Beethoven: Piano Trios, Op. 97 ('Archduke') & Op. 1, No. 3 Trio Ex Aequo

• 1 I. Allegro moderato 12:17
• 2 II. Scherzo: Allegro 11:04
• 3 III. Andante cantabile ma pero con moto 11:07
• 4 IV. Allegro moderato - Presto 07:15
• 5 I. Allegro con brio 09:27
• 6 II. Andante cantabile con variazioni 07:04
• 7 III. Menuetto: Quasi allegro 03:37
• 8 IV. Finale: Prestissimo 07:49
• Total Runtime 01:09:40

Info for Beethoven: Piano Trios, Op. 97 ('Archduke') & Op. 1, No. 3

How lovely that GENUIN repeatedly gives in to its hankering for the serial novel genre: For the classical label’s new collaboration with Trio Ex Aequo bearing the title “Beethoven” will make listeners hope for more. From the stately introductory phrases of the “Archduke” Trio all the way to the brooding final notes of the wild early work of the young iconoclast from Bonn, this production is convincing because of its long, sustained phrasing, tonal beauty and its unique reading of the recorded works.

All the artists in this trio have earned plaudits. The cellist Matthias Moosdorf is the cellist in the Leipzig String Quartet. We look forward to future releases by this ensemble.

Gerald Fauth, piano
Matthias Wollong, violin
Matthias Moosdorf, cello

Recorded at the Chorprobensaal MDR, Augustusplatz, Leipzig, Germany Op. 1, No. 3: July 1, 2011 / Op. 97: August 28, 2011
Recording Producer/Tonmeister: Alfredo Lasheras Hakobian
Balance Engineer: Evelyn Rühlemann, Matthias Sachers
Technical Assistant: Matthias Metzler

This ensemble is more than the mere sum of its parts and one feels compelled to ask why the musicians Matthias Wollong, Matthias Moosdorf and Gerald Fauth have only recently begun performing as a piano trio. All three have performed with their ensemble counterparts in various combinations for years as well as receiving instruction in master classes in Berlin and Leipzig and each has had an impressive career in their own right.

After being the concertmaster with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, in 1999 Matthias Wollong was recruited by Giuseppe Sinopoli to be the First Concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Dresden. The First Prize winner of the “Joseph Joachim Competition,” he performed in concert as a soloist at an early point in his career with conductors such as Frühbeck de Burgos, Sir Colin Davis, or Bernhard Haitink. He has also led several concert tours of the German Chamber Orchestra and the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra. His discography features him in performances of works by Schoeck, Bloch and Furtwängler. He plays an Andreas Guarneri violin from 1676.

Mat thias Moosdorf is the cellist of the Leipzig String Quartet, one of the world’s premier quartets. He has performed with the quartet in more than 60 countries on all continents and can be heard in over 80 prize-winning CD recordings. The Echo-Klassik award alone has been awarded to him four times! The repertoire featured in the complete discography ranges from Mozart, Schubert, and Mendelssohn all the way to Weill, Cage and Brahms. His musical partners have included Alfred Brendel, Christian Zacharias and Giora Feidman as well as Hans Zender, Karl Leister and Olaf Bär. His instrument was made by the Andreas Guarneri workshop in 1697.

Trio Ex Aequo pianist Gerald Fauth has been immersed in the repertory for piano trio all his life. After completing his studies in Dresden and Moscow and winning important competitions in Barcelona and Leipzig, he has appeared at the most important international concert venues with orchestras such as the Dresdner Staatskapelle, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. He is professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig.

Booklet for Beethoven: Piano Trios, Op. 97 ('Archduke') & Op. 1, No. 3