Mendelssohn & Schubert - Piano Trios - Supraphon: SU40082 - CD or download

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Ardent, emotionally vibrant, spiritually probing and rhythmically vital, they combine great polyphonic clarity with an almost orchestral breadth and depth of sound, the strings moving seamlessly... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2010, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 31st May 2010
Catalogue No: SU40082
Label: Supraphon
Length: 73 minutes

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Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49

Work length28:47

$3.20

$4.20

Smetana Trio

I. Molto allegro ed agitato

Track length9:27

$0.80

$1.05

II. Andante con moto tranquillo

Track length7:06

$0.80

$1.05

III. Scherzo. Leggiero e vivace

Track length3:37

$0.80

$1.05

IV. Finale. Allegro assai appasionato

Track length8:37

$0.80

$1.05

Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat major, D929

Work length45:04

$3.20

$4.20

Smetana Trio

I. Allegro

Track length15:15

$0.80

$1.05

II. Andante con moto

Track length10:15

$0.80

$1.05

III. Scherzo. Allegro moderato

Track length6:32

$0.80

$1.05

IV. Allegro moderato

Track length13:02

$0.80

$1.05

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After focusing on the Czech trio literature (on highly acclaimed recordings ranging from Dvorák to Martinu) and paying a visit to Tchaikovsky (SU 3949-2), the Smetana Trio has turned to the very heart of the Romantic repertoire for their newest album. Both of the pieces on this disc rank among the most frequently played trios; in both of them, the composers succeeded in striking a rare balance in the texture as well as in the instrumentation, placing all three instruments on an even footing. The success of the Schubert trio, which makes use of Swedish folk melodies, is attested to by the fact that it was the only one of the composer’s works to be published abroad during his lifetime.

Coincidentally the piece received Robert Schumann’s highest praise in his comment on the Mendelssohn trio: “It is a contemporary masterpiece, a work such as Beethoven’s trios were in their day, or Schubert’s Trio in E flat Major, a very beautiful composition which still pleases grandchildren and great-grandchildren years afterwards.” Both pieces find excellent performers in the Smetana Trio, with its sense of ensemble playing. In Schumann’s words, may Mendelssohn and Schubert “still please grandchildren and greatgrandchildren years afterwards” on this recording as well.

Reviews

August 2010

Ardent, emotionally vibrant, spiritually probing and rhythmically vital, they combine great polyphonic clarity with an almost orchestral breadth and depth of sound, the strings moving seamlessly from the soloistic to the sonorously blended...a well-nigh ideal performance.

Awards Issue 2010

The Smetana's reading of the D minor Trio is forthright and strongly soloistic...It's an interpretation full of incident: the opening movement is less a single sweep than a series of episodes

13th June 2010

I like the Smetana Trio’s no-nonsense approach. They play incisively and with plenty of passion, offering variety of dynamic and colour. But there’s also an earthy unpretentiousness to their music-making.

20th June 2010

...ensemble is everything; the players serving the music, rather than the music serving the players.

Mendelssohn & Schubert - Piano Trios

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