Trio Imàge plays Dvořák, Fall & Dyakov Trio Imàge

• Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904): Piano Trio No. 3, in F Minor, Op. 65:
• 1Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor, B. 130: I. Allegro ma non troppo13:54
• 2Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor, B. 130: II. Allegro grazioso06:04
• 3Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor, B. 130: III. Poco adagio09:09
• 4Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor, B. 130: IV. Finale. Allegro con brio10:05
• Siegfried Fall (1877 - 1943): Piano Trio , in A Minor, Op. 4:
• 5Fall: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 4: I. Allegro ma non troppo08:43
• 6Fall: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 4: II. Adagio05:58
• 7Fall: Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 4: III. Rondo. Allegro11:00
• Marek Dyakov (b. 1976): Perperikoana (After Old Bulgarian Legends):
• 8Dyakov: Perperikoana (After Old Bulgarian Legends)06:27
• Total Runtime01:11:20

Info for Trio Imàge plays Dvořák, Fall & Dyakov

With its third album, the Trio Imàge is expanding its still young but all the more exciting discography. On its début CD in 2014, it recorded the three piano trios by Mauricio Kagel for the first time and in 2015 made the première recording of chamber music by the Strauss contemporary Hans Sommer, all with its wonted brilliance. Now, for its third recording, it has chosen three different composers. Antonín Dvořák's great Piano Trio in F Minor opens this original collage of works and lays the ground for the first recording of the Piano Trio in A Minor by Siegfried Fall, a particularly valuable discovery by the musicians. The CD closes with another première recording: “Perperikoana” (2015) by Marek Dyakov, a Bulgarian painting in sound that the composer dedicated to the trio.

Dvořák's op. 65 piano trio was written at a time when the composer was shifting from a phase where his works were largely dominated by Slavic elements to a more “international” sound with traditional influences. Stylistically, Dvořák took his cue from the works of his friend and mentor, Johannes Brahms, while unleashing a flow of brilliant melodies in all three parts that carry the work from its serious beginning through many magical moments to the hopeful finale.

With its chance discovery some time ago of the practically-forgotten Piano Trio in A Minor by Siegfried Fall, the Trio Imàge pulled off a veritable coup. Although this talented pupil of Max Bruch won the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize in Berlin with his composition in 1899, he was never really able to establish himself in the music scene, unlike his brothers Leo and Richard, who were successful composers of operettas and popular music. His life, which was nonetheless devoted to music and influenced by his Jewish roots, was brutally extinguished by the Nazis in a concentration camp in 1943.

In the three movements of his promising piano trio, Siegfried Fall made striking use of rhythm and chromaticism, while hinting at the world of operetta in the last movement with a suggestion of polka. In this early work, the Trio Imàge sees “amazing, imaginative ideas and innovations” and “music full of youthful emotions and lively virtuosity, leavened by Viennese folk elements.” With this revival of Siegfried Fall's musical voice, the Trio Imàge is making an important contribution to commemorative culture. The ensemble has felt a strong bond with the accordionist, dancer, arranger, conductor and composer Marek Dyakov (b. 1976) for years, especially as, like him, two of its members come from Bulgaria: “His music blends the great wealth of our folklore and the tradition of Bulgarian composition with creative depth and sincerity, ingenuity and a pronounced personal touch.” In his works, Dyakov combines his passion for Bulgarian folklore, classical music and jazz in an extremely elegant fashion. “Perperikoana” comes from the four-part cycle “Old Bulgarian Legends,” which Dyakov wrote for the Trio Imàge. The short, sparkling piece evokes the mountainous landscape around the Bulgarian stone sanctuary of Perperikon and the local musical tradition. It is also a personal homage to the composer's wife, Ana, and not just through her inclusion in the title.

The violinist Gergana Gergova, the cellist Thomas Kaufmann and the pianist Pavlin Nechev have been playing together as the Trio Imàge since 2008, delighting listeners with their refined sound and unusual repertoire. Their mentor, the internationally-renowned chamber music pedagogue Eberhard Feltz, sees them as “three quintessentially musical talents, each with their own intellectual yet sensuous appeal and mastery.” This new album once more bears witness to the inspiration, passion and artistry of the three ensemble members.

Trio Imàge:
Gergana Gergova, violin
Thomas Kaufmann, cello
Pavlin Nechev, piano

Trio Imàge
created a sensation with its debut recording of the complete piano trios of Argentinian composer Mauricio Kagel. It was awarded the ECHO Klassik prize 2014 as best world premiere recording of the year, it was nominated for the Award of the German Music Critics and it received enthousiastic reviews in the German and the international press. The Trio's remarkable musical qualities had already attracted international attention previously, as attested by a 2011 review in the New York Times, which speaks of their "blazing performance" at a concert in New York. The Trio Imàge appeared in its present format on the musical scene in 2008, with violinist Gergana Gergova, pianist Pavlin Nechev and cellist Thomas Kaufmann, and the young ensemble has lost no time in making a name for itself, performing in Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas. The Trio's concerts in Berlin's famous Philharmonic Hall and Konzerthaus were received with applause and praise by audiences and critics alike. Trio Imàge have also played at reputed festivals, such as the Lockenhaus Kammermusikfest, the Verbier Festival, the Schubertiade, the Teatro del lago, the Varna Summer Festival, the Herrenchiemsee Festspiele, the Chelsea Music Festival New York and the Festival de Mexico. During the 2015 season Trio Imàge is programmed to play concerts in Chile as well as in Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Austria and Bulgaria. The Trio has also won prizes in several major competitions (Schubert und die Musik der Moderne, Joseph Joachim, the chamber music competition of the Commerzbank-Stiftung), and it has been selected to represent German art in the international cultural programmes of the Goethe Institute. Gergana Gergova and Pavlin Nechev, childhood friends from Bulgaria, and Austrian cellist Thomas Kaufmann share a passion for exploring sound images, making music together and rendering the shimmering diversity of musical works, which inspired them to choose the name 'Imàge'. Professors Eberhard Feltz and Andreas Reiner were a major influence during the Trio's musical studies. The Trio has further benefited from the guidance of Menahem Pressler, Heinrich Schiff, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Hatto Beyerle, Anner Bylsma, Shmuel Ashkenazy and Ferenc Rados. Today the Trio are themselves active as musical pedagogues, teaching masterclasses in Germany, India, Venezuela, Bulgaria and Chile.

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