Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Trio No. 5 in D, Op. 70 No. 1, Ghost (1808) [22:51]
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Dumky Trio, Op.90 (1891) [31:39]
Bohuslav MARTINŮ (1890-1959)
Piano Trio No.2 in D minor, H327 (1950) - Third movement [4:34]
The Czech Trio (Ivan štraus (violin): Saša Večtomov (cello): Josef
Páleníček (piano))
rec. 15 October 1972, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
ORCHESTRAL CONCERT CDs CD4/2009 [59:27]
There were successive incarnations of the legendary Czech Trio, one of whose
instigators was that wonderful player Karel Hoffmeister. The most august line-up
was that of Jan Heřman, Stanislav Novák and Ladislav Zelenka - three
figures steeped in greatness. And the group continues today. For many years after
Heřman’s death - and there really needs to be a reissue series devoted
to his memory - the mantle of pianist fell on Josef Páleníček.
By the time of this live concert, given at the QEH in London in 1972 the violinist
was Ivan štraus and the cellist Saša Večtomov. Of the three štraus
is the only one still alive.
The centrepiece of the concert was that most hardy and dutiful example of the
native chamber repertoire, the Dumky Trio. They left behind an eminent recording
of it on Supraphon 1 11 1089, and I would like to think - but can’t be
sure - that a broadcast performance or three must exist in the archives in Prague.
If so, things have been slow in coming forth. This is a typically expressive
and tangy performance, so full of subtle gestures and rhythmic nuance that one
can almost take these things for granted. The ensemble had been well established
by this point, and the sense of narrative continuity is absolute. There is no
sense of sectionality, even in a work as potentially difficult as this to corral
and ensure an inevitable arch-like structure. Characterisation is optimum; štraus
can turn on asperity when needed, his tone even taking on a resinous commitment.
Páleníček is a lynchpin, his treble colouration in the Andante
piquant, whilst Večtomov’s cello imitates a guitar thrum with apt
openheartedness. There is potency and vivid pleasure throughout the performance,
the accelerando into the March being especially commanding. The melancholy of
the music flows naturally and freely. There are two tape blips; at 2:15 in the
second movement and at 2:39 in the finale but they pass rapidly.
The Ghost Trio was also on the programme. It receives a reading of brisk
direction, without becoming terse or inexpressive. It’s certainly relatively
unsentimental and mercifully unindulgent. Those who clamour for the heavenly
length of the Goldberg-Casals-Serkin reading of 1954 will find this later traversal
to be altogether too terse. But conversely the Czech Trio refuse to make a meal
of the writing, and their concision sits better with our current expectations.
I found it a direct and affirming reading, excellently played. The encore is
a single movement from Martinů’s D minor Trio - unexpected and hence
doubly welcome. The Ravel Trio was played at the concert but is not included
for reasons of space.
So splendid a group as this should be represented by a sheaf of recordings. This
one fills a real need and catches them on the wing, on tour, and on splendid
form. The recording is equally vivid and allows one to hear considerable detail
without detracting in any way from the ensemble sureties on show. It goes to
show how immediate, and yet sympathetic, good microphone placement can be. This
excellent disc earns my warm admiration.
Jonathan Woolf