TALEA TRIO

"After previous collaborations [The Talea Trio came] to conclude that their interests inclined them to believe their combination of instruments was ripe with possibilities, but that the available literature was quite limited. The obvious solution was to expand it, both by transcribing existing works conceived in other media and by encouraging new compositions by their contemporaries. They reveal their special brand of magic in the MSR Classics release of 5 Trios.”

Atlanta Audio Club [May 2023]

The Talea Trio was formed at the University of Missouri’s School of Music in 2019. Having collaborated previously in other settings, its three members came to see that the combination of oboe, clarinet and piano was ripe with possibilities, and that they shared a commonality as performers. There being a relatively limited body of repertoire for their instrumental trio, they devised plans to enlarge it. This recording, which is comprised of works either composed or arranged for the oboe, clarinet and piano trio, is the culmination of that effort.

Dan Willett is Professor of Oboe in the University of Missouri’s School of Music. In addition to frequent solo and chamber recitals, Willett has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Missouri Chamber Orchestra, Kammerguild Chamber Orchestra, at festivals in Brazil, and at numerous International Double Reed Society events. As a member of the Missouri Woodwind Quintet, he has performed widely in the United States and in Brazil and China, and recorded David Maslanka’s Quintets Nos.1-3. With Brazilian guitarist Paulo Oliveira, Willett recorded Two Hemispheres, an album of works by American and Brazilian composers. He has also released premiere recordings of Maslanka’s Sonata for Oboe and Piano and Michael Horvitt’s Chamber Concerto for English Horn and String Quartet. He is a featured soloist on Jesu, Joy, a CD of Christmas music produced by the St. Louis Bach Society. In 2019 with pianist Natalia Bolshakova, Willett released Stolen Treasures for Oboe and Piano, an album featuring sonatas by W.A. Mozart, Grieg and Prokofiev. His woodwind quintet transcriptions have been favorably received, and are featured on Romantic Winds, CD by the Missouri Quintet. Willett earned degrees from Michigan State University studying with Daniel Stolper, and performs on a Lorée Royal oboe.

American clarinetist Wesley Warnhoff has a thoughtful passionate performance style which has gained him international acclaim as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician. Warnhoff’s research into the clarinet’s contemporary extended techniques has helped him to develop a unique pedagogical approach that provides a new perspective on creating the ideal embouchure and sound concept. Warnhoff is the former principal clarinet of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, and now performs with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra. Wes is also Associate Teaching Professor of Clarinet at the University of Missouri where he leads the clarinet studio and performs with the Missouri Quintet. Warnhoff earned his MM and DMA degrees from Michigan State University, and his BM from Missouri State University. His primary teachers include Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Allison Storochuk and Jack Scheurer. He is a Backun Musical Services performing artist, and plays Lumière clarinets exclusively.

Award-winning pianist Natalia Bolshakova enjoys an active performing career and has been praised for her beautiful and electrifying playing, versatility and artistry.  She has appeared as a recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with orchestras in France, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Spain, Russia, and across the United States. Her wide repertoire encompasses works from the Baroque era to new music composed for her. Bolshakova has been a laureate and a winner in many competitions, including the New Orleans International Piano Competition, Ima Hogg Young Artist International Competition and Vysocina International Piano Competition. As a recording artist, she has collaborated with trumpeter John Holt on several albums, two of which were named “best new recordings” from by Gramophone magazine in 2005. She can be heard on the 2018 CD Russian  Trumpet Sonatas (MSR MS1697) in collaboration with trumpeter Iskander Akhmadullin. Bolshakova, who has been on the faculty of the University of Missouri’s School of Music since 2004, studied at the Moscow Ippolitov-Ivanov College, Moscow State Conservatory and the University of North Texas. On this recording, Bolshakova plays on a Steinway Model B piano.
  JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750) | Arranged by Dan Willett
CHORALE: ZION HÖRT DIE WÄCHTER SINGEN
from Cantata No.140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) | Adapted by Talea Trio
DER HIRT AUF DEM FELSEN, D.965 (1828)

EDUARDO DESTENAY (1850-1924)
TRIO IN B MINOR, OP.27 FOR OBOE, CLARINET AND PIANO (1906)
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante non troppo
III. Presto

CHRISTOS TSITSAROS (b.1961)
FANTASY FOR OBOE, B-FLAT CLARINET AND PIANO (2017)

BILL DOUGLAS (b.1944)
TRIO FOR OBOE, CLARINET AND PIANO (2007)
I. Bebop cantabile
II. Lament
III. Rondo con brio
 

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Recorded 21-23 December 2021 in Sheryl Crow Hall, Sinquefield Music Center, University of Missouri School of Music, Columbia, Missouri. Engineered, edited, mixed and mastered by Rob Boullion, LinderVox Sound, Columbia, Missouri. Piano technician: Lucy Urlacher.



MSR Classics