Orpheus-Ensemble-Wien

Orpheus-Ensemble-Wien:
Christina Neubauer, violin
Martin Kraushofer, viola
Eva Landkammer, violoncello
Elisabeth Aigner-Monarth, piano

Karlheinz Essl: à trois - solo for violin, viola, cello;
Prends le Fa for piano solo
Arnold Schönberg: String Trio op. 45
Frank Bridge: Phantasy for Piano Quartet in F minor

A string trio removes a middle voice from the classical four-part texture and thus requires a creative compositional approach. Karlheinz Essl explores various musical constellations in his piece – solo, in pairs, or the full ensemble, always meandering between possibilities. This contrasts with Schönberg’s weighty late work, conceived while the composer was seriously ill, and Frank Bridge’s expansive Phantasy for Piano Quartet, in which the piano enlarges the soundscape.