Sabaneev: Piano Trios Schäfer / Then-Bergh / Yang

• 1 Allegro ma non troppo, molto passionato 05:08
• 2 Appassionato 06:05
• 3 Largamente 07:13
• 4 Moderato, molto appassionato, mesto 09:13
• 5 Allegro impetuoso 09:05
• 6 Romantico 07:14
• 7 Mesto 10:42
• Total Runtime 54:40

Info for Sabaneev: Piano Trios

The sweeping epic piano trios of Leonid Sabaneev (1881–1968) are electrifying – on the dividing line between the Romantic and the Modern, between exalted feelings and the oppression of Stalinist terror. Echoes of Rachmaninoff, then a Shostakovich – and yet Sabaneev surprises us again and again. This is due not least, of course, to the fabulous performance of Ilona Then-Bergh (violin), Michael Schäfer (piano) and Wen-Sinn Yang (cello). This is already the sixth GENUIN production for the first two recording artists: These world premiere recordings are also un!erhört (never before heard)! New valuable additions to the repertoire, played with burning intensity – a must for chamber music fans!

'...without a doubt the most bizarre pieces I have ever heard by any composer before John Cage and his ilk...' (Fanfare)

'The ensemble as a whole manages to swell, soar, and fade as a unit, and their molding of tempo to suit musical gestures is one pivotal quality that makes this recording a success.' (David Pearson)

Michael Schäfer, Piano
Ilona Then-Bergh, Violin
Wen-Sinn Yang, Cello

World Premiere Recordings

Michael Schäfer
has a propensity for featuring unusual repertoire on his recordings and has been instrumental in surprising the descendants of forgotten composers with unexpected (ASCAP) royalty earnings. In addition, he performs as a soloist, as a member of various chamber music groups, and as an accompanist on concert podiums throughout the world. Master classes in various countries and a professorship at the State Conservatory for Music in Munich allow him to pass his experience on to the next generation of musicians.

Ilona Then-Bergh
was named the first concert-mistress of the Bavarian State Orchestra at the young age of 19. She later took the same position with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. In the meantime she has completely stopped performing in orchestras in order to be able to fully (and far more intensively) devote herself to performing chamber music as well as teaching at the Munich Hochschule für Musik und Theater. She has been awarded the German Record Critics’ Award (Quarterly Critics’ Choice) several times in praise of her CD productions (including Piano Trios by Saint-Saëns, Schubert, Turina and Shostakovich).

Wen-Sinn Yang
who as a chamber musician and a soloist is numbered among the most versatile artistic personalities, became first solo cellist of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in 1989 at the age of 24 years, a position which he gave up in 2005 in favor of a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. In 1991 he won first prize at the Geneva International Music Competition. Since then he has been a welcome guest artist on the concert podium and at music festivals in Europe and Asia. As a soloist he has performed with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons. His very broad-ranging repertoire is documented in more than 20 CD recordings. In addition to the standard repertoire such as the concertos of Boccherini, Haydn and Dvořák, Yang has also recorded lesser known virtuoso cello and chamber music, especially from the 20th century, including works by François Servais, Carl Davidoff, Alfredo Piatti and Julius Klengel. His performance of the Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by J.S. Bach have also appeared on DVD in collaboration with Bavarian Radio and Television.

Booklet for Sabaneev: Piano Trios