Diamonds in a Haystack
Arno BABAJANIAN (1921-1983)
Piano trio in F-sharp minor (1952) [23:06]
Jean FRANCAIX (1912-1997)
Piano trio (1986) [17:22]
Paul SCHOENFIELD (b.1947)
Café Music (1987) [15:52]
Trio Solis (Corinne Stillwell, violin; Gregory Sauer, cello; Read Gainsford,
piano)
rec. 10-11 May 2010 and 5-7 March 2011, Opperman Music Hall, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
MSR CLASSICS MS 1418 [56:20]
This CD brings together three gems. Arno Babajanian’s piano trio begins
with a largo redolent of Rachmaninov, and continues in a romantic fashion
which must have been long out of style when he wrote the work in 1952. The
composer, who was “discovered” by Khachaturian, unites each movement
with a motto theme and spins long-limbed melodies for each instrument in turn;
notable moments include the first movement’s abrupt ending and the andante’s
glorious main tune. It sounds a bit like “I have a love” from
West Side Story. Jean Françaix’s trio has the neo-classical
simplicity and bubbling humor which makes almost all of his music a delight
to hear. The outer movements have rocking pizzicato for cello and there’s
urbane French charm all over the place. Then we have Paul Schoenfield’s
Café Music, one of the funniest and most good-natured pieces
by any living composer. There are many influences on this album, from the
Armenian mystique of the Babajanian to the outright jazziness of Café
Music, with its quasi-improvisatory solos and wistful evocations of klezmer
bands, Broadway nights, and old Vienna. Competition is more fierce in Schoenfield
than the others: the Trio Eroica have made it a staple of their repertoire,
and there is a Trio Solisti album on Bridge, but this effort has nothing to
fear except the fact that ‘Trio Solisti’ and ‘Trio Solis’
both recording the same piece is very confusing.
The Babajanian is an awkward fit in the program because it doesn’t share
in the light, dashing, witty mood of the other two works, but it’s none
the worse for that. So this is a very enjoyable hour of chamber music, even
more so because it’s a great pleasure to spend that hour in the company
of these three players. The Trio Solis, a group of teachers from Florida State
University who banded together in 2008 (Corinne Stillwell, violin; Gregory
Sauer, cello; Read Gainsford, piano), are fully alive to the romantic moods
of Babajanian and the charms of the other two composers. They are very well-recorded,
which makes this an extremely easy disc to like and want others to like.
This is a short review, but I don’t have much to say except that I liked
this music a lot, it doesn’t require much description to appreciate,
if you haven’t heard it you very much should, and the CD is terrific.
The booklet is very well-done. And then there’s the amusing cover, which
shows the players surrounded by scores for piano trios. Look closely: I see
Brahms, Beethoven (twice), Takemitsu, and Tchaikovsky, but not Babajanian,
Françaix, or Schoenfield! Let’s hope it’s a teaser for
their next album.
Brian Reinhart
The three piano trios are gems, two of them brimming with wit and merriment,
and all well-played.