Beethoven & Ravel: Piano Trios (CD review)

Beethoven: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3; Ravel: Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello. Claremont Trio. Tria TR3862.

The Claremont Trio, comprised of Donna Kwong, piano, and twin sisters Emily and Julia Bruskin on violin and cello respectively, formed in 1999 and have received wide acclaim ever since. Listening to this album of Beethoven and Ravel piano trios, one can understand why.

The interpretations are gentle and sensitive, but by no means do they lack impact, as the final movements of both the Beethoven and Ravel attest. The three women have performed together for over a decade since their Juilliard debut, and their playing has merged into one voice, sonorous, delicate, nuanced, and powerful.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) wrote his Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 1, No. 3 in 1795, and it is the more traditional of the two pieces on the disc, a large-scale piano trio in four movements. One of Beethoven's teachers, Joseph Haydn, advised him not to publish it because he felt it was too complex for the public to understand. That's how far ahead of its time the work was. Beethoven ignored him, and today, as I say, it sounds fairly conventional, though still brilliant.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) wrote his Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello in 1914 before setting off for World War II. Although it is also in four movements, it is more lithe, more sensuous, and more exotic than the Beethoven piece, with beautifully lyrical rhythms and sinuous melodic lines. The Claremont Trio play both works with grace, refinement, feeling, and character, to be sure, but also with an assured virtuosity. They are a pleasure.

Recorded in May, 2010, by producer and engineer Adam Abeshouse, the sound is close enough to provide a reasonable degree of detail and definition and distanced enough to offer a compensating warmth and bloom. The result is a natural, realistic response and perspective, making for highly comfortable and satisfying listening.

JJP