Austria continues being an active and very cosmopolitan hub where among other cities Vienna, Salzburg and Graz are among the busiest. It is an old tradition and this evening’s trio reflected this.

Florian Mühlberger, clarinet is Austrian; Anne Harvey-Nagl is Australian-born but lives in Vienna. Bulgarian-born Biljana Tzinlikova is pianist and lives mainly in Salzburg. They are all soloists in their own right but also blend beautifully in ensemble, sharing and interacting in trios and duos.

This 9th concert of this edition of the VIAF began with a Serenade in E flat Major (1898) by the German composer Waldemar von Baßnern (1866-1931). He dedicated to none other than the celebrity clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld (1856-1907) to whom Brahms had dedicated his Clarinet Quintet, Clarinet Trio and 2 Clarinet Sonatas. In four movements, it is a delightful work which judging by its inherent charm and well-crafted structure deserves to be much better-known.

Three brief pieces for violin and piano were performed by Anne Harvey-Nagl and Biljana Tzilinkova. Composed in 1905 by the Austrian violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) , Liebesleid (Love’s sorrow), Liebesfreud (Love’s Joy) and Schön Rosmarin (Beautiful Rosemary…the herb not some lady). They are nostalgic, beautiful and quintessential ingredients in typical Viennese Salon- or Kaffeemusik. They were performed in elegantly charming style.

The duo which followed was a tour-de-force by Florian Mühlberger and Biljana Tzunlikova. It was the amazing work: Theme and Seven Variations on a theme from Silvana, Op. 33 (1811), an opera by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). The theme on the aria Warum musst’ich dich je erblikken (Why must I have to look at you?) starts off the work. The theme is stated with variations building up in a few challenging passages. This world class clarinettist made short shrift of the elaborate nature of the work, obviously composed in order to make an impact on audiences. Weber also used it as a kind of advertisement. The piano too had a some passages of extended brillance.

The piano’s only solo was a truly brilliant work by a Prager German, Alfred Grünheld (1852-1924). His Soirée de Vienne Op. 56, (c.1910). Labelled a concert version of Strauß’s waltzes, after an elaborate introduction soon hinted that this was going to be more of a paraphrase of the Overture to Die Fledermaus (1874). This of course included the waltz section of it. It really was a brilliantly performed piece.

It began with a trio and ended with a trio. Piano, clarinet and violin joined forces to perform the trio dubbed Worlds Enough…and Time (1982) composed by the USA-born Eugene Hartzell (1932-2000).

Musically, Hartzell who ended up living in Vienna, was a “grandchild” of Schönberg (1874-1951) and Berg (1885-1835) both of whom had taught his distinguished teacher Hans Erich Apostel (1901-72). As such he did become part of the legacy of the Second Viennese School. This could be heard well enough in this trio. It stood out for the great difference in idiom this was when compared to the other works.

The musical language in the opening Allegro movement emphasised rhythm, but not at the cost of the melody. Colourful variations dominate the contrapuntal central movement while the closing Rondo turns out to be akin to the Allegro. Frequent time signatures precede “..an endless panoply of rhythmic structures”.

Eventually a brief relaxation leads into an almost rushed and exuberant end.

Albert George Storace