This is the third disc
in an enterprising cycle of Beethoven's
piano trios performed by the Grieg Trio
of - where else? - Norway. There are
a plethora of cycles available in all
price brackets. EMI alone has two complete
cycles available on its Gemini label
from Barenboim/du Pré/Zukerman
and Ashkenazy/Perlman/Harrell, as well
as a newly released pair of CDs featuring
the Chung
Trio. This Simax cycle, though,
has a distinguishing feature. Like Michael
Gielen's Mahler cycle on Hänssler,
the Grieg Trio's Beethoven cycle couples
each of the master's piano trios with
a work in the same medium by a contemporary
composer. The first instalment, released
in 2002, coupled Beethoven's C Minor
Trio, Op.1, No.3, the Kakadu Variations
and the early Allegretto WoO
39 with Jouni Kaipainen's Trio III.
A second disc, released last year, saw
Beethoven's Op.1 No.2 and Op.70 No.1
"The Ghost" framing
Peter Maxwell-Davies' A Voyage to
Fair Isle. With this release the
other Op.70 trio is paired with a new
trio by Norwegian composer Lasse Thoresen.
This performance of
the Archduke is refined, relaxed
and brimful of quiet contentment. It
almost sounds like Beethoven really
meant to write this trio in F major
rather than B flat, so close is the
mood of this performance to that of
the Spring Sonata and the Pastoral
Symphony. It is not so much that
the Grieg Trio are slower than their
rivals on record, but more a question
of emphasis. The Chung Trio, for example,
take roughly the same amount of time
over each movement, but find an energy
in the music that makes their account
of this genial piece consistently exciting.
The Grieg Trio do not so much miss this
energy as leave it to one side. Overall
they prefer to concentrate on the gentle
flow of Beethoven's ideas, emphasising
the moderato in the allegro
moderato of the opening and closing
movements, and the cantabile of
the andante cantabile third movement.
The latent energy does emerge in the
scherzo, which is nicely pointed, but
even here the effect is charming rather
than jocose. The Grieg Trio's approach
makes for an interpretative point of
difference which may, depending on your
position on beautiful Beethoven, persuade
you to purchase.
Thoresen's The Descent
of Luminous Waters arcs in a single
movement through an impressionistic
sound world. The title is more than
pretty language, as the piece is in
essence a tone poem for piano trio.
In quieter passages, as at the opening,
you can almost see splashes and the
reflection of light off the water's
surface, with a burbling wash of notes
issuing from the piano underneath the
dancing violin and cello lines. The
crystalline quality of the writing for
violin in particular recalls the sound
world of Ravel here, while the spread
of the harmonic fabric reminds me of
Takemitsu. Rougher music, like water
cascading over and being churned up
by rocks and debris, begins to alternate
with the quieter splashy music, and
here the thumping chords from piano
and strings take on an angry minimalist
colour. Thoresen's idiom is not at all
difficult, but nor is it facile. This
is engaging music that holds the attention
for its full 26 minute duration and
is a worthy addition to the piano trio
literature.
In both works, the
Grieg Trio play with tight ensemble
and – particularly in the Beethoven
– genuinely beautiful tone. With detailed
liner notes by Malcolm MacDonald, and
clean recorded sound (mastered at Abbey
Road), this really is quite an attractive
disc.
Tim Perry
for details
Grieg Trio 
