Milhaud & Martinů: Complete Works for String Trio Jacques Thibaud String Trio

• Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974): String Trio, Op. 274:
• 1I. Vif02:42
• 2II. Modéré04:41
• 3III. Sérénade. Alerte02:23
• 4IV. Canons. Lent et très Expressif04:51
• 5V. Jeu Fugué. Vif02:34
• Sonatine à trois, Op. 221b:
• 6I. Très Modéré03:32
• 7II. Contrepoint. Lent01:18
• 8III. Anime02:01
• Bohuslav Martinů (1890 - 1959): String Trio No. 1, H 136:
• 9I. Allegro06:18
• 10II. Andante07:30
• 11III. Poco Allegro05:16
• String Trio No. 2, H 238:
• 12I. Allegro07:43
• 13II. Poco moderato - Vivo - Allegro ma non Troppo07:18
• Total Runtime58:07

Info for Milhaud & Martinů: Complete Works for String Trio

Darius Milhaud and Bohuslav Martinů – contemporaries during the early twentieth century: contrasting both composers’ complete works for string trio reveals four marvels of intimate music-making, realised by the Jacques Thibaud Trio with their own artistic instinct and flair.

There are several parallels to be found in the lives of the Southern French composer Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) and the Moravian-Bohemian composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959). Both needed the metropolis of Paris, that seething artistic melting pot after the First World War, in order to refine their originality; both were open to all kinds of musical styles, from South American folklore to North American jazz through to Bachian counterpoint; finally, both had to flee the Germans in France in 1940, heading for the USA - Milhaud on account of being a Jew, and Martinů as a patriotic Czech in exile.

The two composers' complete works for string trio, contrasted here for the first time, uncover various similarities - even though each work bears the hallmarks of its composer, and Martinů's trios were written in Paris, whilst Milhaud did not compose his until he had reached America. The works are characterised by a playful, spirited tone as well as the charm of Mediterranean and Czech folk tunes. But there is also what Milhaud termed, and valued, as "discipline" in chamber music: strict counterpoint and technical skill - utilised radically, without slipping into dry pedantry.

These are four marvels of intimate music-making, assembled by the Jacques Thibaud Trio with their own artistic instinct and flair.

Jacques Thibaud String Trio

Jacques Thibaud String Trio
Burkhard Maiß, Bogdan Jianu and Andrei Banciu have been playing together since 2002 when Andrei Banciu started concertizing with the Jacques Thibaud String Trio.

After playing the piano quartet repertory together for so many years it seemed to be natural to concertize as a piano trio and spend more time with the great trios by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and many others, combining them in their programms with string trios and piano quartets.

The founders of the ensemble Burkhard Maiß, Bogdan Jianu and Andrei Banciu have all established their reputations through successful performances throughout Europe, Asia, Scandinavia, South America, the United States and Canada. They could be heard in such famous venues as the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Mozarteum, Maison de Radio France and the Berlin Philharmonie.

As inspiration, the musicians have chosen the name of the French violinist Jacques Thibaud, who, beside his career as soloist was a world-famous chamber musician who next to traditional works, premiered many new and unknown compositions. He performed, for example, the now famous works of Debussy and Szymanovsky, working closely together with the composers.

Prize-winners in the prestigious 1999 Bonn Chamber Music Competition, the Jacques Thibaud String Trio was founded at the Berlin School of Art in 1994. Since then, the ensemble has performed throughout Europe, Japan and North America, receiving tremendous acclaim from audiences and critics alike.

Calling their playing “spontaneous and commanding,” the New York Times said, “this could be the first string trio in some time to have a major career.”

In December 2005, the trio gave five performances in San Francisco and other west coast cities of Mozart's rare, unfinished Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, Cello and Orchestra with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

With their charm, youthful exuberance and astounding virtuosity, the Trio has delighted audiences of all ages in large and small venues. In the U.S., they have appeared at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, New York City’s Frick Collection (twice), Washington DC’s National Gallery, hundreds of other venues including Stanford University, the Caramoor Festival, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and cities including Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, San Diego, Milwaukee, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Memphis, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Honolulu. As Ensemble-in-Residence at the 2001 Florida International Festival, they drew an audience of over two thousand to their final concert. They have also given successful residencies in a settings ranging from conservatories to music camps to an Indian reservation in Arizona.

Internationally, the Trio has appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall, throughout Germany, in major Japanese cities on several tours, and at some of Europe’s most prestigious festivals including Belgium’s Musica Mundi, Gidon Kremer’s Echternach Festival in Luxembourg, and Denmark’s Roskilde Schubert Festival.

In 2009 they played a gala –concert for the German embassy in Paris at Palais Beauharnais in Paris.

Recent performances included concerts in Germany (Berlin) , Belgium and Netherlands (Amsterdam.)

The trio consists of Burkhard Maiss, Hannah Strijbos and Bogdan Jianu.

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