''Bei Nacht'' (''At Night''), op. 50, is a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

, composed in 1999 by

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, ''Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and ''Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and string ...

, published by

Hofmeister, Leipzig Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag (abbreviated to Hofmeister) is a publisher of classical music, founded by Friedrich Hofmeister in Leipzig in 1807. Early listings included composers Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. Hofmeist ...

Composition

''Bei Nacht'' was written in 1999 for the

Kandinsky Trio Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

to be performed at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. The composition was inspired by an oil painting of

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

and also relates to a poem by

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

, "Bei Nacht" (At Night on the High Seas, 1911), which begins: "Nachts, wenn das Meer mich wiegt und bleicher Sternenglanz auf seinen weiten Wellen liegt" (At night, when the sea rocks me and pale glow of the stars lies on its wide waves). The work is in one movement, a performance takes about 10 minutes. The tempo markings are: Allegro moderato – Più mosso – Tempo I – Tranquillo – Tempo I – Allegro molto – Tempo I – Tranquillo. The composer comments:

"Around the time of composition was a Kandinsky Retrospective at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in London. Amongst the exhibits was a particularly striking, early oil painting entitled "Nacht", which looked more akin to the work of Cézanne or of the French
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
s and quite unlike those works of Kandinsky's later style. In this painting concentric circles spread outwards from a darkly morbid moon, like ever widening circular ripples on a pond. Against this seemed to be apparitions of dancing figures. Visual stimuli play only a minor role in my works, yet the mysterious salubriousness of the painting captured the imagination. The vividly depicted circles found expression in a recurring "ground bass", underpinning a gradual crescendo in texture and intensity; the spectral dancers were alluded to in an irregular, agitato passage in 5/8. At the climax of the piece these two elements combine; the welter of sound is abruptly broken off, however, and it is in the subdued atmosphere of the opening that the work concludes."

The trio was first performed in the United Kingdom at the New Recital Room of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

on 19 February 2008 by the Waterhouse Piano Trio, Irina Puryshinskaja (piano), Boris Kucharsky (violin) and the composer (cello), together with works of Mozart, Schubert and

Hugh Wood Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) was a British composer. Biography Wood was born in Parbold, Lancashire and grew up in a musical family; while still a teenager, he was encouraged by the composer Alan Bush. He says that his "earlies ...

's piano trio, op. 24 (1982–84). The composer was then a "Musician By-Fellow" at

Churchill College Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establish ...

and also performed his

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

as part of the Lent Term Choral Concert on 9 February 2008 with "The Orchestra on the Hill" in a concert which also included Beethoven's '' Egmont Overture'', Elgar's '' Serenade for Strings'' and Bernstein's

Chichester Psalms ''Chichester Psalms'' is an extended choral composition in three movements by Leonard Bernstein for boy treble or countertenor, choir and orchestra. The text was arranged by the composer from the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew. Part 1 ...

. The Waterhouse Piano Trio had performed before ''Bei Nacht'' (2005) and Wood's trio (2007) in Munich at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the Fi ...

. The first concert also included Beethoven's Piano Trio No. 5 ("Ghost") and Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2. Wood's work appeared together with Schubert's Piano Trio No. 1. On 5 May 2011 ''Bei Nacht'' was performed by the

ALEA Ensemble The ALEA Ensemble is a chamber music ensemble founded in 1988 in Graz for contemporary music, playing in variable formation including the ALEA Quartet. History The ensemble was founded in 1988 by composer and conductor Gerhard Präsent and his wif ...

at the Musik-Forum München, Studio für neue Musik (studio for new music), together with chamber music of

Gerhard Präsent Gerhard Präsent (born 21 June 1957) is an Austrian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Professional career Born in Graz, Präsent studied from 1976 at the Musikhochschule Graz, composition with Iván Erőd and conducting with Milan Horvat ...

(''Trio intricato''),

Herbert Blendinger Herbert Blendinger (3 January 1936 - 15 May 2020) was an Austrian composer and viola player of German origin. Career Born in Ansbach, Blendinger studied viola and composition with Willy Horwath and Max Gebhard at the conservatory in Nuremberg, ...

(''Fantasie in G'') and

Iván Erőd Iván Erőd ( hu, Erőd Iván ; 2 January 1936 – 24 June 2019; sometimes spelled ''Eröd'') was a Hungarian-Austrian composer and pianist. Educated in Budapest, he emigrated to Austria in 1956, where he studied at the Vienna Music Academy. He ...

(''Trio''). It was played by Sigrid Präsent (violin), Tobias Stosiek (cello) and Rita Melem (piano),

, the founder of the ensemble, moderated the concert. The

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

broadcast the concert on 19 August 2011 in its series after midnight "Concerto bavarese" (Bavarian concert).

Publication and recording

''Bei Nacht'' was published in 2001 by

, which also published the composer's Cello Concerto, '' Celtic Voices and Hale Bopp'' and ''

Gestural Variations ''Gestural Variations'', Op. 43, is a trio composition by Graham Waterhouse in 1997 originally for oboe, bassoon and piano. Later versions are scored for clarinet, cello and piano (1999) and flute, cello and piano (2009). Movements The c ...

'', among others. ''Bei Nacht op. 50 für Violine, Violoncello und Klavier'' is dedicated to the Kandinsky Trio. ''Bei Nacht'' is part of a CD '' Skylla und Charybdis'' of the composer's works for piano and strings. It was released in 2020 by Farao Classics. A reviewer in ''Das Orchester'' noted that the composer created a "

notturno Notturno is the Italian word for nocturne. It may refer to: Film * ''Tango notturno'', a 1937 German film * ''Notturno'' (film), a 2020 Italian-French-German documentary Music * ''Euroclassic Notturno'', classical music recordings assembled by B ...

" atmosphere by beginning with fragile threads of sound ("Klangfäden") that gradually grow to melodies.

References

External links

Graham Waterhouse
website
Kandinsky Trio
website
Irina Puryshinskaja
pianist of the Waterhouse Piano Trio, biography, Walser Herbst 2008

violinist of the Waterhouse Piano Trio, biography, Hunstein Artist Services

Merkur, 6 July 2007 {{Authority control Chamber music by Graham Waterhouse Compositions for piano trio Contemporary classical compositions 1999 compositions Music based on art