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A Pair of Trios Worth Knowing

DAVID BRYSON | 11/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Reissued on Hyperion's budget label Helios, this CD is an especially welcome addition to the catalog. While Clara Schumann's very competent Trio is reminiscent of Robert's Trio No. 3, it lacks the memorable melodies and much of the drama of the latter work. I generally find that Clara, as a composer, rightly worked in the shadow of her husband, and here is a good example--a work that doesn't really measure up to the least-popular of Robert's fine trios. But with Fanny--who worked in her famous brother's shadow throughout her composing career, was discouraged by him from publishing her works, and only came to publish win the last year of her life--the story is different. Her Trio Op. 11 is a haunting work. Classical in structure and in feeling, it certainly has echoes of Felix's work, but it is much more characterful and individual than Clara's trio. The restless first movement in D minor is brightened by a noble, singing melody introduced by the cello; this theme oscillates between the major and minor key, so what brightness it lends is ambiguous. Altogether, the first movement is a dark, troubled affair that forms a wonderful aesthetic whole.The second and third movements manage to lift the pall, the slow movement a lovely, nostalgic sort of dialogue among the instruments that does remind one of Felix in a similar vein. The third movement is another song without words, at a faster tempo, but Fanny should have sought a greater contrast here, and this is the weakest movement of the three.The last movement returns to the drama of the first movement, opening with a slow, elegiac recitative for the piano that turns into the Allegro proper and returns throughout the movement. The Allegro is aggitated music as well with many emotional turns and twists that are always interesting to follow. The battle is clearly won as the Allegro theme turns to the major key at the end of the movement. And then, with all the skill of Schubert in his Trio No. 2, Fanny recalls the beautiful major-minor second melody of the first movement to cap the Allegro with a triumphant coda. Emotionally and musically, this is a satisfying conclusion to a distinguished work.The Dartington Trio produces a big, dramatic tone--especially in Hyperion's intimate recording--and plays with fine ensemble and true sympathy for the music throughout."

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DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 01/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is a 2001 reissue of recordings originally made in 1988 and first marketed by Hyperion in the following year. As is often the way of such matters, I had never heard Clara Schumann's piano trio until two days ago, and now here is another fine performance of the work while it is still fresh in my mind.



So far as I'm concerned these are piano trios by two little-known romantic composers, not trios by someone's wife and someone else's sister. Fanny Mendelssohn was older than her brother and therefore had a start on him: Clara Wieck showed precocious musical talent that her ambitious and overbearing father had determined to make the most of before she ever heard of Robert Schumann, and I have no reason to believe that the musical influence as between brother and sister in the one case and husband and wife in the other was not a two-way street. Honesty compels me to say that I couldn't be sure of identifying other work by either composer on the strength of what I so far know, which is (on top of these trios) some violin/piano duos, songs and piano solos by Clara and nothing else whatsoever by Fanny. Honesty equally allows me to say that my first reaction to the first movement of CS's trio was that it showed a lot more continuity and fluency than many first movements by her husband, whose genius lay in other aspects of the matter. However you finally assess these two compositions, they are not the work of dilettantes or amateurs. Both show thorough musical schooling both in terms of the construction and of the instrumental writing. There is melodic talent too, and if I had had to guess the composer of FM's trio I might not necessarily have guessed anyone with the same surname. It is interestingly planned, with two slow movements in effect, an andante followed by a 'Lied' marked allegretto, but a slow allegretto. I can't believe that the speed adopted on the disc is wrong as the movement is less than two and a half minutes in length even played like this. For a moment or two it almost seemed as if there was going to be a third slow movement, but the finale gathers a bit of pace after a while.



The performances strike me as excellent, and the recording too. The liner-note is slightly humdrum, but it contains some useful background. The total playing-time is roughly 55 minutes. I would have appreciated some fillers, given how little the composers' work is generally known, but at a bargain price I suppose I ought not to be greedy. I know for a fact that there is some very interesting stuff by CS, and I should be pleased to learn that more of FM's work, still I believe largely unpublished, is being made available to us."