About the Music

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) - Written during the second of his trips to London in the 1790s, the Piano Trio in G Major (Hob. XV 25) by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was published
in October, 1795, and dedicated to Rebecca Schroeter, an English widow who had befriended him there. The composer later revealed to a biographer, ³I should have married her if I had been single.² Ever the innovator, even well into his old age, Haydn wrote the first truly independent violin part for this piano trio‹previously the violin and cello merely provided discreet accompaniment for the piano. The last movement ³Finale in the Gypsies¹ stile² incorporates Hungarian folk-dance themes into a brilliant and sophisticated rondo, making this probably the most popular of Haydn¹s 43 piano trios.

Bohuslav Martinü (1890-1959) was a prolific Bohemian Czech composer, who wrote for symphony, opera and ballet and produced a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. In 1923 Martinü traveled to Paris, and deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. In the 1930s he experimented with expressionism, constructivism, as well as jazz idioms, but ultimately neo-classicism influenced him most. He also incorporated Czech folk melodies throughout his works.

Blacklisted by the Nazis, Martinü left his native Czechoslovakia for the
United States in 1941. He constantly longed to return to his homeland, and plans to relocate in Prague were underway by 1946. However, in July of that year Martinü suffered serious injuries when he accidentally walked off an ungated balcony. During his full year of recuperation, he composed while reclining on a board set at a 45° angle. Three chamber works emerged from this difficult period, one of which was this brief and graceful quartet. Neo-classical is style, the Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Cello and Piano utilizes both traditional and innovative techniques. The first movement, structured in sonata form, introduces two themes, from which he borrows throughout the piece. However, the piece is also modern is its use of dissonance and the equal importance of all instrumental parts.