The Mendelssohn first appeared in this country in harness with the Ravel Trio, and the Tchaikovsky was listed in the 1952 World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music as available on five 78rpm discs in America. In fact, it is only in recent years that the record companies have paid much attention to the Tchaikovsky and as it so happens I did not know either of the present performances.

I began the Mendelssohn with the keenest anticipation but to be frank I remained unmoved on first hearing, though the playing as such is pretty dazzling—as one would expect from "the million dollar trio". The scherzo in particular struck me as overdriven and wanting in charm, and certainly not chamber-music playing of the kind Cortot, Thibaud and Casals gave us: their 1927 account of this Trio (last available on HMV RLS723, 1/77) had a wonderful sense of intimacy and a sparkling freshness. I turned up the GRAMOPHONE for November 1952 and saw that Hubert Foss spoke of it as "magnificent—authoritatively played con amore but without a trace of sentimentality", and in a way he is right. But there is not quite the sense of intimate, spontaneous discourse of the earlier record. The second movement is by far the best thing and brings some highly expressive playing.

The Tchaikovsky is hardly less high-powered and while lost in admiration for the golden tone of both string players and the dexterity of Rubin stein, I found I was less moved by the performance than such recent versions as those by the Beaux Arts (Philips) and Barenboim/Zukerman/du Pré (EMI), and the Perlman/Ashkenazy/Harrell account, also on EMI (12/87) which is complete. (Rubinstein, Heifetz and Piatigorsky make a substantial Cut in the finale.)


Both recordings were made in August 1950 in a dry acoustic and perhaps my responses have been affected by that. Some allowance must be made for the two-dimensional quality and lack of range, particularly as far as the piano timbre is concerned. Both Heifetz and Piatigorsky are glorious, though the former tends to dominate at times and even if you share something of my slight disappointment at the Mendelssohn, the rich sonorous timbre of Heifetz and Piatigorsky is seductive.

-- Gramophone [9/1989]