Judging this CD by
listening to the first few bars of the
Kreutzer Trio would risk sending it
to the shelf marked ‘musical wallpaper’.
A big mistake. True, the overall sound
of the Kreutzer does indeed conjure
up an elegant cocktail party, the mellifluous
blend of flute and clarinet against
an elegant guitar accompaniment creating
the perfect background to civilized
conversation. And none the worse for
that.
With all respect to
the easy listening of history (Victorian
salon piano music, the ilk of Coates
and German, lounge jazz), the Classical
period’s stock of banal phrases, predictable
harmonies and simple-minded accompaniments
puts it in a class of its own. Kreutzer
made full use of this toolbox in his
Grand Trio (why ‘Grand’?) and the result
is charming and undemanding. It is also
beautifully played by this unusually-constituted
ensemble for which there seems to be
a fairly limited original repertoire.
A pity, because the blend of the two
wind instruments works better over the
contrasting plucked strings of the guitar
than they might over the soft hammers
of a piano, particularly a modern grand.
Fortunately, there
is far more to this CD than background
for a dinner party. Campo’s Preludes,
written in memory of friends who died
in a fire, is a serious work written
for this combination. In its span of
merely seven minutes, it is melancholy
and agitated with a painfully acidic
vocabulary suggesting the flickering
of the murderous fire. The flute and
clarinet intertwine with precision tuning,
often without vibrato for agonising
effect. A modern but completely comprehensible
musical language is artfully used to
create a coherent and affecting whole.
I look forward to hearing more of the
work of Campo, a professor at California
State University. He has produced music
that includes pieces for brass and guitar,
solo and in various combinations,
Kovach’s Trio is a
kind of ‘easy listening’ Bartók
whose harmonic language is used on folksy
tunes to agreeable effect, reminiscent
of the wind-based neo-classicism of
Stravinsky. The delightful translation
of ‘ostinato’ as ‘obstinate’ in the
liner notes is spot-on for the first
movement, while some poised, elegiac
playing by flute and clarinet in the
Largo reinforces the ‘Autumn’ subtitle
of the work. The dance-based finale
winds up another charming work, again
very well-played. Kovach’s music, which
includes five operas, deserves to be
better known.
The Trio’s guitarist
Antonino Maddonni contributes his own
Introduction and Variations on "La
Folia", a worthwhile and entertaining
addition to the 250 or so examples composed
since the tune first became popular
in the sixteenth century (see a comprehensive
list at www.folias.nl).
Ravel, Milhaud and Claude Bolling turn
up at a Rio beach café in this
delightful mélange of jazzy counterpoint,
baroque dance (a stately sarabande)
and Latin rhythms. In the final variation,
the guitar comes out in its full Latin
colours as the ancient tune emerges
as a Brazilian rumba through the texture
of wind flutter-tonguing and percussion
effects. Great fun.
The CD is completed
by a rollicking version of Rossini’s
Italian Girl Overture, reminding one
that the flute was a favourite ‘arrangements’
instrument in Rossini’s day. Small forces
versions of orchestral works often work
extremely well and this is no exception.
Having played Sousa marches in a recorder
quartet, this trio seems like a mighty
combination in comparison. Even the
‘Rossini steamroller’ effect works,
suggesting that crescendo is more a
matter of generating tension rather
than volume. It is often the little
throwaway phrases – the turns, twiddles
and swooping scales - that define the
character of Rossini’s music best.
I was surprised and
captivated by this CD which provided
a wide variety of styles and depths
with equal proficiency. The recording
is excellent and the disc strongly recommended.
Roger Blackburn
Trio Mauro Giuliani: Vincenzo Mastropirro (flute);
Giambattista Ciliberti (clarinet); Antonino Maddonni
(guitar) 
