Dmitri Shostakovich was only 17 years old when he completed his piano studies in Petrograd. In the same year he published his first piano trio, nonetheless already as Opus 8. The Trio Alba juxtaposes this youthful work with the Trio Op. 67 from 1944, and with Bedřich Smetana's Piano Trio Op. 15 expands the worthwhile view of the chamber music of the Slavic cultural region. Smetana's music is Slavic: the Furiant, a lively Bohemian dance, characterizes two of the three movements. The work has a sad background - Smetana's daughter died shortly before, only four years old. The trio is dedicated to her memory, lamenting phrases and groans express the pain. Wide soloistic passages convey the impression of great loneliness. And sonorous beauty. Shostakovich's Trio op. 67 also commemorates a deceased person; the composer's deep consternation over the sudden death of a friend is expressed not only in a sensitive letter to the widow. Like a heart-rending lament, the strings play fortissimo con sordino shortly before the end - a fascinating sound effect that goes through marrow and bone. The Trio Alba is unreservedly engaged in the depths of these states of the soul. And also the rapturousness of a young love, which permeates Shostakovich's first trio, finds adequate expression with the three Austrians.

Classical Music

In their native repertoire they are well nigh incomparable. I have not heard an account of “From My Life” that prepares us so starkly, in its turbulent opening Allegro vivo appassionato, for its tragic outcome. And it’s hard to imagine a more compelling or harrowing take on the less frequently programmed D minor quartet.

– Sunday Times

The quartet understand absolutely the plasticity of Smetana’s vision and convey it unerringly, unshrinkingly – and in some ways even more convincingly than the Talich, which is saying something. This is extraordinarily bold playing – and they truly capture the sense that Smetana is writing symphonic quartet music.

– Gramophone

MA VLAST (MY COUNTRY)

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Bernstein's tendency to program and record pieces that were his favorites may benefit us all. This recording brings together Bernstein performances of somewhat diverse composers that work well as a single disc. The 'Slavonic Dances' of Dvorak crackle with orchestral color and force, and leave an appetite for more. The 'Rustic Wedding' Symphony of Goldmark bubbles with charm and lilt under the baton of Bernstein. And the 'Children's Prayer' of Humperdinck floats in an ethereal grace and heightened musicality in an impressive way that many have missed.
As usual, Bernstein finds what others may have overlooked. He sees the beauty in the details, and such details are exactly what allow these pieces to rise to the levels imagined by the men who composed them. Bernstein knew that. His renditions never fail to interest, and these New York recordings are no exception.