Reger: Piano Trio Op.102

Artium Trio

Max Reger holds a controversial position in Music History. His vast output, more than 1000 works written in his relatively short life, is often accused of Academism, contrived, dry and opaque, while others (notably Arnold Schoenberg) call him a genius, in the line of Wagner, Mahler and Richard Strauss.

 Reger was born in the small Bavarian town of Brand. He began his musical studies at a young age and his talent for composition became clear early on. His family expected him to become a school teacher but he met the eminent musicologist Hugo Riemann, who was so impressed by Reger’s talent that he urged him to devote himself entirely to music. Reger studied with him for nearly five years. By 1907 Reger was appointed to the prestigious position of Professor of composition at the Leipzig Conservatory. In addition to this he was widely regarded as one of the best living conductors and organists. In a career that only lasted 20 years, Reger wrote a prodigious amount of music in virtually every genre except opera and the symphony.

Chamber music figures prominently within Reger’s oeuvre. The Piano Trio Op. 102 is one of his best chamber music works. Of huge proportions it contains all the Reger characteristics: dense chromatic writing of great beauty and fluency, a gift for melody and a strong sense of classical structure and form.

The Trio is performed by the Artium Trio, formed in 2016 by three highly talented young musicians from Portugal.

Reger:
 Piano Trio Op.102
 Suite Op.79d for violin and piano
 Two Pieces Op.79e for cello and piano