The Metro Spirit in Augusta, GA interviews the Abegg Trio http://www.metrospirit.com/pages/arts3.html

For a review of the Abegg Trio's March 20, 2005 appearance in Raleigh, NC please visit: http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/2005/032005/Abegg.html

Kšlner Stadt-Anzeiger May 2002: The art of balance

Beethoven, Jan‡cek, Dvor‡k - the musicians were impressive in their technical perfection and richness of expression

The Abegg Trio is one of the leading lights among chamber-music ensembles. It is hardly credible that this team of three has been working together for over a quarter of a century, without displaying even a trace of routine or wear and tear. Ulrich Beetz (violin), Birgit Erichson (cello) and Gerrit Zitterbart (piano) began their concert with Beethoven's Opus 1, No.2. The Trio's clean articulation and the driving power of its rhythmic precision, in the final movement kinetically intensified, are set in motion and carried along by an attitude of inner peace and give Beethoven's youthful music a vehement lightness, the effects of which could still be felt under the surface in the emotional Largo.

The string quartet by Leos Jan‡cek with the title "Kreutzer Sonata" is better known than the original piano trio version, which has been restored partly by a process of reconstruction. The trio version, which is 15 years older, creates an even more expressive effect than the quartet, above all by assigning more compact musical textures to the piano. The program of the music, inspired by Tolstoy's story, did not assert itself in the Abegg Trio's interpretation through superficial theatrical gestures. The more the interpreters concentrated rigorously on the fine adjustment involved in feeling the nuances of expression and dynamics together, the more the excitement of this eloquent music vibrated intensively in its inward spaces.

In Anton’n Dvor‡k's "Dumky Trio" both elemental and melancholy sounds can be heard, sounds which characterize Bohemian music just as much as exuberant high spirits. Here, too, the ensemble proved to be masters of the art of balance and in many a quiet moment achieved a profundity worthy of Schubert, only to break into a dance mood the next moment, thus allowing the manifold richness of this thrilling cycle to unfold and moving the audience to raptures.

Heppenheim, February 2002
Fresh air blows through the dusty score

The qualities of the Abegg Trio, which have been perfected over a period of two-and-a-half decades, had already made the ensemble's Beethoven marathon in Heppenheim last June into an unforgettable event. At the invitation of Forum Kultur (Cultural Forum) the three brilliantly harmonious instrumentalists made a further guest appearance in the KurfŸrstensaal; this time with a program of Romantic music which offered exciting aural delights and widened the horizon of musical experience to a thrilling extent. The Trio had just issued its jubilee edition "25 CDs from 25 years" - a documentation of artistic continuity which is very likely unique, for the ensemble's personnel, which consists of Gerrit Zitterbart (piano), Ulrich Beetz (violin) and Birgit Erichson (cello), has remained unchanged since the founding of the Trio. The enormous CD collection contains as a particular surprise a revealing live recording of the ensemble's debut on November 17th 1976. All the qualities of the Abegg interpretations were already present: the spirit of chamber music which inspires their playing, the faithfulness to the original which dispenses with all cheap sensationalism and the finely-drawn, transparent liveliness in the balance of sound.

It was just these elements which the ensemble displayed to exemplary effect in the KurfŸrstensaal. Thus the piano trio version of Leos Jan‡cek's first string quartet (1923), based on Leo Tolstoy's story "The Kreutzer Sonata", turned out to be a spectacular new discovery. On the basis of original fragments Michal Hajku reconstructed the original version of this bold masterpiece a few years ago and in the process displayed brilliantly intuitive understanding. The rhapsodic style of the piece which is very characteristic of Jan‡cek's mature style creates as a trio a more vivid effect than in the arrangement for quartet. The uncompromising severity and modernity of the design creates an even more succinct effect than before. The details of the Abegg Trio's dramaturgically and musically polished interpretation guaranteed twenty minutes of
true intensity.

Felix Mendelssohn's shamefully neglected C minor Trio opus 66 was also treated to an ideal interpretation which showed the German Romantic composer as one of the most passionate chamber-music composers of his epoch. The explosive first movement, "Allegro energico e con fuoco" was truly thrilling, the "Andante espressivo" wonderfully airborne, the delicate "Presto" so typical of this style really electrifying, and the work closed with an emphatic and differentiated "Allegro appassionato" finale.

The performance combined intelligence and magnetism; it is only too comprehensible that the Abeggs were awarded the much-sought-after "German record critics' prize" for their Mendelssohn recordings. The recording of Tchaikovsky's monumental A minor trio opus 50 which is about to be made will probably turn out to be even more prize-worthy. The Abegg Trio's vital approach to this solitaire of a work, which many ensembles have distorted into broad kitsch, makes it sound so cheerful and freed of ballast as if fresh air had blown through the dusty score. The extravagant elegy of the opening movement seems - in spite of its rapturous melancholy - concise and agile, the subsequent sequence of variations is savoured to the full in all its colourful magnificence.

It was impossible to resist the urgent and witty enthusiasm of this exquisite interpretation, which quickened the pulse without ever being superficial - it was one more in the series of definitive performances by the ensemble Zitterbart, Beetz and Erichson. With a spicy encore by Dvorak (the "Dumky" Trio in E minor opus 90) this concert came to an end, vehemently applauded by a capacity audience and ideally complemented by Gerrit Zitterbart's witty introductions to the works.

Klaus Ross

Hannoversche Allgemeine, November 2001
Fun Playing, Sunday with Beethoven: The Abegg Trio Celebrates Its Birthday

The queue of people waiting for tickets in the foyer of the Hannover Academy of Music was so long that the beginning of the concert had to be delayed for a few minutes, but then the Abegg Trio celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its formation by plunging itself and its audience into an overpowering musical adventure in three stages. With the complete Beethoven piano trios the Abegg Trio continued along the path which had commenced with the ensemble's recording of all the piano trios completed at the end of the 80s. And the fun they had in playing, which at that time created a sensation, was apparent here too. In his subsequent laudatory speech in honour of the Abegg Trio the critic Joachim Kaiser underlined that beauty makes high demands and cannot be abbreviated or abridged, and attested that the musicians are motivated by a passionate involvement comparable only with that of religious or political fanatics. The Abegg Trio conveyed to the audience the combination of artistic sensibility and musical passion which lies at the heart of their interpretations, whether it was a case of gently plumbing the expressive depths of the slow movements or of accentuating the audacious passages of the Scherzi with an exuberance bordering on caricature. And when the fast final movements are performed not only very fast (presto), in accordance with Beethoven's tempo indications and metronome markings, but as fast as possible (prestissimo), the Abegg Trio proved once again to be in top form.

At the afternoon concert the ensemble indulged in an excursion into more entertaining regions. Both Beethoven's Variation op. 44 and 121a and the "Gassenhauertrio" Trio op. 11 allot individual variations to each of the three instruments in turn. Far more radical is Beethoven's organization of the texture of his variation technique in the Andante cantabile of the "Archduke" Trio played at the conclusion of the three concerts - here the cello, reinforced by the left hand of the piano, corresponds with the violin supported by the upper register of the piano. And this was not the only place where the three musicians - violinist Ulrich Beetz with his obsession for extremely finely-drawn tone, cellist Birgit Erichson with her concentration on the supple baritone character of her instrument and pianist Gerrit Zitterbart nimbly alternating between powerful chords and sparkling scales - provided aural evidence that they had formed their instruments, which are anything but homogeneous, to a perfect ensemble sound. Chamber music is the Abegg Trio's life's work, and, as this astonishing Sunday with Beethoven made clear, this work is still going on even after twenty-five years.

Ludolf Baucke

Abegg Trio Brings Beethoven's Piano Trios to Expressive Life

by Martha A. Fawbush

September 9, 2007, Raleigh, NC: A winning combination of instrumental mastery and formidable musicianship characterized the Abegg Trio’s performance of three piano trios of Ludwig van Beethoven: the Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11 “Gassenhauertrio;” the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in c minor, Op. 1, No. 3; and the Piano Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97 “Archduke.” In this concert, the last of three Triangle programs devoted to Beethoven's complete music for piano trio, the talents of Ulrich Beetz, violin; Birgit Erichson, cello; and Gerrit Zitterbart, piano brought the expressive melodies, inventive harmonies and skillful instrumental writing to life.
Even the most general analysis reveals that the Abegg Trio meets all the musical standards critics apply to determine the worth of a performance. Throughout their Fletcher Opera Theater concert, presented as the finale of this year's September Prelude season-opener and the opening concert of the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild's 66th season, the players maintained impeccable intonation and paid due attention to dynamics. All three were imposing technicians with an ability to meet the musical requirements of any composer.

From beginning to end of this program, these superb instrumentalists played with an ease and a pleasure that belied the difficulty of the music before them and always maintained an ensemble unshaken by musical circumstances. On many occasions during the allegro movements, the dizzying speed in which Beetz and Erichson executed ascending and descending passages showed breathtaking technical mastery, at the same time illustrating their ability to make their instruments sing with one voice. In these movements the playing of both was brilliant yet unbelievably light, as if their bows were barely touching the instruments.

Other illustrations of the players’ attention to ensemble were also apparent in descending unison arpeggios as well as in passages in which the strings sang slow, descending unison lines not clearly distinguishable from each other. Moreover, throughout their performances of all three trios, both players illustrated their understanding of the stylistic touches that were the musical fashion during Beethoven’s early days as pianist and composer. This musical awareness claims the listener’s attention particularly in slow movements in which suspensions in the strings emphasized the expressive nature of phrases and other passages in which lengthy notes swelled from piano to mezzo forte and back in a dazzling, expressive mezzo di voce.

Pianist Zitterbart revealed that his skills are no less admirable than those of his colleagues. His masterful technique allowed him to execute the exciting, rapid scale passages and arpeggios so common in allegro movements, to use his lightest touch to state some of Beethoven’s sweetest, most melancholy melodies, and to evoke in the low registers the dark, melancholy themes in slow movements. His ability to state the thematic material of the slow movements resulted in many of the most beautiful moments a listener encounters in performances of these works. Moreover, his playing is the musical stuff that holds the performance of all three players together and thus makes a great contribution toward maintaining the ensemble. This is particularly obvious in most of the slow movements, in which the piano and strings must state principle thematic material with the same emphasis and tonal color.

The analysis above explains in great part why the Abegg Trio’s audience took such delight in their performance. It remains to add that the players’ delight in performing the music of a great composer and in playing with each other was clearly communicated to the audience from the first notes of the concert through the charming encore — the single-movement Trio in B, WoO 39 — and created a bond that guaranteed mutual pleasure and success for the performers.