Every bird sings its own song. That this saying also applies to the world of music needs little explanation. Every instrument has its own character, its preferences, its quirks.
In traditional chamber music, composers tend to look for similarities. String quartets, wind quintets and piano trios remain safely within the large instrumental families – a homogeneous sound is the goal.
At the start of the twentieth century, modernists such as Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg, Béla Bartók and Charles Ives began to explore alternative combinations. They no longer shied away from experimenting with the strikingly unusual trio of violin, clarinet and piano. By playing off the contrasting expressive possibilities of each instrument against one another, a musical dialogue emerges – sharp-edged, full of tension, contrasts and unexpected turns.
Suite from 'A Soldier's Tale', I. STRAVINSKY
Largo, C. IVES
Adagio aus dem Kammerkonzert, A. BERG
Contrasts, B. BARTOK
Thomas Dieltjens, piano
Wibert Aerts, violin
Julien Hervé, clarinet
Stijn Paredis, lecture
Gerrit Valckenaers, lecture