[.ca] Tchaikovsky,Rachmaninoff

One of the greatest trios ever written.:
The Tchaikovsky Trio is a masterpiece -- one of the most beautiful pieces of chamber music ever written. I would put it on a par with Beethoven's Archduke Trio -- although the two works are quite different. Tchaikovsky wrote this work in memory of his mentor and friend Nicholas Rubinstein and -- perhaps for this highly-emotional reason -- he pored all of his considerable genius into it. If you are not familiar with this beautiful work please give it a try. You may find that you love it as much as I do. Although the Rachmaninov Trio is not on the same exalted plane as that by Tchaikovsky (but then very few trios are) it is a quite pleasant filler. The performances by the Moscow Trio are quite good. They obviously know these Russian works quite well, and I suspect from their playing that they love the Tchaikovsky Trio and recognize it for the unique masterpiece which it is.

Not great, not bad:
Middle-of-the-road, enjoyable renditions of the Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff that unfortunately are also possibly a bit too anonymous. Pleasant as background and warmly recorded, this disc is nice while it's on and then forgotten as soon as it's removed. Still, the way they build the variations in the second movement of the Tchaikovsky is fun. Argerich/Kremer/Miasky are more impassioned, but more than that, they bring more *personality* to the work, and I'd recommend that overall more. (It also has the electricity of being live, but the sonics are excellent and the audience is silent.) As for the work itself, it requires stamina. It's long, and loquacious, as Bruno Walter might say. Sometimes Tchaikovsky, especially in his earlier-to-middle works, let form get away from him. We're nearly approaching Mahler-lengths here, and this is a chamber work. Still, it can be enchanting, if the mood is right and the seat cushions are soft.

• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: I. Pezzo elegiaco: Moderato assai; Allegro guisto
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Theme: Andante mon moto
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Variation I.
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var.II: Piu Mosso
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. III: Allegro moderato
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. IV: L'istesso tempo
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. V: L'istesso tempo
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. VI: Tempo di Valse
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - VII: Allegro moderato
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - VIII: Fuga: Allegro moderato
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. IX: Andante flebile, ma non tanto
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. X: Tempo di Mazurka
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. A. Tema con Variazioni - Var. XI: Moderato
• Trio In A Minor, Op.50: II. B. Variazione Finale a Coda: Allegro risoluto e con fuoco
• Trio No. 1 In G Minor: Lento Lugubre