Hans Winterberg

Trio 1950

In Hans Winterberg's turbulent first half of his life, there were two periods of calm, phases in which he must have had the feeling of having "arrived", of making his way and enjoying the recognition that his extraordinary talent deserved. In the mid-1930s, when he had started a family in Prague and created his first masterpieces as a freelance composer. Then again around 1950, when, as a Holocaust survivor, he gained a foothold in Munich after fleeing Czechoslovakia and was able to celebrate his first significant successes with performances by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and the city's top musicians. Hardly any other work by Winterberg radiates such self-assurance and confidence as the Trio for clarinet (or violin), cello and piano, composed in 1950, the year of the first successful performance of his 1st Piano Concerto by the Munich Philharmonic. With its four movements and a playing time of over 15 minutes, it is one of his more extensive chamber music works, bringing together all the characteristics of his oeuvre in a successful symbiosis: Impressionist sensuality of sound, neoclassical charm and folkloristic high spirits – Winterberg's Trio 1950, published for the first time in its two versions now, is a substantial enrichment of the 20th century trio repertoire.