The Verdehr Trio was a

chamber ensemble Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

that worked to promote the clarinet-violin-piano trio repertoire through international commissions,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

s, and

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

s. The trio featured Walter Verdehr on violin,

Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr (born April 14, 1936) is an American clarinetist and music educator whose contributions to the Verdehr Trio have resulted in an extensive modern body of work for the clarinet-violin-piano trio medium. Biography Born in Charlo ...

on clarinet, and

Silvia Roederer Silvia Roederer DMA (USC) is a native of Argentina. Her focus on piano began after emigrating to the U.S. and includes study with John Perry at USC, David Burge at Eastman, and Menahem Pressler at festivals in Banff, Long Beach, and Ravinia. She ...

on piano. The Ludewig-Verdehrs were married in 1971 and founded the trio in 1972 at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

where it remained

in residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

. Former pianists include

Gary Kirkpatrick Gary Kirkpatrick (August 19, 1941 - February 22, 2021) was an American concert pianist from Junction City, Kansas. Kirkpatrick received his Bachelor of Music at Eastman School of Music and his artist's diploma from the University of Music and P ...

. The Verdehr Trio announced its retirement at the end of the 2014–15 season after 43 years.

Commissions

Inspired by existing pieces for

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

by 20th-century composers Bartók (''

Contrasts (Bartók) ''Contrasts'' ( Sz. 111, BB 116) is a 1938 composition scored for clarinet–violin–piano trio by Béla Bartók (1881–1945). It is based on Hungarian and Romanian dance melodies and has three movements with a combined duration of 17–20 m ...

''),

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

, Khachaturian,

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

, Krenek,

Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

and

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

, the trio commissioned over 200 new works. To round out their repertoire they discovered or transcribed 18th and 19th century pieces for violin-clarinet-piano. The trio also commissioned trio concertos from composers including Buhr, David, Ott, Skrowaczewski, and Wallace. They commissioned violin-clarinet double concertos from James Niblock,

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

Dinos Constantinides Dinos Constantinides (; 10 May 1929 – 20 July 2021) was a Greek-American composer of contemporary classical music. Constantinides was born in Ioannina, Greece. He studied violin and music theory at the Greek Conservatory in Athens, then violin ...

Paul Chihara Paul Seiko Chihara (born July 9, 1938) is an American composer. Life and career Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. A Japanese American, he spent three years of his childhood with his family in an internment camp in Minidoka, Idah ...

Ian Krouse Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. This name is a popu ...

and Richard Mills.The Verdehr Trio
/ref> To make this music available the trio released ''The Making of a Medium CD Series'' on Crystal Records and a parallel ''Video Series'' including performances, interviews and discussions by the composers as well as a complete performance of the work. Series I includes composers Leslie Bassett,

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; born Alan Vaness Chakmakjian; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts ...

Karel Husa Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he emigrated to ...

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Barnton, Edinburgh, Mus ...

(''Pierrot''),

Ned Rorem Ned Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing i ...

, and

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

. Series II, hosted by

Peter Schickele Peter Schickele (; July 17, 1935 – January 16, 2024) was an American composer, musical educator and parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, which he presented as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also hoste ...

, includes trios by

Alexander Arutiunian Alexander Grigori Arutiunian (23 September 192028 March 2012), was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist, widely known for his 1950 Trumpet Concerto (Arutiunian), Trumpet Concerto. A professor at Komitas State Conservatory of ...

, David Diamond,

William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...

Betsy Jolas Elizabeth Jolas (born 5 August 1926) is a Franco-American composer. Life and career Jolas was born in Paris on 5 August 1926. Her mother, the American translator Maria McDonald, also studied singing. Together with Betsy's father, the poet and j ...

Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. A former holder of the Pa ...

Philippe Manoury Philippe Manoury (born 19 June 1952) is a French composer. Biography Manoury was born in Tulle and began composition studies at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with Gérard Condé and Max Deutsch. He continued his studies from 1974 to 1 ...

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

Peter Sculthorpe Peter Joshua Sculthorpe (29 April 1929 – 8 August 2014) was an Australian composer. Much of his music resulted from an interest in the music of countries neighbouring Australia as well as from the impulse to bring together aspects of Aborigi ...

, Peter Schickele and

Joan Tower Joan Tower (born September 6, 1938)http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&ComposerId_2872=1605 Biography on Schirmer is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. Lauded by ''The New Y ...

. A publishing project was also launched.

Accomplishments

The trio received a Creative Programming Award from

Chamber Music America Chamber Music America (CMA) is an American non-profit organization that provides small ensemble professionals with access to a variety of professional development, networking, and funding resources. CMA's regular initiatives include grants, awards, ...

and an Adventuresome Programming Award from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

and Chamber Music America. An article about the Trio appears in the ''

New Grove Dictionary of Music ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

''. Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr is praised for her range of timbre and pitch, especially the clarinet's "chalumeau" or lowest register.

Other composers commissioned

* Nathan Currier *

Douglas Knehans Douglas Knehans (born 1957, St. Louis, Missouri) is an American/Australian composer. He is the Norman Dinerstein Professor of Composition Scholar at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music A university () is an instituti ...

* Iván Erőd * David Lipten *

Octavio Vázquez Octavio Vázquezportrait by Luis Alvarez Roure Octavio Vázquez Rodríguez (born September 10, 1972) is a Galician- American New York-based composer of classical music. Biography Born in Santiago de Compostela ( Galicia, Spain), Vázquez spo ...

Other composers premiered

* William Averitt – ''Tripartita'' (1988) "Tripartita, the Verdehr Trio score"
''MSU Press''.

Bernard Holland Bernard Peabody Holland, III (born 1933) is an American music critic. He served on the staff of ''The New York Times'' from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper. He then b ...

, Wednesday, November 14, 1990
"Review/Music; A Trio With a Difference"
''The New York Times''. *

– ''Shogun'' (1987, trio) *

Ge Gan-Ru Ge Gan-ru (; born July 8, 1954) is a Chinese composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Ge Gan-ru was born in Shanghai, China. His early years were spent in the Chongming Island during the Cultural Revolution. In 1974, he was originall ...

– ''Si'' *

Tomás Marco Tomás Marco Aragón (born 12 September 1942) is a Spanish composer and writer on music. Life and work Marco was born in Madrid where he later studied violin and composition, while at the same time pursuing the study of law (he received his lic ...

– ''Aequatorialis'' *

– ''A trio setting'' *

– ''rive'' *

– ''glow – concerto for violin, clarinet and orchestra'' *

– ''trio for violin, clarinet and piano'' * David Lipten – ''Whorl for violin, clarinet, and piano''

Notes

External links

*http://www.verdehr.com/
NYTimes.com: Verdehr Trio Contrast Review
By John Rockwell, Published: February 18, 1988

Viewing

* * {{authority control American musical trios Chamber music groups Michigan State University Musical groups established in 1972 1972 establishments in Michigan Musical groups disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Michigan