DCD 067 - Henk Badings: Trio-Cosmos

Episode #67 of the "DCD Classical 'Cast" features an unusual composition and an unusual performance of it. Dutch composer Henk Badings wrote a series of sixteen trios for violins. These short works were designed for pedagogic purposes as well as being legitimate concert works. Their collective title, "Trio-Cosmos" is a nod to Bartok's "Microcosmos."

Violinist Vartan Manoogian set out to record all sixteen trios -- and to record three parts of each work. By doing so, he wanted to create not just a recording of each trio, but also "music-minus-one" versions that students could play along with. Unfortunately Manoogian died before completing his traversal, but the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, where he served on the faculty, released some of his finished trio recordings, on a CD titled "Henk Badings: Trio -Cosmos."

Bedings writes in a very accessible style, and Manoogian, playing with overdubs of himself, turns in a marvelous interpretation of these works.

- Ralph

This program we play:

Henk Bedings: Trio-Cosmos II, movement 1
Vartan Manoogian, violins
UWMSM

Henk Bedings: Trio-Cosmos III, movements 2 & 3
Vartan Manoogian, violins
UWMSM

Henk Bedings: Trio-Cosmos IV, movements 2 & 3
Vartan Manoogian, violins
UWMSM

Henk Bedings: Trio-Cosmos VI, movements 3 & 4
Vartan Manoogian, violins
UWMSM