Presents
Johann Peter Pixis
Trio Concertant No.1 in G Major for Violin, Cello and Piano
The three-movement Trio Concertant No 1 features themes from Le Colporteur, a completely forgotten opera Le Colporteur by French composer George Onslow (1784-1853). Le Colporteur (The Peddler) although coolly received by the critics when it was first presented at the Opéra-Comique in 1827, inspired several then famous composers such as Friedrich Kuhlau and Friedrich Kalkbrenner to use its themes in their own works. The Trio Concertant was written, as it clearly states on the title page, not only by Pixis but also in collaboration with ‘les frères Bohrer’, the Bohrer Brothers: Anton Bohrer (1783-1852) was a violinist who toured successfully throughout Europe with his cellist brother Max (1785-1867). The Trio Concertant, which dates from 1828, follows a straightforward pattern. The work begins with an Andante which serves as a kind of lengthy introduction in which the strings play the main theme from Onslow’s opera. The second movement is a set of four variations on this theme and in the first two, one hears at once how much more demanding the string writing is than one finds in a standard piano trio. Here, the piano serves primarily as an accompanist. However, in the third variation, it is pianist who is given a chance to shine. The final and fourth variation is highly original with all three instruments playing pianissimo, the strings sempre pizzicato and the piano sempre staccato. The concluding movement, Allegro, in 6/8 features brilliant virtuoso episodes for all three instruments, between which the three players occasionally work together as one, more in the nature of a standard piano trio.
Johann Peter Pixis (1788-1874) was born in Prague, which at that time had a majority German population. He studied piano with his father and was considered a prodigy. Along with his brother, an excellent violinist, the two boys were taken by their father, a la Leopold Mozart, touring throughout Europe for many years, eventually settling in Vienna around 1806, where Pixis studied composition with Albrechtsberger, one of Beethoven's teachers. Pixis stayed in Vienna for 15 years and while there was on friendly terms with Beethoven, Schubert and Meyebeer among others. Evenutally, he moved to Paris where he stayed for two decades, concertizing and was widely considered among the leading pianists in the city, along with Chopin and Liszt. Around 1840, Pixis moved to Baden Baden where he worked as a a private teacher. Besides his career as a concert pianist, Pixis was a prolific composer and chamber music was a prominent part of his ouevre. He wrote eight piano trios, a piano quartet, a piano quintet and six string quartets. One wonders why his chamber music disappeared, especially in view of the fact contempories had a high opinion of it. One example: when Liszt wished to give a piano trio concert in Paris, he chose one trio by Beethoven and the other by Pixis. Contemporary accounts relate that the audience far preferred the trio by Pixis.
Pixis and the Bohrer brother toured together and when giving concerts of standard piano trios, they often used this Trio Concertant, one of three he wrote, as a kind of encore. It is by turns beautiful and exciting with great part-writing. This is not a work for amateurs, but professionals will be well rewarded when they present it in concert.
Parts: $19.95
