Three Pieces for Clarinet, Cello and Piano Mendelssohn (arr. Naumann) Variations on the name "Gabor Haenjo" - Groocock
Trio Op 120 (excs) - Faure
Trio pathetique - Glinka
Four Sonatas Wq92 - C.P.E. Bach
Quartet for Closing Time - Haenjo
Clarinet Trio - Brahms
The Haenjo Trio was formed ten years ago. Since then, Michael Seaver (clarinet), Niall O'Loughlin (cello) and Reamonn Keary (piano) have attracted a certain following for their promotion of the music of Gabor Haenjo.
I wonder how many countries could sustain a spoof like this. Although Haenjo is in no dictionary of music, full and increasingly exotic biographies appear at each concert, and his compositions are replete with musical references, from Wagner to Cole Porter, from Schoenberg to Sean O Riada.
In the trio's anniversary concert in the NCH John Field Room last Wednesday night, Haenjo was represented by Quartet for Closing Time. Why it survives only as a trio is a poignant tale. He was also honoured in a performance of Variations on the name "Gabor Haenjo" by the late Joseph Groocock. Serious but good humoured - like Groocock himself - this music displays superbly crafted counterpoint and late-Romantic harmony.
The concert ended with the work which brought these musicians together ten years ago, Brahms's Clarinet Trio. Other music on the programme was well worth hearing; but this was by far the best. The Haenjo Trio judged things well for their abilities and this venue, eschewing open virtuosity in favour of quiet intimacy. Sometimes one wished for a more muscular approach, for more definition in the cello and piano, and that the clarinet would not occasionally sound hard-toned. But everyone played as a group, with an intelligence and character which enhanced the enjoyment of this superb music.