The Abegg Trio was a German piano trio. Since its foundation in 1976, it played in the original line-up. In 2017 the ensemble disbanded after its 41st birthday.

History

The Abegg Trio was founded in 1976 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. In 1977 it received awards at the International Chamber Music Competition Colmar and the Geneva International Music Competition, in 1979 at the German Music Competition in Bonn, in 1981 in Bordeaux, in 1986 the Bernhard-Sprengel-Prize in Hannover and in 1992 the Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau. The ensemble's name refers to

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's first published composition the

Variations on the name "Abegg" The ''Variations on the name "Abegg"'' in F major is a piece ( theme with variations) for piano by Robert Schumann, composed between 1829 and 1830 and published as his Opus 1. The name is believed to refer to Schumann's fictitious friend, Meta ...

as a tribute to him. The ensemble has made concert tours to 50 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and Africa and has appeared at the Schubertiade Vorarlberg, the Rheingau- and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Ludwigsburg Festival, the Vienna Musiksommer, the

Styriarte Styriarte (also written styriarte) is an annual summer festival of classical music in Graz and Styria, Austria, established in 1985. It is focused on Early music, Baroque music and music of the Classical period. Intended to showcase the work of Ni ...

Graz, the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Braunwald Music Weeks, the Engadin Concert Weeks, the Janáček-Festival Ostrava, the Mozart Festival Würzburg, the Heidelberg Mozart Festival Weeks, the , the Kassel Music Days and the

Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte The Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte have been the annual music festival of Walkenried Abbey in Lower Saxony Göttingen (district), Göttingen district since 1983. Since 2010, the Walkenried Abbey venue has been part of the World Heritage Site ...

Since 1982 the Abegg Trio has released 30 recordings on Harmonia mundi, Intercord, EMI and Tacet. Besides works by Haydn, Louise Farrenc, Clara Schumann, Fanny Hensel, Chopin,

Berwald Berwald is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Franz Berwald (1796–1868), Swedish Romantic composer * Johan Fredrik Berwald (1787–1861), Swedish violinist, conductor and composer * Juli Berwald, American biologist and writer ...

, Kiel, Goetz, Smetana, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Janáček, Debussy, Ravel,

Henze Henze is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Henze (1894–1979), German Wehrmacht general *Frank Henze (born 1977), German slalom canoeist * Gertrud Henze (1901–2014), a German supercentenarian * Gregor Henze, Germ ...

, Acker, Killmayer,

Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Sa ...

and

Erdmann Erdmann is a first name and surname, and may refer to: Surname *Carl Erdmann (1898—1945), German historian *Eduard Erdmann (1896—1958), Baltic German pianist and composer *Hans Otto Erdmann (1896–1944), member of the German resistance *Hugo E ...

lie the complete cycles of the piano trios by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, Beethoven, Schubert,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Gade, Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák and Shostakovich. Recordings with trios by Beethoven, Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Smetana, Janáček, Debussy and Ravel were five times awarded at the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, CDs were chosen as reference recordings (''stereoplay'': Mozart, ''classics today'' USA: Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms and Dvořák), in ''Klassik heute'' the second Dvořák CD became "Klassik-Tipp des Monats", ''Audio'' chose the Brahms recording as "CD of the Month", in the '' Neue Musikzeitung'' the Haydn CD appeared on the "Top List of the Year 1993", in the highscore list of the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

Joachim Kaiser Joachim Kaiser (18 December 1928 − 11 May 2017) was a German music, literature and theatre critic. From 1959 he worked as a senior editor in the ''feuilleton'' of the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung''; from 1977 to 1996 he was professor of history of mu ...

rated the first Schubert CD as his "record of the year", the second Schubert CD was awarded ''stereoplay'' "Audiophile CD-Tip of the Month". The Abegg Trio also played concerts on historical instruments. Works by Haydn, Mozart, Kraus, Beethoven, Schubert, Donizetti, Mendelssohn and Brahms have been performed. The strings play original instruments with gut strings (violins by F. Antonius Luppo 1729 and by Nicolas Lupot 1821, cellos by J. Baptist Salomon 1756 and by Andrea Castagneri 1747), the pianist used various fortepianos, (originals and copies) according to the time of origin of the works. These new experiences were also documented on some CDs: Works by Mozart (piano trios KV 10 - 15, Divertimento KV 254) were recorded with a Silbermann- fortepiano replica of a 1749 Silbermann and a tangent piano, works by Johannes Brahms (piano trios A major Op. posth., G major Op. 36 after the sextet, horn trio Op. 40, clarinet trio Op. 114) were recorded with original grand pianos by Johann Baptist Streicher. The Abegg Trio performed the piano trios by Haydn played with an original of John Broadwood (1808). In addition to their concert activities, the three musicians taught at the music academies in Münster and Hannover.. Together, the Abegg Trio passed on their experience in international master classes. The Abegg Trio dissolved at the end of 2017. From 1976 to 2017 it performed over 40 years in the original line-up, a very rare case of continuity in a

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

ensemble.Biographie: 1976–2017, 41 Jahre Abegg Trio
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Members

* Ulrich Beetz (violin) * Birgit Erichson (cello) * (piano)

Discography

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

: Klaviertrios G-Dur, C-Dur, Es-Dur, es-Moll (modern), A-Dur, d-Moll, E-Dur (historisch), Quintett mit 2 Hörnern (historisch) * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sämtliche Klaviertrios KV 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 254 (historisch), 254, 442, 496, 502, 542, 548, 564 (modern) * Ludwig van Beethoven: Sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 1, 1–3, op. 70, 1–2, op. 97, op. 44, op. 121a, WoO 38, WoO 39, Hess 48 * Franz Schubert: Sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 99, op. 100 (zwei Versionen), op. post. und andere *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

: Klaviertrio op. 8 *

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

: sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 49, op. 66 * Fanny Hensel: Klaviertrio op. 11 *

: Sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 63, op. 80, op. 88, op. 110, u. a. * Clara Schumann: Klaviertrio op. 17 *

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

: Sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 8 (1853, 1889), op. 87, op. 101 (modern), op. 40, op. 114, op .posth., op. 36 (historisch) *

Hermann Goetz Hermann Gustav Goetz (7 December 1840 – 3 December 1876) was a German composer who spent much of his career in Switzerland. He is best known for his 1872 opera ''Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung'', based on Shakespeare's '' The Taming of the Shrew ...

: Klaviertrio op. 1 * Franz Berwald: Klaviertrio d-Moll * Friedrich Kiel: Klaviertrio op. 34 * Louise Farrenc: Klaviertrio op. 34 * Niels Wilhelm Gade: Sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 29, op. 42 * Bedřich Smetana: Klaviertrio op. 15 *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

: sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 21, op. 26, op. 65, op. 90 * Leoš Janáček: Klaviertrio „Kreutzer-Sonate“ * Pjotr Tschaikowski: Klaviertrio op. 50 *

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

: Klaviertrio g-Moll *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

: Klaviertrio G-Dur *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

: Klaviertrio a-Moll *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

: sämtliche Klaviertrios op. 8, op. 67 * Hans Werner Henze: Klaviertrio Kammersonate *

Dieter Acker Dieter Acker (3 November 1940 – 27 May 2006) was a German composer born in Sibiu, Romania. Career Dieter Acker studied composition with Sigismund Toduță Sigismund Toduță ( Simeria, 17 May 1908 – Cluj-Napoca, 3 July 1991) was a Roma ...

: Klaviertrio Stigmen * Wilhelm Killmayer: Klaviertrio Brahmsbildnis * Dietrich Erdmann: Klaviertrio * Wolfgang Rihm: Klaviertrio Fremde Szene II *

Michael Obst Michael Obst may refer to: * Michael Obst (rower) * Michael Obst (composer) Michael Obst (born 30 November 1955) is a German composer and pianist. Life Obst was born in Frankfurt am Main. He studied music education from 1973 to 1978 in Main ...

: Klaviertrio Nr. II

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Piano trios German performers of early music German music educators