Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...
's
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 ...
in D minor, Op. 120 is one of the composer's late chamber works. The first public performance was given by the pianist Tatiana de Sanzévitch, with Robert Krettly and Jacques Patté, in May 1923 for the
Société Nationale de Musique
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
in honour of the composer's 78th birthday."Musique de Chambre", ''Comoedia'', 21 May 1923, p. 2 The following month it was performed by the celebrated trio of
Alfred Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poeti ...
,
Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist.
Biography
Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the ...
and
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,
. The work is dedicated to Mme
Maurice Rouvier
Maurice Rouvier (; 17 April 1842 – 7 June 1911) was a French statesman of the "Opportunist" faction, who served as the Prime Minister of France. He is best known for his financial policies and his unpopular policies designed to avoid a rupture ...
, widow of the former prime minister.Anderson, Keith. Notes to Naxos CD 8.573042, 2013
History
Fauré had retired as director of the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
in 1920. Although he had been reluctant to do so, it brought him more free time to devote to composition, and his final years were marked by the production of many substantial new works.Nectoux, Jean-Michel "Fauré, Gabriel (Urbain)" ''Grove Online'', Oxford Music Online, retrieved 4 March 2018
Jacques Durand
Jacques Durand (28 June 1920 – 16 August 2009) was a French engineer, model builder and automobile designer. He is primarily known for designing several sports cars, which were built in small volumes in France beginning in the 1950s and c ...
, his publisher, suggested in January 1920 that Fauré should compose a trio for piano, violin, and cello, and in April he began work, at first in Paris, and later when staying with friends in
Argelès-sur-Mer
Argelès-sur-Mer (, literally ''Argelès on Sea''; ca, Argelers de la Marenda or ; oc, Argelers de Mar), commonly known as Argelès, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the administrative region of Occitania, France.
It is ...
in the south of France. Work was temporarily halted by an attack of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
, after which Fauré went to his favourite resort,
Annecy-le-Vieux
Annecy-le-Vieux () is a former commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Annecy. The musical scholar Roger Nichols comments that the composer's fatigue is not detectable in the completed work, except to the extent that "there are no more notes than necessary, according to the well-known Mozartian formula". After returning to Paris Fauré completed the trio in mid-February 1923. The premiere was given at a concert of the
Société Nationale de Musique
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...
on 12 May by given by three young graduates of the Conservatoire: Robert Krettly, violin, Jacques Patté, cello, and Tatiana Sanzévitch, piano. Fauré was ill, and could not attend. Durand published the work the same year.Corleonis, Adrian "Gabriel Fauré: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120" AllMusic, retrieved 4 March 2018 The Parisian newspaper ''Comoedia'' commented enthusiastically after the first performance, greeting "a beautiful work that enriches the chamber music repertory". The reviewer praised "the elegant clarity, the equilibrium of thought and the serenity" of Fauré's recent compositions, and commented on the composer's success in playing the most disparate musical ideas off against each other. Fauré was present at the performance the following year, given by the
Cortot
Alfred Denis Cortot (; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poetic ...
Faure
Faure is an Occitan family name meaning blacksmith, from Latin ''faber''. It is pronounced differently from the accented surname Fauré, as in Gabriel Fauré, French composer and organist.
People Politicians
* Dominique Faure (born 1959), Fre ...