Recording Review #41: Two Trios

 

Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15; Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-Flat, D. 929. Trio Bohémo. Supraphon SU43442. 

I have a question: what did Smetana's only piano trio ever do to the Trio Bohémo? I assume it must have been something bad indeed to make them want to beat the stuffing out of it. I'm kidding...partially. Seriously, though, I have never heard this work played so loudly and forcefully as it is here. Is this some creative form of advocacy? Smetana is not quite a one-work composer, but he's close. Maybe the Trio Bohémo thought that to play this barely-memorable chamber work aggressively is to better drive it into the listener's recall, where it might share some space with The Moldau. Hard to say. But whether you remember it or not, it is in the end a mannered performance and scarcely recommendable as such. 

Schubert isn't anywhere near being a one-work composer. He would not be close to being so even if his astounding last year of masterworks had never happened. But even among those the E-Flat Piano Trio is a distinguished composition. The Trio Bohémo subjects it to nothing like the brutalization inflicted upon the Smetana. Funnily enough, though, their take on this masterpiece has an opposite problem: the quiet parts are noticeably underplayed. One particularly encounters this in the second movement (with that beautiful tune which recurs in the finale) and in the inner cello theme of the scherzo. The playing in these places and occasionally elsewhere lacks spark and expression, which are simply must-haves throughout what is one of Schubert's most poignant creations. I wouldn't call the performance bad through and through, but the listener has many better choices available. (The obvious place to start is with the Beaux Arts Trio on Philips 438 700-2.) 

And of course, other critics love this release. It was Presto Music's 'Recording of the Week' very recently. Go figure. It's certainly a different take on these two works, but again: different isn't always preferable. If you're new to them, I implore you to look elsewhere for a better first impression. This is an odd recording. Come back to it only after you've been properly introduced to its repertoire. 

Verdict: Collectors Only