Magnard: Piano Trio Op. 18; Violin Sonata Op. 13 / Triendl, Hornung, Laurenceau

Regular price $18.99
Label
CPO
Release Date
October 9, 2015
Format
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Since recordings of Albéric Magnard’s hefty 1904 Op. 18 piano trio are few and far between, any new contender is bound to get attention. On balance, violinist Geneviève Laurenceau, cellist Maximilian Hornung, and pianist Oliver Triendl give us the most consistently satisfying version from both sonic and interpretive perspectives.

The sprawling first movement’s potentially murky low-lying passages emerge with uncommon textural clarity, while the pages and pages encompassing obsessive dotted rhythms of the Schubert and Schumann finale ilk unfold in long paragraphs that never bog down. The musicians sensitively address the Chantant movement’s delicacy and subtle harmonic sleights-of-hand and balance the huge climaxes so that the soaring string melodies and sweeping piano arpeggios interact rather than compete.

If the Valse isn’t ideally lightfooted, I still appreciate the pointed contrapuntal repartée and timbrally differentiated pizzicatos. By contrast, the finale is both forceful and transparent, characterized by the performers’ intelligently contoured counterpoint. They also avoid the easy temptation to inflate the chorale-like final pages with false grandiosity.

Laurenceau and Triendl more than hold their own among the Violin Sonata’s (relatively) more extensive catalog choices. They effortlessly and insightfully navigate the music’s formidable technical demands and acres of textural thickness. Listen, for example, to the inner voices and bass lines coaxed out of the long slow movement’s cascades of descending piano arpeggios, and notice the scrutiny with which Laurenceau and Triendl handle the compact and complex Scherzo’s imitative passages. Colorful shaping also helps to intensify the finale’s fugal writing. After such a workout, you’d expect a big ending payoff. But no, Magnard again goes for the quiet close. In other words, no immediate standing ovation! However, I heartily applaud these excellent performances of underrated works that both deserve and reward any serious music lover’s attention.

-- ClassicsToday.com


Product Description:


  • Release Date: October 09, 2015


  • UPC: 761203776528


  • Catalog Number: 777765-2


  • Label: CPO


  • Number of Discs: 1


  • Composer: Alberic, Magnard


  • Performer: Laurenceau, Hornung, Triendl