Trio, Opus 58for violin, viola and cello
| Written: 1937 | Premiered: April 4, 1937 Pasquier Trio |
| Length: 14 minutes | Three movements: Allegro moderato Adagio Allegro con spirito |
| Publisher: Durand | Dedication: Pasquier Trio |
About this Work:|
The string trio is notable in several ways. First of all, it is Roussel's third Trio, and the second for the conventional grouping of violin, viola and cello; and he was working on a fourth trio when he died. Second, it is the last work he completed (July, 1937) before his death (August, 1937). Finally, many people consider it one of his best works.
While I personally would not go that far, this is vintage Roussel. Its structure follows the pattern typical of Roussel's neo-classical period: three movements, with the slow middle movement forming the emotional center of gravity. In the first movement, the melody moves between the three instruments, mostly in homophonic (or single-line) fashion but occasionally in more typical Rousselian polyphony. The second movement is dark and full of conflict — unlike many of Roussel's adagios, which are more like mediations than expressions of distress. After a quiet, somber opening, the sudden thrust of loud cries of anguish lay to rest any notion that this contemplation is peaceful; and in the end the music dies away, emotionally unrepentant, as though exhausted. The gloom is dispelled by a dance-like tune in the final movement, the most immediately accessible section of the trio. |
How does it sound?| The second movement of many of Roussel's mature works is slow, transparently scored, and the emotional highlight of the entire piece. This is never more true that in the Trio, opus 58, in which the tension-filled Adagio is considerably longer than the other two movements put together. Hear cries of anguish in the Adagio movement (73K WAV file) that some consider the pinnacle of Roussel's art. |
Other opinions:|
If the first movement is striking for the beauty of its melodic counterpoint, then he attains the apogee in the grand Adagio, which is the highest point of all Roussel's chamber music and perhaps of his entire body of work -- paired with the Fourth Symphony which it equals in nobility of inspiration, in concentrated gravity (under the shadow of death, in the present case!), in intense emotion, in unconquered serenity.... [Harry Halbreich] The best Roussel is found among his chamber and instrumental pieces, which include a piano trio (1902), string trio (1937), and a delightful serenade for flute, violin, viola, cello, and harp (1925). [Norman Lebrecht] The brevity of the [final] movement makes one suspect that Roussel had originally intended to write a four-movement piece in which this movement would really function as a scherzo, and that he only changed it into a finale when he was suffering from his fatal illness. [Per Skans] It would be difficult to better this musical testimony of Roussel in his most characteristic vein. [Arthur Cohn] The middle movement, an Adagio in F major, is once more the emotional centre of the work. The inexorable progress from climax to climax, the powerfully expressive melodic lines, the superbly controlled variations in harmonic intensity and implication, the masterly handling of the instruments and the blending of their tone-colours — all these give this movement a force and intensity unequalled in the whole range of Roussel's chamber music, and, if allowance is made for difference of scale, unsurpassed anywhere in his output. [Basil Deane]
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Home | Works | Life | Essays | About |
Search for this and other great music at
