Seraphim Trio And ABC Classic Explore Trio Through Time

The history of the piano trio will be traced through time with ABC Classic and Seraphim Trio in Trio Through Time, as they reveal a panoramic musical journey over four centuries.

Pianist Anna Goldsworthy, violinist Helen Ayres and cellist Timothy Nankervis will perform trios from Mozart to Sculthorpe, beginning on 1 September and running for 12 weeks, these premiere new studio recordings will be broadcast in Sunday Recital at 4pm on ABC Classic, and released to a global audience of music-lovers through streaming platforms, culminating in a 5CD boxset to be released in November.

The piano trio was often used to reflect the most personal thoughts and musical experimentation of these composers. Trio Through Time  explores the development of the form, as well as offering insights into the composers and the cultures in which they lived.

“The trios of Haydn and Mozart speak to the values of the Enlightenment – good manners and polite conversation – while the trios of Schubert and Brahms threaten to explode out of the drawing room, both in their sound world and their levels of personal disclosure, heralding a new age of individualism,” says Anna Goldsworthy. “Our project offers a brief history of modern Europe, from the nationalism of Dvorak, to Ravel’s preparations for war, and to Shostakovich’s lament for his time.”

The trios have been recorded especially for this project in the Eugene Goossens Hall of the ABC’s Ultimo Centre, by ABC Classic’s team of producers and engineers. Each radio broadcast features members of the Seraphim Trio discussing the music, and you’ll also be able to browse listening guides on the ABC Classic website.

The Trios

1 September
MOZART Piano Trio in G major, K.496 (1786)

8 September
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 2 (1793/5)

15 September
HAYDN Piano Trio No.39 in G, Hob.XV:25 (1795)

22 September
BEETHOVEN Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1 ‘Ghost’ (1809)

29 September
SCHUBERT Piano Trio in E-flat major, D.929 (1827)

6 October
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Piano Trio No.1 in D minor Op.49 (1839)

13 October
FANNY MENDELSSOHN Piano Trio in D minor Op. 11 (1846)

20 October
BRAHMS Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op.8 (1854)

27 October
DVORAK Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90 ‘Dumky’ (1891)

3 November
RAVEL Piano Trio in A minor (1914)

10 November
SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Trio No.2 in E minor, Op.67 (1944)

17 November
SCULTHORPE From Irkanda III (1961)