Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Trio pour clarinette, violoncelle et piano en si majeur, op. 11 "Gassenhauer"
Trio pour clarinette, violoncelle et piano en mi majeur, op. 38

Trio Origo

Asko Heiskanen, clarinette
Jussi Seppänen, violoncelle
Jerry Jantunen, pianoforte

Au cœur du « Gassenhauer » du trio Origo, il y a la question des attributs (des tics ?) qui rendent une interprétation classique « historiquement informée » … Staccato, notes écourtées, dynamique étendue, contrastes renforcés ? Origo ne choisit pas, il prend le tout ! A mon sens, le problème est qu’il confine ainsi au dogmatisme plutôt qu’à la recherche de la musicalité : l’opus 11 explose littéralement sous ce traitement, sa partition (pardon pour le néologisme bien connu des photographes) comme « photoshoppée ». C’est une expérience intéressante, d’autant qu’Origo a une longue familiarité avec l’œuvre : il ne s’agit donc pas d’une erreur mais bien d’un manifeste. Du coup il vaut mieux éviter la comparaison avec les grandes références (ah, mes chers Ax/Yo Yo Ma/Stolzman !). L’arrangement du septuor op. 20 en trio op. 38 supporte mille fois mieux le traitement : si le jeu de l’ensemble repose sur les mêmes bases tout semble un peu moins « too much » : le résultat est une réjouissante version, un peu déjantée avec des pointes d’iconoclasme… comme si les musiciens voulaient venger Beethoven par procuration du succès de cette œuvre qu’il disait détester : un régal. Je reste partagé, mais je reviendrai sans aucun doute à cet op. 38 là, sur de magnifiques instruments. (Olivier Eterradossi)

At the heart of Trio Origo's repertoire are the earliest trios composed for clarinet, cello and piano. The origins of the repertoire lie in the ‘Gassenhauer’ Trio composed by Beethoven in 1797 for a clarinettist, probably Joseph Bähr, who also suggested to the composer that he use a hit tune – known as a ‘Gassenhauer’ – from a recent opera by Joseph Weigl. Beethoven (uncharacteristically, but with perhaps an eye on the work’s future commercial success) duly obliged, and made Weigl’s tune the basis for his themeand- variations finale – but he also produced a version of the trio substituting the clarinet for the violin to ensure its popularity. An adroit piece of reverse compositional engineering produced the Op.38 Trio from the Septet Op.20. The Septet was one of Beethoven’s most popular early works, and resulted in a string of arrangements for smaller forces, most of them made by other hands, but the composer himself produced this arrangement for clarinet trio, which happily amplifies the solo instrument’s prominence in the Septet. He never wrote a more joyous melody than the main subject of the first movement, and the work as a whole finds the composer at his most relaxed. While Beethoven’s clarinet writing has never received the attention accorded to Mozart’s, he wrote for it with no less warmth and affection, and this pair of trios displays a winning, sunny side of the composer that is often overshadowed by the cantankerous instrumental dramatist of popular myth and legend. The Finnish members of Trio Origo all pursue successful careers with chamber and period-instrument ensembles such as the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, but they have been performing Classical-era clarinet trios together since 2004, ranging beyond Beethoven to explore little-known gems by his contemporaries. This recording is the fruit of their study and performing experience over more than 15 years together.