大象传媒

In this, the second of the three concerts from his residency at Wigmore Hall, Stephen Hough is joined by Michael Collins and Andrei Ioni葲膬 in music by Schumann, Fr眉hling and Brahms.

Stephen Hough has put together this programme, featuring two German romantic giants and a relatively obscure composer. History can be unfair in who it chooses to immortalise, and the neglected figure of the Austrian composer Carl Fr眉hling is a case in point. In the wake of the First World War, Fr眉hling's career was virtually destroyed and both he and his music were soon forgotten, though some of his chamber works, including his Brahms-inspired Clarinet Trio have been championed by leading musicians in recent years. Composed around half a century earlier, Schumann's five short St眉cke im Volkston (Pieces in Folk Style) date from 1849, his most fruitful year, portraying a wide range of characters: beginning with a drunken, one-legged soldier and finishing not with a happy ending but a fierce finale.

A profound sense of nostalgia infuses Brahms' Clarinet Trio, one of the finest examples of the genre. It was composed for star German clarinettist Richard M眉hlfeld, after Brahms had already declared he had written his final composition. Raw passion battles with moments of reflective introspection throughout, and like so much of his work from this period, the music is laced with a sense of angst, regret and wistfulness.

Recorded last month at London's Wigmore Hall and presented by Ian Skelly.

Schumann: 5 St眉cke im Volkston Op 102
Carl Fr眉hling: Clarinet Trio Op 40

Interval music (from CD)
Stephen Hough introduces his choice of interval music to complement tonight's programme:
Bruckner: Christus factus est; Os Justi; Locus iste
Polyphony
Stephen Layton (conductor)

Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 5 in F sharp minor WoO 1 (trans. Stephen Hough for clarinet trio)
Brahms: Intermezzo in E flat Op 117 No 1 (trans. Stephen Hough for clarinet trio)
Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor Op 114

Stephen Hough (piano)
Michael Collins (clarinet)
Andrei Ioni葲膬 (cello)