Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A Minor Op.50 The Borodin Trio

It says much for the intelligence controlling this performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio that only the final return of the grand lament churns and heaves as so much of the playing elsewhere could so easily have done in the wrong hands. Throughout the long, generous first movement of Tchaikovsky’s memorial to Nikolai Rubinstein, Kempf reins in his grander manner to keep the argument on the move; French violinist Pierre Bensaid and Armenian cellist Alexander Chaushian may not be naturally big players, but they know how to spin a line and lift it when necessary into the higher life. Everything tells when it should, above all the one truly inspiring melody in Tchaikovsky’s most personal vein which eases the tension of a keenly sprung development and fades beautifully into the most sensitively handled coda I’ve heard on disc.

Highly praised for his orchestral works, Tchaikovsky never reached great popularity as a chamber music composer but, although his chamber output does not comprise many titles, it does includes works of distinct value, such as the beautiful but little known Trio for violin, cello and piano, Op.50 which we are featuring on this release. The work was composed in memory of his friend Nikolaj Rubinstein, who had passed away at the age of 46 and was considered at the time one of the greatest European pianists. It was premiered in Moscow on 30 October, 1882.

Ernest and persuasive while it's spinning, the better qualities of this 2006 recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio dissipate soon after the disc stops. With pianist Yefim Bronfman, violinist Gil Shaham, and cellist Truls Mørk as partners in the proceedings, the playing itself is first-class. Each is a highly regarded virtuoso, and collectively they form an agile but cogent chamber ensemble. Interpretively, their focus is on expressivity.

Ths collection of five of Brahms' chamber music masterpieces includes four with piano and all of these feature the supreme artistry of Andras Schiff. Both the quintets - for clarinet and piano - are included; the recording of the Clarinet Quintet with Peter Schmidl with members of the New Vienna Octet, receives its first release on CD.