This wonderful composition is performed in such a polished, faultless, superbly paced, and pitch perfect way by The Icicle Creek Piano Trio that it becomes a totally absorbing, and deeply moving experience.
Collectively they possess a deep understanding of the piece, and succeed in drawing from it every intended expression and emotion. It is as though the trio are in direct communication with Schubert himself.
This recording is truly exceptional. Both the Ravel and particularly the Schubert represent interpretations of the highest possible quality and is therefore strongly recommended.
The Icicle Creek Piano Trio have their own website where you can find details of this recording and their forthcoming concert appearances. Their label Con Brio Recordings have an extensive catalogue of quality classical recordings on their own website.
The Merling Trio: Postcards in E, Dvorak and Shostakovich. (MSR Classics, MS 1319)
It is not often that the same article can cover two such distinguished ensembles as I am privileged to be able to do today.
The Merling Trio has previously released a number of critically acclaimed recordings. The trio are violinist Renata Artman Knific, cellist Bruce Uchimura, and pianist Susan Wiersma Uchimura. They are resident at the School of Music at Western Michigan University and have toured not only the US, but also Canada and Europe.
They open with Dvorak’s “Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 90 ‘Dumky’”. The term ‘Dumky’ is a plural form of ‘Dumka’ which is a musical genre derived from Slavic folk traditions. Composed in 1891 Dvorak’s piece is a series of six movements or ‘Dumky’. In other words, thoughtful often melancholic sections interspersed with livelier, even turbulent music whilst never losing the prevailing atmosphere of sadness and lament.
The Merling Trio deliver a precise and yet fluent rendition of this ever shifting composition. A perfect example of this occurs during the first ‘Dumky’ when a lively polka emerges from the mournful opening. The trio carry us effortlessly through these rapidly changing emotions whilst elegantly capturing the romance behind each movement.
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