With its first CD, 'In the Shadow', the Trio Adorno consciously addresses three compositions, which have hitherto been overshadowed by more famous works and are therefore rarely heard in concert, with the aim of bringing them into the light and back into the concert hall. It can be said that not only the visual arts, but also music and society's reaction to it have been subject to radical change since the beginning of the 20th century. In ever larger concert halls, almost exclusively works designed to please the majority of the audience are performed. They guarantee the organizers full houses. The only regrettable aspect is that behind all the works that are in bright lights on stage, there are other, often equally deserving compositions that do not find their way into the concert hall.
Trio Adorno: even the name evokes associations with the music of the 20th century. And indeed, this music, which unfortunately far too seldom receives the attention and performances it deserves, forms part of the regular repertoire of the Trio - be it by Hans-Werner Henze, Peteris Vasks or anyone else. Not only works by these composers, but also pieces that are neglected in concert -such as those on this CD - are part of the ensemble's repertoire.
Even among chamber music specialists, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Trio in D minor is barely known, as the composer never completed it himself. The first movement was probably composed in 1785 and the other two not until 1786-87. It was completed by Abb? Maximilian Stadler, friend and student of Mozart, in consultation with Mozart's widow Constanze.
Of the three composers on this CD, it is perhaps above all the Czech Bohuslav Martinu who deserves a place in the limelight. Although some of his orchestral music is familiar to connoisseurs, his works are not performed particularly often - and certainly not his chamber music. The last of his three piano trios, heard on this CD, dates from 1951 and has rarely been recorded. Martinu has constant recourse to Czech folk music and gives this C major trio a genuinely light, sometimes almost dancelike character.
Surprisingly, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66, recorded here, is performed much less frequently than its predecessor in D minor, Op. 49. The consensus is that the Second Trio is compositionally much more demanding than the First. This may be a result of the work's complexity or quite simply because, as the composer himself remarked, it is 'a bit nasty' for the pianist to play, whilst the scherzo requires the utmost concentration from all the musicians.
Goethe's last words were reputedly 'More light!' The Trio Adorno has taken this to heart.
