In a program of four trios we hear Beethoven’s greatest Piano Trio, the Archduke, written at the end of his ‘heroic’ period. It has the amplitude, variety and formal elaboration of works such as the Seventh Symphony; it is crowned by a slow movement that is one Beethoven’s most extraordinary variation-sets.

Brahms’s late-period Trio is an affectionate tribute to ‘Fräulein Klarinette’, the instrument played by his friend Richard Mühlfeld. Brahms blends the golden tones of the melody instruments so seamlessly that one contemporary said it sounded like they were in love.

Love and grief, comfort and healing inspired Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’s Lonely Angel, an open-hearted work of searingly beautiful melody and ultimate serenity, arranged by the composer for piano trio.

By contrast, Australian composer Harry Sdraulig’s Hat-Trick – in a brand-new version including clarinet – is a brightly energetic work, though not without moments of introspection, that celebrates the teamwork and brilliance of the players for whom it was written.

VASKS Lonely Angel (Vientuļais eņģelis) [1999 (2006)]
SDRAULIG Hat-Trick [2020]
BRAHMS Clarinet Trio Op.114 [1891]
BEETHOVEN Archduke Trio [1811]

David Griffiths, clarinet; Dimity Hall, violin; Julian Smiles, cello; with guest artists, Andrew Barnes, bassoon; Joshua Batty, flute; Daniel de Borah, piano