David Grimal, Anne Gastinel & Philippe Cassard Presented by Liszt Academy

The history of the piano trio genre began in the world of salons and art-loving musicians in the 18th century, when composers wrote light, optional string parts for selected keyboard sonatas in order to provide the opportunity for friends to make music at home. Then, in the final decades of the century the violin and cello parts became ‘stand-alone’ and in the 1800s, works were increasingly hosted on concert stages instead of in salons. In Beethoven’s earliest works given opus numbers (from 1795) the dominance of the piano is still evident, although his opus 70 No. 2 (from 1808) is clearly built on the dynamic interaction of three instrumental virtuosos. The Trio in B-flat major (1811) is Beethoven’s last creation in this genre. The three outstanding French guest artists have been playing together for 15 years, Beethoven is central to their repertoire and, according to their own admission, instead of placing the composer on a pedestal and focusing on his heroic musical character, performances highlight the composer’s human side, his lyricism and his humour.