Ernest CHAUSSON (1855-1899)
Concert in D major for Violin, Piano and String Quartet Op. 21 (1889-91) [42:15]
Piano Trio in G minor Op. 3 (1881) [34:04]
Eric Larsen (piano); Stephen Shipps (violin); Wihan String Quartet (Concert)
Meadowmount Trio (Piano Trio)
NAXOS 8.572468 [76:20]
Chausson did not commit himself to a musical career until he was twenty-six
years old. The first fruits of that resolution were the fine songs of Op.2
and the Piano Trio Op.3. While the latter work possesses definite structural
immaturities and is occasionally melodramatic, it also shows that the composer’s
melodic gift and surpassing sense of thematic development were in evidence
right from the beginning.
The introduction to Chausson’s Piano Trio is based on two themes that reappear
throughout the work, generating other themes and insuring thematic unity.
The stormy, almost morose, first movement proper demonstrates the composer’s
already distinctive voice, especially in the development. The scherzo second
movement has none of the drama of the first, being a rollicking and affectionate
parody of the styles of some of the composer’s contemporaries. The massive
slow movement starts out in a mood similar to that of the first, but becomes
even more elegiac and wistful. The emotional level occasionally becomes strident,
but the composer’s sincerity is unquestionable. The animé last movement
starts off cheerfully, but themes from the first and third movements keep
popping up, increasing the level of seriousness, and the movement ends quite
austerely.
By 1889, almost a decade after the Piano Trio, Chausson had reached full artistic
maturity. This is evident in the Concert, his best-known chamber work. The
piece is not a concerto in the usual sense, but a sort of update of the concerto
grosso, with the six instruments combining in different ways as well as playing
all together. The first movement’s motto theme undergoes wonderful transformations
in combination with a more lyrical second theme. The Sicilienne forms a gentle
interlude between the weightier first and third movements, with the latter
being something of a lament. The final movement continues the seriousness
of its predecessor, but the overall feeling gradually becomes one of
tremendous vitality.
The Meadowmount Trio - their name derives from long-term residence at the
music camp of that name - shows a of lot energy in their performance and Eric
Larsen is especially to be commended for keeping things moving, although even
he flags in the last movement. Larsen and the Meadowmount’s Stephen Shipps
join the esteemed Wihan Quartet in the Concert and overall the six players
form a cohesive unit, achieving quite a distinctive performance. Recording
quality is fairly sumptuous by Naxos standards, although the violins are somewhat
shrill. Altogether, a pair of moving and exciting performances.
William Kreindler
Impassioned and incisive performances of two of Chausson’s chamber masterworks.