May 7, 2016

  • Trio Celeste Play Beethoven, Dvorak, and More

     

    Beethoven/Dvorak and Constellations
    Trio Celeste: Iryna Krechkovsky, violin. Ross Gasworth, cello. Kevin Kwan Loucks, piano.
    Navona Records 6030
    Total Time:  79:58
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Trio Celeste is gaining a great deal of critical notice from their exciting concerts of chamber music performed in the Los Angeles area.  They are the “Ensemble in Residence” at UC-Irvine.  The present recording was made last summer (2015) and features the group in two repertoire works which bookend a contemporary set of variations.  The popular Piano Trio in G, Op. 1, no. 2 by Beethoven and the “Dumky” Trio of Dvorak frame the more modern work here.  There are plenty of recordings of both here and so most will have a favorite recording or two already.  What Navona’s pairing here allows is for us to hear the group explore three distinct works and a variety of styles to thus show off the versatility of the group.  The works were part of the group’s concert performances that helped further shape and prepare them for the recording.  It is obvious that not only are they fully engaging musically, but they help make the little humorous moments stand out but the energy and excitement that they bring to the music.

    Beethoven’s second piano trio is a rather monumental work.  Composed in 1795, it was performed at Prince Lichnowski’s court with Haydn in attendance.  The four movements follow that of a symphony with a touching slow movement and fast-paced scherzo before the exhilarating finale.  Though the keys of the movements themselves is rather odd (the slow movement being in a remote key of E Major!).  The unusualness is thought to be somewhat referring to a “Gypsy” trio by Haydn.  It is also the first piano trio cast in this four-movement style.  While the piano takes on more an “orchestral” role of accompaniment, there are a variety of wonderful moments between the violin and cello with the latter’s expressive qualities being fully explored.  The opening movement contains some crisp articulation with just the right balance of warmth for the more lyrical lines.  That beautiful attention to melodic sweep and sensitive playing bodes equally well for the following slow movement.  In several places motifs are transformed from one instrument to another with a variety of witty compositional choices.  Ideas in piano appear in the violin, thematic ideas show up in surprising ways (especially in the finale), and things tend to bubble right along.  All of these things together help explain the work’s contemporary popularity.  And the finale, with all its musical witticisms, pulled off very well here, makes it a great work to explore chamber music for new listeners as well.

    There are very few notes for the recording which is obviously being put out to provide a memento for concert fans.  The central work is an exploration of the slow-movement theme from the earlier trio.  Constellations is a work that explores that theme through the musical language of ten composers.  The theme itself is not presented here (one would need to double back to remind themselves on the release.)  Not much else is said of the variations themselves here either.  There are a couple of bad puns in the subtitles: “Musiqawi Largo” (Mike Block) and “How Far a Lar Go” (Peter Erskine, with its folk like African suggestions) to touch a few.  The music moves from intriguingly “Ethereal”—as that variation by Eric Guinivan suggests—or “Moonrise” reflections (Fred Hersch) and the concluding “Still Variation” (Pierre Jalbert).  Eugene Drucker’s variation provides the opening variation, “Paraphrase”, which somewhat helps set the stage.  There is a Paganini-like solo violin variation (Paul Dooley), and a dance variation by Christina Spinei (“If Beethoven Danced Merengue”).  Variations by Samuel Adler and Jim Scully round things off.  Surprisingly, the set holds together fairly well moving between mostly tonal modern styles with a few dissonant moments, but nothing terribly cerebral making it easier to follow how Beethoven’s theme is being twisted and varied with each given roughly a minute or so to accomplish its tasks.

    Finally, we get a performance of Dvorak’s Fourth Piano Trio in e, Op. 90 referred to as the “Dumky” (1890-1891).  The subtitle refers to the folk-like nature that inspires the work, a Ukrainian lament (dumka).  The piece is less interested in the sort of formal considerations of a trio.  Instead it is a series of six movements that work more like a suite.  Each has a slow opening that is generally followed by rhythmic dance sections.  The shifts in mood from the heartfelt slower ideas into the dancing sections is often quite touching with beautiful moments for both cello and violin.  It is a rather interesting exercise in changes of mood that are all handled quite well here by Trio Celeste.

    Fans of the trio will certainly find much here to enjoy as they reacquaint themselves with the works featured on the group’s recent concerts.  But, others will also discover an engrossing performance of the Beethoven, a relaxed and engaging set of new variations, and a fabulous reading of the Dvorak.  The ample playing time is also something to be commended.  The sound of the recording manages a near perfect balance between all three performers with just the right ambient balance.  Trio Celeste is obviously a group worth paying attention to and if they are in your area, a ticket to hear them live would be money well spent!  For those of us unable to do so, this studio recording will have to do for now.