In 1872, at the age of ten, Debussy entered the Paris Conservatoire. There his piano teacher, Antoine Marmontel, noted his first prize in score-reading and recommended him to Nadejda von Meck, the famous patroness of Tchaikovsky, who was looking for a pianist to accompany her and her children on their travels.
Sergei Prokofiev (left) with his family, Sviatoslav, Oleg, and Lina in 1936
In the aftermath of Stalin’s Great Purge, Prokofiev began working on ten movements that eventually became a trilogy of piano works dubbed his War Sonatas.
Manuscript sketch of Schumann’s op. 13, cached from the Yale music library
Most of the studies in Schumann’s Études symphoniques, op. 13, are variations on a theme. Taking a page from Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations op. 120, the theme serves more as inspiration than template from which Schumann composed his variations.
Raised in northern Vermont, Pierre Jalbert (b. 1967) studied piano and composition at Oberlin Conservatory, and was a student of the George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his doctorate in composition. He employs a wide gamut of available harmonies in his compositions, and creates vivid timbres with a pulse, which are on full display in this trio.
Inspired by Bartók’s Mikrokosmos, Chick Corea’s 1984 solo album Children’s Songs comprised of simple songs which evoked that of children’s music, but showcased Corea’s skills as a composer and performer capable of depth and interpretive contrast. The album concludes with Addendum, an aptly-named piece written for piano trio which the composer recorded with Ida Kavafian on violin (who later serves a term in the Beaux Arts Trio) and Fred Sherry on cello (co-founder of the Tashi Quartet).