There are some musical forms that that have been so defined within the classical canon that any new work seeking admission faces a formidable challenge. Take for example string quartets, a genre universally recognized as the acid test of a composer’s mettle, Likewise, the Piano Trio, a form whose roots nominally go back as far as the Baroque, would become one of the preeminent musical genres of the Romantic era. And yet, many of the greatest additions to the repertoire are one-offs, with often no more than one or two within a composer’s oeuvre.

And so it was with Poul Ruder: Piano Trio, his first foray into the realm of the Piano Trio. Composed in 2020 for Trio con Brio Copenhagen, Ruders described his Piano Trio with characteristic wit as “just itself, with no hidden agenda,” a musikalische Ding an sich, bursting with ideas and virility. The outer movements zip by in a flurry of heightened virtuosity that verges on the ecstatic (or hysterical, depending on your mood), with the central movement, “Slow Motion,” living up to the title’s promise.

Were this writer to offer a musical frame of reference, Ruder’s new Piano Trio occupies the sonically exploratory-yet-familiar sound world of Ives’ oddball works for piano and strings, sans the American patriotic tunes. This is vigorous and engaging contemporary music that further demonstrates Ruders moving from strength to strength with each new work! The Trio con Brio Copenhagen are among the premiere artists performing in this configuration, and have earned multiple accolades from the musical press:
“Trio Con Brio as the worthy successors of the legendary Beaux-Arts Trio. That says it all!” – Díapason

Trio con Brio Copenhagen