Adagio aus dem Trio B-Dur op. 11

The Adagio is the second movement of the piece referred to as “Gassenhauer Trio” op. 11 in B flat major, which was published in 1798. The trio was dedicated to Countess Maria Wilhelmine of Thun-Hohenstein, née Countess Uhlfeld, whose palace was a major venue for Vienna’s musical and cultural life. While the Adagio carries no trace of the popular operatic melody that gave the piece its name, the cheerful tone of the trio remains in evidence in the song-like melody of this middle movement.

Originally composed for a trio featuring piano, cello and clarinet, this version of the Adagio by the “Berliner Trio-Vereinigung” replaces the cello with a violin. At the beginning of the piece, the two solo string instruments are both given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the audience. Here, the initial cello solo is played by Heinrich Grünfeld (1855–1931), who made his name as a co-founder of the Berliner Abonnementskonzerte für Kammermusik (Berlin Subscription Concerts for Chamber Music). He is followed on the recording by the brilliant violinist Bernhard Dessau (1861–1923). Dessau served as concertmaster at the Staatskapelle Berlin before working as a professor at the Stern'sches Konservatorium, sometimes known as the Stern Conservatory, from 1906 onwards. They are accompanied by the pianist Moritz Mayer-Mahr (1869–1947), who worked primarily as a teacher. All three of the soloists on this recording were Jewish. Mayer-Mahr was the youngest, and suffered the greatest disruption to his career under the Nazi regime. He emigrated in 1940, first to Norway and then to Sweden.
(Constanze Köhn)