“TVB” PLAYS “ABC”

Beethoven’s Op. 11 trio was originally written for clarinet, cello and piano; but, to ensure its popularity with amateur players, he also arranged a version in which violin replaced clarinet. It was a big hit in its day, a true “Gassenhauer”, not least because, in its final movement, Beethoven employed multiple variations of a theme by Joseph Weigl which was already extremely popular. Neither of the two other works on this evening’s programme are a Gassenhauer – or at least, not yet. But both pieces contain wonderful music and are well worth discovering. We hear the piano trio by Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979), a British viola player and composer, who is as yet very little known in these parts.  A romantic retrospective in D minor by Anton Arensky (1861-1906) brings the evening to a close.