KETIL HVOSLEF (b.1939): Piano Trio, FARTEIN VALEN (1887-1952): Piano Trio, Op. 5, KLAUS EGGE (1906-1979): Piano Trio, Op. 14.

Description: Hvoslef's Trio is an expansive 20-minute structure consisting of a series of episodes of diverse character in repeating, or almost-repeating motifs - typically, a section is anchored by literally repeating material in one or more part while rhythmic or harmonic progress occurs in another. Textures are generally clean and spare; the idiom is far from atonal, while admitting ample levels of dissonance. The work's rhythmic drive and sense of forward motion render it very accessible. Valen's work marks a clear transitional phase in the development of his atonal, contrapuntal mature vocabulary. Intensely chromatic, the four-movements, structured along quasi-symphonic lines with an appropriately epic sense of scope, inhabit a distinctly late-romantic world. The idiom is very clearly related to that of early, pre-atonal, definitely pre-serial Schönberg, whose work Valen greatly admired in the 1920s,when the piece was written. The Egge is an attractive four-movement work in romantic-nationalistic vein. Rhythmic devices and melodic inflections drawn from Norwegian folk music lend the piece a distinctive flavor, and in many ways this is the most tonal, least dissonant and modern-sounding work on the disc, with a bracing sense of heroic fervor and appealing lyricism. Valen Trio. SACD hybrid