Dear Friend,

When you think of string chamber music, the string quartet may come to mind. But did you know that preceding the string quartet, the string trio was a popular medium, with actually thousands of works written for this configuration in the Classical era alone? Thanks to The Vivaldi Project, a string trio dedicated to period performances of Baroque and Classical music, the Classical string trio has come back to life. Their soon-to-be released album Discovering the Classical String Trio Volume 4 completes their series, presenting rare works, often by virtually unknown composers, juxtaposed with those of familiar composers. We are pleased to present the broadcast premiere of the new album all this week. Tune in to hear the delightful examples of this rich repertoire, and see below to learn more about the string trio, history of its instruments, and more.

Yours musically,
Jim Allison
Program Director

How did The Vivaldi Project bring the Classical String Trio back to life?

The four volumes of Discovering the Classical String Trio are not like any other recordings. It took years of research and careful, scholarly considerations from each of the musicians to recreate as close to authentic performances of the long-forgotten repertoire from the 18th century. Learn more from Stephanie Vial, cellist of The Vivaldi Project.

Reading between the notes: Interpreting music notation

In this podcast episode, violinist of The Vivaldi Project, Elizabeth Field, tells us how musicians look at a score and make it come alive through interpretation. Hear Elizabeth demonstrate on her violin, and enjoy an experiment with foreign language demonstrating how interpretation can make all the difference in meaning!

The Story of the Bow

The bow is a critical component of any string instrument, with fascinating stories to tell of its own. The changes in its design over centuries reflect the changing roles, sound concept, and music played by string instruments as music moved through the eras. The Vivaldi Project commented on the importance of matching the correct bow (a late Baroque bow versus a Classical bow for example) for each of the pieces on their albums. Host James Jacobs tells us the story of the bow, dating back to 6000 BC to what we know today.