Trio Lézard

»excellent correspondence in chamber music down to the smallest detail«

Badische Zeitung, Januar 2019

Biography

Following over twenty-five years of concert experience with unchanged membership, the Trio Lézard can be designated as one of the leading trio d'anches in the world today. When Stéphane Egeling, Jan Creutz and Stefan Hoffmann joined together as a trio in the early 1990’s at the Saarbrücken Conservatoire, it was initially out of sheer pleasure of making music, joy of experimentation, and not least of friendship. Since then they have attempted nearly every possibility that the ensemble of oboe, clarinet and bassoon offers. About a quarter century later the Trio Lézard has gained an enormous amount of concert experience and made award-winning recordings, though their original joy in playing remains unaltered.

Since its beginnings in 1930’s Paris when the bassoonist Fernand Oubradous established the 'Trio d'anches de Paris' with Messrs. Myrtil Morel and Pierre Lefebvre, the formation Trio d'anches has existed as a recognised genre in classical concert halls. With the CD 'Paris 1937 hommage au Trio d'anches de Paris' the Trio Lézard pays respect to that ensemble and its epoch. The recordings of these previously unrecorded works have been given a 2015 ECHO Klassik award.

Yet even the 'Trio d'anches de Paris' had needed to expand on its repertoire of works of great masters of the genre. The Trio Lézard also expanded its instrumentation to include such so-called 'peripherals' as cor anglais, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, oboe d'amore, basset horn etc., and even saxophones, bagpipes or crumhorns can be heard at concerts of Trio Lézard. Finally, the historical predecessors of the oboe, clarinet and bassoon were added. The Trio Lézard’s own transcriptions, whether of French chansons, Renaissance suites or Rossini overtures, are part of the repertoire in addition to music by Bach, Mozart and original compositions from the 30’s. Thus the Trio Lézard is able to perform music from six centuries, each delivered in the very individual 'Lézard' sound. All Lézard arrangements are published by the Egge-Verlag, the artistic director of which is Stéphane Egeling.

The Trio Lézard continues to re-imagine the classical chamber concert. Each of the three musicians has worthwhile expertise beyond the classical concert podium which is invaluable for the workings and success of the trio: Stefan Hoffmann is a radio presenter, Jan Creutz is a rock musician and Stéphane Egeling is a publisher and editor. These experiences influence the trio’s performances. Contact with the concert public is of central importance, so often a programme features a recurring theme in the form of a story that weaves through the works performed.

In addition to conventional classical concerts, the trio repeatedly takes side-trips to other regions with three different programmes for children, a Klezmer programme with Yiddish songs, a fairy-tale concert, genre-spanning evenings of satire or concerts that introduce the ensemble’s portfolio to audiences new to the listening experience

Discography

Mozart in nuce
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Divertimenti KV 439b No. 1-5, according to the 1795 manuscript from the library of the earls of Engl, Seisenburg, Upper Austria (Coviello, DDD, 2016)
Originally set for three basset horns, alternative instrumentations of the Terzetti KV 439b soon circulated. On their current CD, the Trio Lézard presents its own valid and virtuosic arrangement for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, which underlines the fascinating colorfulness and transparency of this lucid music in a new way.
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Paris 1937
Paris 1937, A Homage to "Trio d'anches de Paris" (Coviello, DDD, 2013)
On this CD, awarded the ECHO Klassik 2015, the Trio Lézard revives the colorful world of 1930s Paris. Original compositions and arrangements make it clear, why the line-up experienced a short but intense heyday back then with the legendary Trio d'anches de Paris.
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Bach, Trio Sonatas
Johann Sebastian Bach, Trio Sonatas BWV 525-530 (Coviello, DDD, 2004)
This music has rarely been heard as playful and sensual as with the Trio Lézard. (...) a rarely sparkling Bach, a music that is truly a pleasure to listen to. The three musicians cannot be outdone in their joy of playing.
(HR-Klassik)
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