The three ladies constituting
the Xyrion Trio are each well-known
artists in their own right. This is
especially true of Maria Kliegel who
is supposed to be the most recorded
cellist in history. As a trio they made
their début in 2001 and as far
as I know this is their first recording.
I hope that there will
eventually be a complete "cycle"
of the Beethoven trios – the quotation
marks implying that the master’s works
for piano trio do not really form a
cycle in the way the symphonies and
the piano sonatas do, showing a consistent
development. There are three works from
his youth, his opus 1, and then a jump
to these mature compositions, written
when he already had the first six symphonies
behind him, and then a further jump
to the masterpiece, the "Archduke".
Besides those there are a number of
minor works, one of them appearing here
as a kind of extended encore.
There is keen competition
in this field, many permanent ensembles
and ad hoc trios having recorded
some or all of this music in the distant
and near past. I have always had a soft
spot for the 35-year-old DG set by Wilhelm
Kempff, Henryk Szeryng and Pierre Fournier
– a star constellation if ever there
was one. These legendary individualists,
who as far as I know rarely played together,
managed to adjust to each other’s temperaments
and delivered deeply satisfying readings,
well-balanced and still spontaneous
sounding. I returned to them before
setting my teeth into this new recording,
and they seemed as close to the ideal
as one could imagine. However playing
the Xyrion recording immediately afterwards
I was just as impressed.
The more well-known
of the two main works here, the "Ghost
Trio", is the more dramatic piece
with the outer movements (there are
only three) marked Allegro vivace
e con brio and Presto respectively.
"Vivace e con brio" it certainly
is, almost approaching "presto",
in the first movement. Kempff – Szeryng
– Fournier are no dawdlers either but
by comparison they sound a little heavier.
The final "presto" shows the
same differences: Xyrion are fast and
eager, even forceful, making the most
of the drama, while Kempff & Co.
are gentler, considerably slower, more
reflective. I can’t honestly say that
I prefer one version to the other. It’s
more a matter of two different approaches:
three still young ladies vs. three elderly
gentlemen may give an idea of what I
mean.
The eerie atmosphere
of the middle movement, marked Largo
assai ed espressivo, is well caught
by both groups. The Xyrion is a mite
slower in their basic tempo, at least
according to timings, but in effect
the difference is negligible. This utterly
original movement, very much pointing
forward to the romantic era, requires
a well knit ensemble. That is what it
gets from both camps, but while the
Xyrion are the more overtly dramatic
in the outer movements, Kempff and his
friends seem to have a more natural
relation to the ghosts in this movement.
As I have already implied: it’s not
a matter of swings and roundabouts,
it’s rather two different interpretations,
equally valid.
This also goes for
the E flat major trio, which undeservedly
has been put in the shade of its more
outgoing companion piece. A work that
begins with a slow introduction – marked
Poco sostenuto – followed by
an Allegro that is qualified
by ma non troppo, is bound to
be less immediately approachable. However
once you have got into this composition
it grows on you and in the end reveals
more depths. This is more noticeable
in the second movement, which begins
rather gently but there is also darker
weft woven into the fabric. The third
movement is, in the hands of the Xyrion,
more romantically dramatic as opposed
to the gentlemen’s more balanced classicism.
The gradually heightened intensity through
the composition reaches its climax in
the final Allegro and here I
can’t find a clear winner either, but
for once I have to refer to an outsider:
the London-based Kungsbacka Piano Trio,
which I heard in concert less than a
year ago in this particular work. They
played this Finale at white heat,
without safety net, with an intensity
I have never experienced – live or on
records. It is only to be hoped that
they will be asked to set it down on
disc.
The Variations Op.
44, also in E flat major, thought
to have been sketched in 1792, is a
slighter piece, but highly entertaining,
giving the three players more exposure
as soloists. The fourteen variations,
most of them very short, are well contrasted.
Towards the end, in variation XIII,
comes a reminder that life is not just
jolly. Then the mood changes and the
last, and by far the longest, variation
is a rousing finale – but in the middle,
after a long pause, the mood from the
foregoing variation returns. A good-humoured
flourish rounds off the composition.
Individually and as
a trio Nina Tichman, Ida Bieler and
Maria Kliegel are highly accomplished.
My inability to make a clear choice
between them and Kempff–Szeryng–Fournier
is in itself a recommendation. The recording
is ideally balanced, made in the grateful
acoustics of the Clara Wieck Auditorium
in Sandhausen, a venue that Naxos are
using quite frequently at present.
Keith Anderson contributes
one of his valuable liner notes and
at super budget price nobody needs to
hesitate. Buy it and enjoy! I see that
my colleague Colin Clarke made it "Bargain
of the Month" some time ago. I
can’t agree more.
Göran Forsling
see also review
by Colin Clarke
October Bargain of the month
Xyrion Trio (Nina Tichman, piano; Ida Bieler,
violin; Maria Kliegel, cello) 
