Dohnányi, Schoenberg & Martinů: String Trios

Featuring

Marianne Thorsen
Lawrence Power
Kate Gould
Leopold String Trio
Ernö Dohnányi
Arnold Schoenberg

Bohuslav Martinů

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

Arnold Schoenberg, though born in Vienna, had family roots in regions that would later become Hungary and Czechoslovakia, linking him to Dohnányi and Martinů.

Composition History

Arnold Schoenberg's String Trio, Op. 45, was composed in 1946, less than three weeks after he suffered a violent heart attack that nearly killed him.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schoenberg told novelist Thomas Mann that his String Trio, Op. 45, secretly wove in his near-death experience, including his illness, medical treatment, and even the male nurses.

Composer Biography

Bohuslav Martinů spent much of his childhood in a church tower in Polička, where his shoemaker father was a warden and firewatcher, giving him a panoramic view of the Czech countryside.

Compositional Technique

The string trio repertoire is smaller than the string quartet's because it demands greater compositional skill to create rich textures and varied colors with only three instruments.

Composer Biography

All three composers on this album—Erno Dohnányi, Bohuslav Martinů, and Arnold Schoenberg—emerged from the cultural melting-pot of the declining Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Performer Biography

The Leopold String Trio was chosen as the British representative for the ECHO 'Rising Stars' scheme and the inaugural BBC 'New Generation' Artist Scheme, leading to major international performances and broadcasts.