Trio Areal: Martin - Shostakovich - Bakikhanov Trio Areal

• Frank Martin (1890 - 1974): Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises:
• 1 Martin: Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises: I. Allegro moderato 05:02
• 2 Martin: Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises: II. Adagio 05:34
• 3 Martin: Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises: III. Gigue 05:54
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67:
• 4 Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67: I. Andante 08:12
• 5 Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67: II. Allegro con brio 03:20
• 6 Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67: III. Largo 04:57
• 7 Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67: IV. Allegretto - Adagio 10:27
• Tofig Bakikhanov (b. 1930): Piano Trio No. 3:
• 8 Bakikhanov: Piano Trio No. 3: I. Andante - Allegretto - Andante 03:46
• 9 Bakikhanov: Piano Trio No. 3: II. Allegro scherzando 06:06
• Total Runtime 53:18

Info for Trio Areal: Martin - Shostakovich - Bakikhanov

Trio Areal performs a programme of piano trios at once united by folk music and contrasting in aesthetic, creating a varied and fascinating journey through this most intimate of chamber genres. They move from Frank Martin'sTrio sur des melodies populaires irlandaises to Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67, culminating in the world premiere recording of the Piano Trio No. 3 by Tofig Bakikhanov (b. 1930), one of the most significant of today's Azerbaijani composers.

Founded in 2020 at the Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste in Zurich, this Trio of talented and promising young musicians, Daria, Jamila and Sandro, began playing together in the famous Toni Areal building, where the idea for the Trio's name was born. The Trio is particularly drawn to the idea of folk ideas subtly embedded in music, and selected three composers whose output epitomises this approach. Swiss composer Frank Martin was of Huguenot extraction, while Azerbaijani composer Tofig Bakikhanov's lineage stretches back to nomadic Persian tribes, the Baku khans. Shostakovich, meanwhile, was of Siberian and Polish descent, and he turned to Jewish folk music in numerous compositions as a means of expressing the plight of persecuted peoples in the Second World War.

Frank Martin'sTrio sur des melodies populaires irlandaises was written after he had studied collections of Irish folksongs at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. Frank said of the piece,"this Trio hardly draws on harmony and the polyphonic principle of imitation; everything is achieved through the rhythm and melody that forms the basis of Irish song and dance". Throughout the work, the Irish themes are frequently shrouded by Martin's impressionistic style. Shostakovich's Piano Trio No. 2 is a powerfully moving piece that culminates in a finale in which Jewish musical idioms are woven into the score as an allusion to the Holocaust victims to whom he was paying tribute in this work. Bakikhanov's Piano Trio No. 3 dates from 1979 and is cast in two movements, ranging in style between the lushness of Rachmaninov's piano writing to the street-music ease of Reinhardt and Grappelli, both of which are contrasted with the more sinister elements at play, but which ultimately transform those elements into something more hopeful.

Trio Areal

Jamila Garayusifli
Every music story is unique, and Jamila Garayusifli's is no exception. A gifted violinist from Baku, she found her musical zenith in Switzerland. We meet in Geneva, amidst her busy schedule of concerts, rehearsals, and album releases. At first glance, she appears fragile, but this perception quickly dissipates as we delve into her story. Her e-book is not a typical read, but a collection of musical notes on her tablet. This unique aspect of her journey, along with her talent and determination, is sure to intrigue any music enthusiast.

She was destined for art from an early age as she came from a family of musicians. The choice was given to her for a reason. A lot of children would start their music journey by watching concerts and being completely mesmerized by what is happening on stage. The story of the musician’s children, however, is slightly different. Rather, they peeked at this world back home in their parents' rehearsal rooms. And while music has been a part of their lives, the first steps were only sometimes easy. “I was hesitant to get involved with music because I had firsthand experience of how challenging and time-consuming it is. My parents encouraged me to try it, at least for myself. This act of 'doing things for myself' in my family has turned into a serious undertaking. As a kid, I wanted to engage in something more entertaining, having fun with my friends in the yard rather than staying home for hours playing a violin. I don't believe much in the glossy stories of geniuses who asked to play the instrument as soon as they were born. I believe that every child aims to have fun and have a good time in some way or another. With the first concerts, everything changed. This sudden focus on you is quite addictive, especially at an early age. So later on, when my parents offered me a choice, it was already hard to give up music".

The violin made its way into the life of the young girl from Baku. Zara Guliyeva, the first teacher she had, is still a role model for her and a person she considers a friend and a mentor years later. According to Jamila, her journey into music was much more pleasant than that of her parents' generation. "I was lucky as I was already growing and developing as a musician in a free country. I had the opportunity to travel to festivals and auditions, play for a wide variety of audiences, and host professionals in my home country. On one of these occasions, Maxim Vengerov came to Baku to teach master classes. After hearing me, he offered to play a concert by Gara Garayev with him. For whatever reason, it hadn't been played for quite some time, but after our concert, it had some sort of a renaissance. It has returned to the repertoire of performers with the play of a musician of such stature as Vengerov. This concert was also the starting point for me. I became invited to international festivals, one of which was Musica Mundi (editor’s note: International chamber music festival in Belgium. The festival's organizers aim to guide young musicians through chamber music's prism and the unlimited possibilities of musical interpretation.)

Daria Korotkova
Studentin an der Hochschule der Künste Bern, hat sich an einer internen Vorausscheidung und an zwei öffentlichen Wettbewerbsrunden für das Finalkonzert im Schlosshof von Murten qualifiziert und die Jury überzeugt. An der anschliessenden Siegerehrung durfte sie den ersten Preis, ein Solistenkonzert am Festival Murten Classics 2016 und eine Preissumme von 2000 Franken entgegennehmen. Der zweite Preis ging an Nataliia Shaposhnyk aus der Ukraine, der dritte an Shintaro Kawahara aus Japan.

Wie die Veranstalter mitteilen, machten 29 Pianistinnen und Pianisten am Valiant Forum Piano 2015 mit. Zugelassen waren Schweizer Staatsbürger oder Ausländer, die an einer Schweizer Hochschule eingeschrieben sind. Die Förderung von jungen Musikerinnen und Musikern ist ein wichtiges Ziel des Festivals Murten Classics. In Zusammenarbeit mit der Valiant Bank traten am Valiant Forum bisher Jugendorchester und Jugendchöre auf. Dieses Jahr fand nun erstmals ein Wettbewerb für junge Pianistinnen und Pianisten statt.

Sandro Meszaros
is an up-and-coming Swiss cellist of Hungarian and Italian descent. Highlights for him this year include his solo debut with the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana and a chamber music concert with cello legend Mischa Maisky.

From 2018, he will study at the Zurich University of the Arts for 5 years. He is currently studying with Maximilian Hornung at the Hochschule für Theater und Musik in Munich. Among the numerous prizes he has won as a soloist at national and international competitions, he won first prize at the ‘Antonio Salieri’ competition in Legnago at the age of 15. He also performs regularly as a soloist with various orchestras such as the United Soloist Orchestra, Orchestra Giovanile della Svizzera italiana, Spiez Orchestra and Konolfingen Orchestra.

In addition, he often performs in various chamber music formations with renowned musicians. Sandro Meszaros is characterised by a special motivation in the search for new musical inspirations in all genres and in the direct exchange between people of different arts and cultures.

This album contains no booklet.