Kearney-based The Frahm-Lewis Trio releases new album
KEARNEY — The new recording by The Frahm-Lewis Trio seeks to explore a slim difference in the form of the sonata.
"When you hit the late 18th century, we have either accompanied or unaccompanied sonatas," said Nathan Buckner, the pianist for the trio. "Usually the accompanied sonatas of the late 18th century are piano-dominated pieces, whereas when you get to the piano trios of the 19th century, things tend to be more egalitarian. Composers used the violin and cello together to form a sort of counter balance with the piano."
In sonatas from a century before, the string reinforced the piano parts.
"We chose a program where the pieces would contrast well with one another," Buckner said.
The UNK faculty member had researched the works of Philip Antony Corri (1784–1832), a composer born in Scotland who moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he lived for the rest of his life. Before leaving Europe, he helped found the London Philharmonic Society and the Royal Academy of Music.
"His piece, sonata for piano with violin obbligato and cello ad lib, was a piece I had researched many years ago. It had never been recorded before," Buckner said. "So this is the premier recording of this piece."
Last month The Frahm-Lewis Trio released an album, "La Moret di Dussek Sonatas and Trios," from Navona Records, a label founded in 2008 specializing in classical music. The label's website states: "Navona Records offers listeners a fresh taste of today's leading innovators in orchestral, chamber, instrumental and experimental music as well as prime pieces of classic repertoire."
The Frahm-Lewis Trio, formed in 2008, features Buckner on piano, Ting-Lan Chen, violin, and Noah Turner Rogoff, cello. All three of the musicians serve as faculty members of the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Music. In 2012, the trio received a grant honoring longtime central Nebraska cellist Bettelee Frahm Lewis, ensuring the trio's future.
Two years ago the members of the trio traveled to Minnesota to record at the studios of Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.
"We did an average amount of editing," Buckner said about the recording process. "When you're dealing with more people, there are more edits. If you're doing a solo recording, you tend to be happier with a larger percentage of the work than if you're dealing with three people. With three people, everyone has their favorite 'take.' So sometimes we have to negotiate and split the difference."
For Buckner, playing a piece in concert feels easier than making a recording.
"I don't mind recording," he said. "It's a little more stressful than performing in public. A public performance usually involves a certain level of stress, but it's a finite amount of stress. In the studio, the first two takes feel comfortable and then you become more self conscious and you feel more pressure to get an improvement on what you've already done."
Usually as the day goes on, recording feels more stressful for Buckner. The trio scheduled two days in the studio.
"We did most of the material on the first day," he said. "Of 11 movements, we recorded seven of them on the first day and we saved the remaining four for the second day. On the second day, we did three of the movements before lunch and saved one for after lunch, mostly because it was a particularly difficult piece. It's a humbling process. Everybody is working hard, including the recording technicians."
A year after the session, in 2023, Buckner traveled to St. Paul to work on the editing process.
When it comes to adding to the understanding of these pieces of music, Buckner agrees that the work of The Frahm-Lewis Trio contributes an important aspect.
"I think the way we have approached the Mozart piece is rather unusual," he said. "That's not justifiable enough to rerecord Mozart because there are so many great recordings of these pieces, but I do think we have contributed something a little bit different to the aesthetic of these pieces that you don't commonly hear."
To download the album of music by The Frahm-Lewis Trio, visit NavonaRecords.com .
