Auerbach Weinberg Dvorak Trio Zimbalist

Named after the legendary violinist Adolf Busch (1891-1952), this young trio has already established itself on the international scene as one of the most talented of the new generation. Under the aegis of Alpha Classics and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the group set itself a challenge: to record the complete chamber music with keyboard of Antonín Dvorák. They managed to complete this project in four years and four albums: two albums of the piano trios, one of the piano quartets and one of the quintets. They were joined where necessary by the violist Miguel da Silva (founder of the famous Quatuor Ysaÿe) and the violinist Maria Milstein.

This two-CD set pulls together the Borodin Trio's recordings of all four of Dvorák's piano trios into one package. These were originally recorded between 1983 and 1992, and despite the different dates, there is a consistency of sound in them. That sound has an ambient coldness that isn't warmed up by the music, and it balances the instruments almost equally, to the point where when the piano has the melody it doesn't stick out much from the violin and cello. It leaves the impression that hearing the Borodin Trio live would be the best way to fully appreciate its performance, because even if it were in a bad sounding hall, you would still be able to see their reactions to the music and each other.

The Beaux Arts, late 1980s-style, is recognizably the same creature as it was at the start of the decade, or even two decades ago. The fingers of Menahem Pressler still twinkle away, the violin and cello exchange angst for mischief in volatile and ebullient alternation. The most obvious comparison for their latest release is the identical Dvorak/Mendelssohn coupling of 1980 on Pearl. Then Daniel Guilet was the violinist, and his comparatively small voice and old-style sweetness make their mark: this Dvorak is a small-scale, kid-glove performance, with the gentle acoustic recessing the violin even further and softening the high-spirited Dumka episodes.

If you’ve not previously heard of the Sitkovetsky Trio, it’s because this is the ensemble’s recording debut. Formed in 2007 by three young musicians who met at Menuhin School in England, the group won first prize at the International Commerzbank Chamber Music Award just one year later, and then the NORDMETALL Chamber Music Award at the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival one year after that in 2009.

The Beaux Arts, late 1980s-style, is recognizably the same creature as it was at the start of the decade, or even two decades ago. The fingers of Menahem Pressler still twinkle away, the violin and cello exchange angst for mischief in volatile and ebullient alternation. The most obvious comparison for their latest release is the identical Dvorak/Mendelssohn coupling of 1980 on Pearl. Then Daniel Guilet was the violinist, and his comparatively small voice and old-style sweetness make their mark: this Dvorak is a small-scale, kid-glove performance, with the gentle acoustic recessing the violin even further and softening the high-spirited Dumka episodes.