Presents

Eugene Walckiers

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Grand Trio in D Major, Op.35 for Flute, Violin and Cello- New Edition

Eugène Walckiers (1793-1866) was born in the Belgian town of Avesnes-sur-Helpe. His first teacher was Heinrich Wilhelm Marchand, a pupil of Leopold Mozart. Subsequently, he moved to Paris studied flute privately with the then famous flute virtuoso Jean-Louis Tulou and composition with Anton Reicha, then the most famouse teacher of composition living in Paris. Most of Walckiers' compositions included the flute. He wrote a great deal of chamber music, including trios with flute and cello, flute quartets, piano quintets with flute and so forth. These compositions were admired by Rossini, Meyerbeer and other prominent contemporaries of Walckiers and were much in demand during his lifetime. Toward the end of his life, he also wrote chamber music which did not include the flute such as piano trios and string quintets. His gift for melody and creating dramatic episodes, bordering on the operatic, was almost unrivaled.

The Grand Trio in D Major for Flute, Violin and Cello in D Major, Op.35 was composed in 1831 shortly after Walckiers had established himself as a flute teacher and composer in Paris. Thanks to recommendations from Anton Reicha, publishers sought out his compositions. The trio is in four movements and truly is written on a grand scale in concertante style. It is full of romance, drama and passion and treats all of the instruments in an equal fashion. In four movements. It opens with a charming and elegant Allegro non troppo ma con fuoco. The second movement, Andante, opens with a soulful cello solo. the music is dreamy and reflective, but not without sudden bursts of passion. Next is a lively Scherzo. The finale is a playful and dancing Allegretto.

Certainly one of the very best works of its kind from the early Romantic era. Schlesinger, Walckiers publisher also asked for an additional violin part as a replacement for the flute to increase sales. We include it here.