Day 105: Awesome, Part Two

HaydnCD105Another FAVORITE!

I listened to these compositions on repeat today, probably 2-3 times at least.

It’s possible I liked this particular CD so much because a lot of these Piano Trios were from Haydn’s “Later Trios” period. He was slightly older, more mature.

Maybe he figured out how to write Piano Trios by that point.

Whatever. This is excellent music.

Providing the music for these Piano Trios is the Van Swieten Trio, which consists of:

Bart van Oort fortepiano
Franc Polman violin
Jaap ter Linden cello

Here’s a list of Haydn’s piano trios. The are referred to by their Hoboken catalog names, and their date of composition is not always certain. So I’ll Continue reading

Day 102: Like a Piano In an Old Western Movie

HaydnCD102Today introduces me to a new category of Haydn’s music – piano trios.

What’s a piano trio?

My first guess is it has something to do with three piano players.

Apparently, my first guess is wrong.

I got the three right.

But it’s not three pianists; it’s one pianist, a violinist, and a cellist. More precisely, for this recording, it is the Van Swieten Trio, which consists of:

Bart van Oort fortepiano
Remy Baudet violin
Jaap ter Linden cello

Another wild guess: they’re Dutch.

That one, I got right.

From the outset, I can tell you that fortepiano is not my favorite instrument. It’s a jangly-sounding keyboard that reminds me of (a) a harpsichord, or (b) an out-of-tune piano in a saloon in an old Western movie.

Ha! I just looked up fortepiano and discovered Continue reading