This pair of Russian piano trios from contemporaries Tchaikovsky and
Arensky share a common theme, written in homage to deceased friends and
colleagues. They couldn’t receive finer advocacy.
Composed in 1894
Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1
in D minor, Op. 32 is
dedicated to the memory of the renowned Latvian/Russian cellist Karl
Davidoff who died in February 1889. Davidoff had been director of the Saint
Petersburg Conservatory whilst Arensky was studying there. Responding
eloquently to Arensky’s score the playing of Trio Wanderer has an unforced
and rarely encountered naturalness. The lengthy twelve minute opening
Allegro moderato is squally and passionate. It is played with
unquenchable spirit and real attention to detail. Displaying effortless
technical command the second movement
Scherzo-Allegro molto is
cheerful and elfin, reflecting Davidoff's high-spirited side. Marked
Elegia-Adagio the splendidly played third movement with its
distinctly lugubrious tread is deeply disconsolate and introspective. Coming
as a stark contrast the dramatic
Finale:
Allegro non
troppo, so invigorating and questing, has all the qualities of an
unruly dance. It is striped with four calmer episodes the final one of which
is meltingly tender.
At the prompting of his patron Madame von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote his
intensely elegiac
Piano Trio in A minor,
Op. 50 whilst in Rome in the winter of 1881/82. The score was
subtitled ‘
In memory of a great artist’: Nikolai Rubinstein, his
teacher and friend who had died suddenly in March 1881 in Paris. This
substantial score, lasting here over forty-two minutes, is cast in two
movements. There's a
Pezzo elegiaco followed by a theme and
variations with a
Finale. The Trio Wanderer exercise a steely grip
on this onerous A minor score. The opening movement is an example of
romanticism at its most fervent. The second boasts an attractive theme
followed by a gratifying interplay during the eleven varied and brilliant
variations. To
Finale is bold and excitingly robust. At around
point 5:00 the music slows and calms right down for a solemn funeral march
leaving a sense of sorrow and resignation.
The sound quality is excellent, vividly clearly and splendidly balanced.
Accomplished and intensely compelling, these performances are as smart as a
whip.
Michael Cookson
Previous review:
Simon Thompson
