As Calum MacDonald’s
excellent note tells us, music for string
trio is much rarer than its close cousin,
the string quartet, because of the greater
ingenuity required by the composer to
create richness of texture and colouristic
variety. The composers that have risen
to the challenge have largely been inspired
by the greatest example of all, Mozart’s
Divertimento in E flat, K.563,
and the three works on this disc show
a similar compositional skill and resourcefulness.
My first thought was
how intelligent the programming is here.
You have three composers who emerged
from the cultural melting-pot of Central
Europe in the early Twentieth Century,
and three examples of the string trio
genre that yield very different, yet
equally stimulating results. I guess
the most ‘normal’ piece is the Dohnanyi
Serenade, which I have to confess
was completely new to me. The influence
of the Brahmsian serenade is evident,
particularly in the Romanza,
but the five-movement structure and
thematic material also hint at genuine
Hungarian sensibilities coming to the
fore. The folk-music studies of the
younger Bartók and Kodály
were only around the corner, and one
can sense rhythms and modal lines that
give a brief foreshadowing of what was
to come. It’s a very attractive work,
full of sunny optimism and lyrical charm
that is occasionally offset by the Magyar
melancholy of the first movement melody,
which makes a reappearance in the finale.
By way of huge contrast,
the Schoenberg String Trio is
undoubtedly the toughest nut on the
disc, for players and listeners. The
composer himself spoke of this late
work as ‘extremely difficult to play…in
fact, almost impossible, or at best
only for three players of virtuoso rank’.
The Leopold Trio are certainly that,
and their performance has everything
this demanding work needs. Not only
do they observe Schoenberg’s plethora
of instructions, but they invest the
music with a required sense of direction
and an almost wistful romanticism. Contrast
within the five-part structure is extreme,
from the thorniest of serialism, Expressionist
anxiety (Schoenberg had recently recovered
from a near-fatal heart attack) to a
yearning nostalgia. The sheer warmth
and tonal variety of the Leopold’s playing
ensure that one is ultimately won over
by the genuinely heartfelt nature of
the writing.
The Martinů
Trio makes a superb finisher
for the recital. As a piece from his
early maturity it has all the touches
you would expect from this composer;
driving rhythms, rich contrapuntal textures,
florid, folk-like melodies and a structure
akin to a Baroque concerto,
except in two-movement form. Much of
Martinů’s work has a neo-classical
vigour and vitality and this is no exception.
A very rewarding piece.
All the works here
are superbly performed and the recording
is exemplary. The ingenuity displayed
by the composers is stimulating to experience,
and they really could not have better
advocates. Superb, authoritative notes
complete a very desirable issue.
Tony Haywood
The Leopold String Trio 
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