Tchaikovsky & Arensky Piano Trios Trio Wanderer and Christophe Gaugué

• 1 I. Allegro moderato 12:00
• 2 II. Scherzo Allegro molto 05:42
• 3 III. Elegia. Adagio 06:00
• 4 IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo 05:53
• 5 I. Pezzo elegiaco. Moderato assai 17:42
• 6 II A. Tema con Variazioni. Andante con moto 00:59
• 7 Var. I 00:48
• 8 Var. II. Più mosso 00:32
• 9 Var. III. Allegro moderato 00:52
• 10 Var. IV. L'istesso tempo 01:04
• 11 Var. V. L'istesso tempo 00:39
• 12 Var. VI. Tempo di Valse 02:30
• 13 Var. VII. Allegro moderato 01:08
• 14 Var. VIII. Fuga. Allegro moderato 02:18
• 15 Var. IX. Andante flebile ma non tanto 02:59
• 16 Var. X. Tempo di Mazurka 01:39
• 17 Var. XI. Moderato 02:08
• 18 II B. Variazione Finale e Coda. Allegro risoluto e con fuoco - Andante con moto 06:49
• Total Runtime 01:11:42

Info for Tchaikovsky & Arensky Piano Trios

Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio, a work that is both elegiac and virtuosic, sets the tone of this recording. Dedicated to his friend Nikolay Rubinstein with the French epigraph 'A la memoire d'un grand artiste,' it shows great originality in its dimensions and style. A similarly ambitious work is Arensky's Trio Op.32, which is also dedicated to the memory of a musician – the cellist Karl Davidov (1838-89). This gem of chamber music, much less often played, constitutes the true discovery of this program, which features the celebrated French ensemble Trio Wanderer.

Tchaikovsky’s celebrated large-scale Trio Op.50 sets the tone of this recording, at once elegiac and virtuosic. Dedicated to his friend Nikolay Rubinstein with the French epigraph ‘À la mémoire d'un grand artiste’, it shows great originality both in its dimensions and in its style, which calls for highly skilled performers. A similarly ambitious work is the Trio Op.32 of Anton Stepanovich Arensky, also dedicated to the memory of a musician, the cellist Karl Davidov (1838-89).

This gem of chamber music, much less often played, constitutes the true discovery of the programme. The Trio Wanderer celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2012. Feted by the international press for its extraordinarily sensitive playing, its almost telepathic complicity, and its complete instrumental mastery, the Trio Wanderer is one of the finest chamber music formations in the world today. Dubbed ‘Wandering Star’ by The Strad magazine, it is invited to appear in the most prestigious concert series and at the leading festivals.

Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, violin
Raphaël Pidoux, cello
Vincent Coq, piano

The Wanderer Trio
is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012. All the members of the Wanderer Trio graduated from the National Music Conservatory of Paris and they have chosen journeys as their emblem. On the one hand, it embodies an inner journey, which closely links them to Schubert and German Romanticism, and on the other, it is a journey inspired by openness and curiosity that explores music ranging from Haydn to contemporary scores.

Acclaimed for its extraordinarily sensitive style, almost telepathic understanding of each other and technical mastery, the Trio Wanderer is one of the world's foremost chamber ensembles.

The Wanderer musicians, who studied with grand masters such as Jean-Claude Pennetier, Jean Hubeau, and Menahem Pressler of the Beaux-Arts Trio and the Amadeus Quartet, won the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 1988 and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in the USA in 1990. From 1988 to 1990, they took master classes in chamber music at the Festival of La Roque d'Anthéron - classes which they now teach.

Called a 'Wandering Star' by the Strad Magazine, the Trio has performed on the most prestigious music stages: Berlin's Philharmonic, Paris' Théâtre des Champs Elysées, London's Wigmore Hall, Milan's Teatro alla Scala, Barcelona's Palau de la Musica, Washington's Library of Congress, Bejin's Opera, Rio de Janeiro's Teatro Municipal, Tokyo's Kioi Hall, Zürich's Tonhalle and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. They have also performed at major festivals such as Edinburgh, Montreux, Feldkirch, Schleswig Holstein, Rheingau Musiksommmer, Colmar, La Roque d'Anthéron, the Folles Journées de Nantes, Granada, Stresa, Osaka and three times at Salzburg festival.

They have on many occasions collaborated with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin, Christopher Hogwood, James Loughran, Marco Guidarini, Ken-David Masur, François-Xavier Roth, Charles Dutoit and James Conlon, accompanied, in triple or double concertos, by orchestras as Toulouse, Nice, Montpellier, Liège, Santiago de Chile, La Coruna, Teneriffe, by Les Siècles orchestra, Radio-France's Orchestre National and Orchestre Philharmonique, Berlin's Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Graz's Philharmonic Orchester, Köln's Gürzenich Orchester, Stockholm Chamber Orchestra ...

After producing two CDs released by Sony Classical, the Wanderer Trio began a new partnership with harmonia mundi in 1999. Since then, nine recordings have been released: trios by Chausson, Ravel, Haydn, Shostakovich, Copland, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn, Smetana, the complete piano trios of Schubert and Brahms, Schubert's Trout Quintet Schubert, Hummel's Quintet, Beethoven Triple Concerto conducted by James Conlon, and pieces of Liszt and Messiaen.

In 2005, a new CD dedicated to the Martinu's Triple Concerti was issued by Capriccio.

With a particular fondness for contemporary music, the Wanderer Trio has premiered several works by Thierry Escaich (Lettres Mêlées, 2004), Bruno Mantovani (Huits Moments Musicaux, 2008), Frank Michael Beyer (Lichtspuren, 2008) and Marco Francescini (Triple Concerto 'Ego', 2011). This interest has resulted in recordings produced by Universal Accord (works by Thierry Escaich) and soon by Mirare (Mantovani, released in spring 2013).

An auspicious meeting with the Austrian baritone Wolfgang Holzmair led the Trio to make a recording with him of the folksongs of Beethoven, Haydn and Pleyel, released by Cypres Records in 2009.

In 2012, the complete Beethoven piano trios has been released by harmonia mundi. This will be followed by Arenki and Tchaïkovski trios recording in autumn 2013. Their recordings have been awarded several prizes including Choc du Monde de la Musique, Fanfare's Want List, Critic's Choice of Gramophone, CD of the Month' by the BBC Music Magazine, Klassik.com Empfehlung, Cds des Monat Fono Forum, Diapason d'Or of the Year, Midem International Classical Music Award...The New York Times declared their recent interpretation of Mendelssohn’s piano trios the new reference, and this past March Trio Wanderer's 'Schubert's Trout quintet and Hummel's quintet recording has been included in Forbes's Top Quality Music Library.

Trio Wanderer's 2013-2014 engagements include performances at Paris' Théâtre des Champs Elysées (Beethoven Triple concerto) and Paris' Opéra Comique (Beethoven complete Piano Trios), London's Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, la Roque d'Anthéron Festival, Bath Festival, as well as concerts in Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Brasil, Canada , USA... They will continue their residencies in Germany for the Aachen's Accordate concert society as well as in Denmark for Copenhagen's Mogens Dahl Hall. In Spring 2014, Trio Wanderer will premiere the Philippe Hersant's Triple Concerto.

In addition to radio and television recordings (Radio France, BBC, ARD, DSR, Mezzo, etc.), a documentary featuring the Trio, which was co-produced by Les Films d'ici, was aired on the Franco-German television channel ARTE in 2003. The Wanderer Trio has won the prestigious Victoires de la musique award for Best Instrumental Ensemble of the Year three times (1997, 2000 and 2009).

Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian plays on a violin of Petrus GUARNERIUS (Venezia 1748).

Raphaël Pidoux plays on a violoncello of Goffredo CAPPA (Saluzzo 1680)

Booklet for Tchaikovsky & Arensky Piano Trios