allegro moderato. El movimiento de apertura comienza de hecho
con la enunciación del tema, semejante a cuanto planteará Brahms en su
primer trío con piano. Es posible que los episodios no se encuentren aquí
conectados con la misma fluidez, pero aún así la composición de Wieck
evidencia una gran capacidad para la creación. De hecho, a pesar de
tratarse en la época de una profesión predominantemente masculina
(sintomático, además, que todavía se la conozca a través del apellido de
casada), no son sus creaciones fenómenos aislados: el segundo
movimiento del trío, el grácil Tempo di minuetto, es de una delicadeza
equiparable a la de los tempranos Caprices en forme de valse para piano,
op.2, mientras que el tercer movimiento, el Andante grazioso, transmite
con seguridad compositiva una introspección que se reencontrará en la
Romanza en si menor, de 1856.
Columna Música, la discográfica involucrada en el proyecto, acierta en
ofrecer, en estos tiempos de crisis/renovación de la industria, materiales
adicionales al clásico CD; concretamente, un libreto grabado en su portada
con la palabra Briefe (cartas), en que se proporcionan pistas del
intercambio epistolar mantenido entre Clara Schumann y Johannes
Brahms, esa otra intimidad inherente a la música de cámara.
Jacobo Zabalo - La Porta Clàssica
[HANGZHOU - CHINA - 15.05.2012]
«Shanghái (China), 7 dic (EFE).- Una muestra de la mejor música de
cámara española e iberoamericana del siglo XX, de la mano de uno de los
mejores conjuntos camerísticos españoles, el Trío Kandinsky, da a conocer
esta semana, con su primera gira en China, este repertorio aún
desconocido allí pero capaz de entusiasmar al público local.
Así lo demostró anoche en el primero de estos conciertos, en Shanghái,
donde logró ovaciones e incluso gritos de apoyo de un público,
habitualmente más frío, que les pidió dos bises, con un programa que se
repetirá esta noche en la Escuela de Música de la Universidad Normal de
Hangzhou, a 170 kilómetros de Shanghái.»
[SCHOENBERG CENTER - VIENNA - 15.05.2012]
«The Schoenberg Center in Vienna is a real insider tip for those looking for
music events off the beaten track. Established in 1998, it is a unique
repository of Arnold Schoenberg’s archival legacy. The cultural center also
hosts exquisite chamber concerts every month showcasing Schoenberg’s
music and his influence on generations to come. It is remarkable what the
center, with its limited budget, under its most competent Director Christian
Meyer, offers to the public.
This event was dedicated to the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge
(1912 – 2002) marking the centennial of his birth and the tenth
anniversary of his death. Montsalvatge was one of the most prominent
members of Spain’s ‘Lost Generation’ – the generation that spent its
formative years under the Franco regime. Later Montsalvatge became a
sought-after composition teacher at the Barcelona Conservatory and was a
well-respected music critic before passing away at the age of 90. He was
heavily influenced by the Avant-Garde in his later works and is best known
for his Cinco Canciones Negras.
The Barcelona based Trio Kandinsky opened the concert with Xavier
Montsalvatges’ Trio, written in 1986. Originally this Trio had only 2
movements: The “Balada de Dulcinea” and the “Ritornelo”. Only later did
Montsalvatges insert “Dialogues” between the two movements. “Dialogues”
is based on a piano piece with the same name by prominent Catalan
composer Frederic Mompou. The “Balada” is probably the least accessible
movement although one was immediately drawn in by the engaging
performance of the Trio Kandinsky. The second movement evoked an actual
dialogue with the piano conversing with the strings, beautifully performed
by Corrado Bolsi (violin) and Amparo Lacruz (cello). The dance-like
“Ritornelo” displayed a lot of Afro-Cuban elements.
After the Berlin “Akademie der Kuenste” suspended Schoenberg from his
teaching position with the onset of the Nazi era, his student and then
assistant, Roberto Gerhard, invited him to Barcelona. What was originally
planned to be only a couple of weeks turned into more than a year. Here
Schoenberg was able to write the biggest part of Moses and Aaron. He
gave his daughter, born during his time in Barcelona, the Catalan name
Nuria.
The second part of the evening was dedicated to the Schoenberg student
Roberto Gerhard. His Trio was written in 1918 when Gerhard was barely 22
years old and had yet to meet Schoenberg. Unlike other Spanish
composers of his generation he had remained in Barcelona for his studies.
Apparently he hadn’t even been to Paris, the musical hotspot at the time.
However, the resemblance of his Trio with Ravel’s Piano Trio, written only 4
years earlier, was startling. Here, Trio Kandinsky was best able to showcase
its well-seasoned, homogenous sound. Corrado Bolsi, on his 1650 Guarneri
violin, played with a resonantly beautiful and warm sound. His partners,
the impeccable Amparo Lacruz on the cello and the technically brilliant
Emili Brugalla on the piano, made for a great ensemble.
By far the greatest challenge for pianist Brugalla, however, was the piano
trio version of Schoenberg’s Verklaerte Nacht. Originally written for string
sextet, later also for string orchestra, Schoenberg student Eduard
Steuermann transcribed the programmatic piece 1932 for piano trio. As
Christian Meyer explained in his brief concert introduction, Steuermann was
one of the most brilliant pianists of his time. In his transcription he
basically didn’t change the violin and cello parts, assigning all remaining 4
voices to the piano. You needed a pianist of Steuermann’s caliber for this
challenging part. Brugalla was totally up to it and performed with the
greatest ease and virtuosity. As much as Bolsi and Lacruz were able to let
their instruments sing, the piano trio version could not evoke the haunting
beauty of the original version for string sextet.
Trio Kandinsky thanked the small but enthusiastic audience with Arvo Pärt’s
melancholic Mozart Adagio.
Wiebke Kuester - ConcertoNet.com
[51ª SEMANA DE MÚSICA RELIGIOSA-CUENCA]
«La música de nueva creación catalana ha dejado profunda huella en
Cuenca. El barcelonés Trío Kandinsky ha protagonizado el estreno de una
obra de Josep Maria Guix (Reus, 1967) dentro de las tres de encargo de la
51º Semana de Música Religiosa, que se clausuró el domingo con éxito, a
pesar de tener que reducir en un 25% su presupuesto. Este recorte ha
obligado a pasar de los 25 conciertos del 2011 a los 16 de este año.
El reto de Corrado Bolsi (violín), Amparo Lacruz (violonchelo) y Emili
Brugalla (piano) era considerable. Los tres destacados solistas de esta
formación creada en 1998, inauguraban para la prestigiosa muestra el
luminoso espacio de la iglesia-museo de Santa Cruz y lo hacían con
Slowly... in the mist. Guix, discípulo de David Padrós, Benet Casablancas,
Joan Guinjoan y Jonathan Harvey, escribió la pieza inspirándose en tres
haikus de Kobayashi. La refinada y evocadora composición fue interpretada
con un cómplice equilibrio sonoro. El Trío Kandinsky encontró el tono
espiritual a una obra dedicada a la niebla que desdibuja contornos
melódicos, difumina armonías, colores y ritmos, pero conecta con nuestras
emociones.
Ramon Humet (Barcelona, 1968) fue el otro catalán con presencia el
pasado miércoles. El trío recuperó su obra Pètals, estrenada en Nagoya
(Japón) en el 2009 e inspirada en versos de Bankoku. Tres movimientos,
uno enérgico y vital, un segundo en forma de lamento lleno de lirismo y un
tercero de éxtasis místico remataron está pieza. Corradi, Lacruz y Brugalla
acabarían siendo aclamados por su virtuosismo con el Trío número 2 en mi
bemol mayor de Schubert.»
César Lopez Rosell - El Periódico - 10.04.2012
[Concert at the Don Juan de Borbón Fundation, Segovia, Spain]
"We still have the music”
The program offered by the trio, although not of strictly religious works,
was very spiritual and reflective. [...] The Trio Kandinsky wove a delicate
tapestry with threads of his beautiful musicality, transparency and sweet
timbre. The interpretation offered by musicians either in trio, in two piano
duets with violin or cello, or piano solo, was phenomenal for its
containment, concentration, and coordination and for their ability to make
look easy a music that presents such technical difficulties. The same
attributes would fit the interpretation of Schoenberg's Transfigured Night
but now with added passion. Great program, great interpretation.
Luis Hidalgo. El Norte de Castilla
"Spirit and expression of the twentieth century"
The climate of serene beauty of the scene of San Juan de los Caballeros
along with the quality of the acoustics, made a perfect framework for
hosting this extraordinary concert. Tonal music of the last century came to
us with exemplary clarity in the versions of the trio, a real international
ensemble considering it’s members and their interpretations [...] Mozart
adagio, a sad melody based on the piano sonata in F major, was
expressively and forcefully played by Corrado Bolsi, a level of performance
which was repeated in the next three works (Fratres, Für Alina and Spiegel
um Spiegel). In these pieces – has in the others – the work has an
ensemble was a highlight. They are an exemplary ensemble with their
accurate sound that reaches the viewer with a crystal clear projection of
the work of each performer and that of the group. This trio version [of
'Transfigured Night' Schoenberg's] doesn’t lose the expressiveness
achieved by the composer [...] The passionate passages alternating with
sweet quiet ones are of clear expression, and were very well played by this
exemplary trio, which is the most serious cameral ensemble we've heard in
years. An artistic success.
Rafa Aznar. El Adelantado de Segovia.
[CD Johannes Brahms i Clara Schumann]
"After more than a decade playing together, they have that kind of
expressive maturity that makes from chamber music a game of complicity
[...] very well played versions, with a very good balanced sonority, the
right expressivity and beautiful details".
J. Pérez Senz, Babelia, El Pais
"The works included in this album show that the development of musical
language in the true artists is always the result of the need for expression
[...]. Intense versions, heartfelt and accurate by the Trio Kandinsky
members have the power to bring this out in a singular and eloquent way.
They do it with a choice of two trios of Brahms and one of Clara Schumann
which are accompanied by a selection of letters between the two artists."
diverdi.com
"Intense,heartfelt and careful versions."
Melómano
"The versions of the Kandinsky Trio stand out for their strong will of clarity.
Without playing with the easy cards of superficial virtuosity, the performers
of kandinsky Trio show a great understanding."
La Porta Clàssica
[Interview Revista Musical Catalana]
“Chamber music in Catalonia, in spite of the difficulties it has in developing,
has a notable precedent in its groups that have made history, like the
mythic Cortot-Thibaud-Casals, or the more recent Trio de Barcelona of the
brothers Claret and Albert Attenelle. Following this path, the Trio Kandinsky
was born ten years ago with the will to reconciliate the past and the
present, to establish sonorous connections above and beyond the times
and styles, in order to converge in one musical spirit, which finds in the
number three the perfect triangle of communication, composer-performeraudience.”
Revista Musical Catalana, n. 302
[CD Guinjoan]
“The choice of the group (…) to play the program that includes these six
collected works couldn’t have been wiser. The Trio Kandinsky (…) is already
one of the most solid groups in Spain, with workmanship and quality to
compete outside of our borders. In this compact they demonstrate it
amply."
José Guerrero Martín ·Scherzo
“ […] third recording of the TK, every time more homogeneous in its
sonority and secure in the stylistic solutions of contemporary repertory.”
Germán Gan Quesada · Diverdi
"[...] This indisovable claim to the past and the present that both
recordings materialize constitutes something more than a simple
discograhic novelty: a true political example of the first order in the ambit
of culture. And in many others.”
José Luis Téllez · Scherzo
[CD Schoenberg i Barcelona]
“It is especially noteworthy that the Trio Kandinsky […] has dedicated one
of the two discs which commemorate its tenth anniversary to this
admirable rarity (Verklärte Nacht). […] their identification with the score is
absolute.”
José Luis Téllez · Scherzo
“El Trio Kandinsky reveals itself in this recording as well-rounded, ductile,
mature and consistent. We are confronting here an important disc in the
history of recording in Spain.”
Juan Antonio González Fuentes · ojosdepapel.com
“The interpretation is excellent and brings out the most expresionist and
rigorous side of Schoenberg’s music. A disc worth studying.”
Arturo Reverter · El Mundo
[Recitals]
The TK offered an interpretation of The Transfigured Night that was careful
in the perception of contrasts and displayed discursive articulation fully
integrated in the formal development of this work, early for its times, of
the vienese composer.”
J. Jofré · El Punt
“The Trio Kandinsky is one of the best chamber music groups of this
country. And it is because its members know the most important principal
in chamber playing and have made it their own: the interplay of
complexities in sound …We have here three musicians who can be called a
pianista who listens, a cellist who makes her instrument sing, and a
violinista of great sensitivity.”
Jaume Radigales · La Vanguardia
“The three muscians offered a well-rounded recital, in which tecnical and
interpretive virtuosity remained at the service of the beautiful emotional
flow present in works which advanced from vienese Classicism to the most
extreme Romanticism. The Kandinsky display a superb balance of sound
and a complete mutual understanding, delicacy, and intensity.”
Alicantissimo
“An excellent interpretive category…Brugalla always pleasing in his touch…
Corrado Bolsi with admirable and very rich mechanical play…brilliant
assured sensitiviy of Amparo Lacruz…”
Antonio Iglesias · ABC
“Music of quality, perfect coordination and tecnically impecable […] The
compostion brought out the expressive individual possibilities […] the
members let it be heard that they know how to achieve an excellent overall
sound.”
Josefa Lobera · El Correo
“It’s exciting, the vitality of the sound of this trio Kandinsky, their decision
and personality, even more so working with very new works that present
great tecnical and of course interpretive difficulties. They solve them with
spirit, something that is usually missing in modern music concerts, and
even though many times it is implicit in the score, it gets left out through a
lack of freedom and sinthesis in the interpretation.”
Jorge de Persia · La Vanguardia
“Memorable recital of Trio Kandinsky.
The Trio Kandinsky is in a position to offer not only versions of true and
profound expressive meticulousness, but at the same time their musical
discourse possesses that virtuoso eloquence that is never artificial, only
striving to express with all the emotional force the content of the works
they interpret.”
F. Taberna-Bech · Catalunya Música
“The group, which hasn’t visited Sabadell since the beginning of their
career, showed a surprising maturity. [These musicians] have achieved an
overwhelming coordination and an interpretive refinement that is a
delight.”
David Ramon · El Diari de Sabadell
“The best ambassadors of contemporary music are performers like the Trio
Kandinsky […] they are the first to believe in it, they fall in love with it,
they work on it in depth, and they reveal it to the audience with conviction
and in all its splendor. […] an interpretation full of power and precision,
vehemence and intensity, good tonal balance and mutual understanding
[…] excellent dosification of tensions. […] high individual quality of each
member of the Trio Kandinsky.”
Xavier Chavarria · Revista Musical Catalana
“The performers worked in sensitive solos and luminous moments of
ensemble.”
Jorge de Persia · La Vanguardia
“The Trio Kandinsky is two years old, enough time to judge its standing.
The rating couldn’t be higher. It’s a delight to listen to them and verify their
loyalty to their founding promise of combining tradition with innovation,
their mutual understanding, the expression and tecnical purity that become
a language of their own. They are absolutely competitive and direct heirs “
in pectore“ of the longed-for Trio of Barcelona.”
X. Casanoves Danés · Avui
“The concert offered by the Trio Kandinsky, a group that is developing a
considerable career, quickly grasped the attention of the audience, since
the three musicians played the programmed works with a true chamber
music spirit and an intense expressiveness […] The applauses came
successively with growing enthusiasm […] The version of the quartet by
Schnittke was impressive for its dense emotional content. In second part
the Trio Kandinsky, with a level of true musicality, offered an unsurpassable
version of the Trio of Isang Yun […] A hearing of the Passim Trio of Joan
Guinjoan brought to a close this truely memorable concert.”
F. Taverna-Bech · Catalunya Música
“For a long time we’ve been left abandoned without the classic form of the
trio- violin, cello and piano- and we have to greet the presentation of a new
group, absolutely trustworthy, that with the name of Trio Kandinsky unites
the violinista Manuel Porta, the cellist Amparo Lacruz and the pianista Emili
Brugalla. As a matter of fact, ever since the trio Comellas, Cervera, Collexcellent-
broke up, and the Trio de Barcelona, composed of the Claret
brothers and Albert Atttenelle, has stopped performing with a certain
continuity, there has not been any group that could offer a individual
quality of its members or an understanding as an ensemble as that that
presented itself the night of Sunday the 28th”
Jordi Maluquer · Avui
“Very beautiful the sound of Corado Bolsi, good bow work and dynamic
nuances, precision and homogenity in the tenuous sonorities of Amparo
Lacruz, and musicality of Emili Brugalla particularly expressive. Good
treatment of the expression, intelligent and sensitive; quite a merit for the
performers.”
Jorge de Persia · La Vanguardia
© Trio Kandinsky · 2018
Versión para imprimir