Recording Review #42: Two Trios 2

Mendelssohn: Piano Trios, Opp. 49 and 66. Joshua Bell, violinist; Steven Isserlis, cellist; Jeremy Denk, pianist. Sony Classical 19802832482.

What we have here are three celebrated musicians who have built quite separate performing identities. Even if you somehow don't already know who they are, a telling clue for their chamber effort here is the lack of an ensemble name. Such collaborations can sometimes come off relatively seamlessly, as Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax (among others) have demonstrated. At other times folks like these betray the occasional nature of their partnership; chamber music (or at least chamber music with each other) isn't their main gig. 

If I place this recording firmly in the second category, I'm not saying it's "bad." It's just very much that kind of product, with advantages that may be disadvantages, or vice versa, depending upon one's perspective. It's a case of three big musical personalities who doubtless approach their task with ample goodwill, but who can't help being three big musical personalities. The result is interpretations that are full of interest and contain many breathtakingly played passages, but which are marked by a feeling of heterogeneity overall. This is easiest to notice in the outer movements of these two trios, where dynamic changes and accents are often steep, and where questions of attack, articulation, and line accentuation can feel mercurially realized over many measures. 

With any Romantic chamber repertoire involving piano, it matters disproportionately who your pianist is and what he/she brings to the table. Let's face it, this person is the glue of the ensemble and will determine the performance's visage like no one else. Jeremy Denk is certainly no slouch when it comes to technique. Moreover, I can't deny that he brings ample spontaneity to his playing, which some listeners will understandably find fresh and attractive. But what I'm missing from him is a sense of polished consistency, not to mention aristocratic refinement and Romantic sweep. For me these qualities mark the best pianism in Mendelssohn's two great trios. And while I don't let Bell and Isserlis entirely off the hook for the group's lapsed homogeneity, they're more on the same page with each other than Denk is with them. 

But it would be unfair not to point out some glorious moments. One is the climactic finish to the Andante of Op. 49. The whole movement is wonderful but this particular passage just sings, buttressed by some uncommonly rich string playing. (I'll admit, there are times in these chamber works when having world-beating soloists can be an advantage.) To my ears, the scherzo of Op. 66 is another highlight. My preference is still for more smoothness, but I can't deny that there is punch and spice to this group's rendition. It's one of the more interesting (in a good way) Op. 66 scherzo performances I've heard. 

I suppose one of the vicissitudes of our endless stream of canon repertoire recordings is the pressure performers feel to be original on well-trodden ground. Sometimes this leads to worthy things; often it just results in strainy messes. The present option isn't my preferred take on Mendelssohn's Piano Trios overall, but its truly special aspects add value to the catalog. As with the trios I reviewed in my previous post, I'd caution newcomers to sample other options before listening to this one. Since those are vast, I'll just list three recordings that remain exemplary among the many I've heard: Trio Wanderer (Harmonia Mundi HMC 901961), Florestan Trio (Hyperion CDA67485), and the Gould Piano Trio (Naxos 8.555063). All of these extol the aforementioned qualities I find lacking here despite other merits. 

Verdict: Recommended