The Vivaldi Project - Discovering the Classical String Trio - Vol. 3 (2021)

The string trio is often viewed, according to the hindsight of chamber music history, as a kind of minor sub-genre, a “quartet minus one.” We at The Vivaldi Project, however, propose that the 18th-century string quartet might more aptly be described as a “trio plus one.” The Classical string trio, as the successor to the immensely popular Baroque trio sonata (exemplified by Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries), would out-publish the string quartet in the 1760s by a ratio of more than 5 to 1. The resulting body of works includes more than 2000 trios from many of the century’s most revered and eminent composers. Volume 3 of our series, Discovering The Classical String Trio, continues to explore this vast and essentially unknown repertoire with seven newly recorded works—from the string trio’s early origins in Italy to its expression at the height of the Classical period in Vienna.

Praised for its brilliant and expressive playing, The Vivaldi Project, directed by Elizabeth Field and Stephanie Vial, is dedicated to presenting innovative programs of Baroque and Classical string repertoire that combine scholarship and performance to both educate and delight audiences. The period instrument ensemble takes its name from the virtuoso violinist and innovative composer Antonio Vivaldi in recognition of his pivotal position between earlier Baroque and later Classical composers (those well known and beloved as well as those rarely heard). The Vivaldi Project’s educational arm, The Institute for Early Music on Modern Instruments (EMMI), offers professional string players and advanced students the opportunity to study historical performance practices using their own modern instruments