Ilya Gringolts / Lawrence Power / Nicolas Altstaedt
String trios by Martin, Schoenberg and Beethoven
Between tradition and modernity
In the 2018/19 season, the cellist Nicolas Altstaedt made the Elbphilharmonie his home as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra’s Artist in Residence. And he is now performing at the Laeiszhalle as part of a top-class string trio with the violinist Ilya Gringolts and the violist Lawrence Power. Their programme juxtaposes Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Trio No. 1 with two compositions from the mid-20th century by Frank Martin and Arnold Schoenberg.
Beethoven’s String Trio in E-flat major is the first of five works in the genre that are firmly rooted in the tradition of the Viennese classicists Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As you’d expect from Beethoven, however, this early work already includes innovations that would characterise later compositions. Instead of the usual three or four movements, Beethoven composed no less than six as he sought to harmoniously combine his wealth of musical ideas.
The concert opens with the rarely performed String Trio by Frank Martin, which offers far-reaching insights into the musical world of Switzerland’s most important 20th-century composer. In the work, Martin combines traditional harmonies with the modern compositional techniques of Arnold Schoenberg, whose String Trio then seamlessly follows.
Performers
Ilya Gringolts violin
Lawrence Power viola
Nicolas Altstaedt violoncello
Programme
Frank Martin
Trio for violin, viola and violoncello
Arnold Schönberg
String Trio, Op. 45
– Interval –
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Trio in E-flat major, Op. 3
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Chamber Music at the Laeiszhalle