Artur LEMBA (1885-1963)
Piano Trio in B flat major (1929) [24:27]
Heino ELLER (1887-1970)
Two Lyrical Pieces (1915) [12:30]
Arvo PÄRT (b.1935)
Mozart-Adagio (1992) [7:10]
Scala cromatica (2007) [1:29]
Riho Esko MAIMETS (b.1988)
Three Contemplations for Piano Trio (2019) [17:20]
Mari Poll (violin)
Henry-David Varema (cello)
Mihkel Poll (piano)
rec. 2020, Great Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
DUX 1809 [63:16]
Since I first heard the music of Artur Lemba I have been hoping that his five Piano Concertos would be recorded; while this CD does not address this it does afford us the opportunity to hear his wonderful Piano Trio alongside works by his contemporary Heino Eller and his more recent countrymen. Lemba and Eller both studied in St Petersburg and while Eller returned to Estonia after his studies Lemba remained there as a teacher, returning to Estonia at the age of 35. Back in Estonia he taught piano and eventually headed the piano department at Tallin Conservatory. He must have been a formidable pianist; while in St Petersburg he competed in the 1910 Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition and was among the finalists alongside the likes of Edwin Fischer, Artur Rubinstein, Frank Merrick and the winner Alfred Hoehn. This shows in the virtuoso writing for the piano in his Trio in B flat major though Lemba by no means allows it to overpower the other instruments and the whole makes for very enjoyable listening. It follows the traditional format, four movements with a Scherzo and Andante sostenuto at their heart. The first movement opens in heroic style with distinctive rhythmic chords before settling down into lyrical passages that are shared between violin and cello against the piano's fleet and delicate figurations. The second movement is a light-hearted Mendelssohnian scherzo with lots of staccato repeated notes. A flowing central section has something of a folk feel to its motif and the interplay of the instruments; Lemba creates an almost bagpipe like drone between violin and cello just before the main scherzo reappears. The cello takes centre stage at the opening of the beautiful andante sostenuto with a haunting lyrical melody that becomes more complex as the violin enters and all the instruments briefly expand on this. The violin takes the second melody but this is quickly joined in duet with the cello while the piano has accompanying figures. The heroism of the opening movement is given full rein in the exciting finale with a virtuoso finish from all three instrumentalists. Once again Lemba gives us a taste of folk music in the jaunty second theme that could easily be a partner to one of Grieg's Lyric pieces.
Heino Eller, who became professor of composition at Tallin Conservatory in 1940, developed a more nationalist style than Lemba along with elements of impressionism. No impressionism is readily apparent in the relatively early Lyrical pieces, written when he was still a student in St Petersburg. Both open with the melodies and mood that their name suggests before moving into other textures and are late romantic works that are apparently the first works written for piano trio by an Estonian composer. The melodious opening of first develops into a vigorous march like episode before the grand passionate heart of the piece; this reaches a huge climax before the opening mood returns. The second seems less episodic that the first but it has similar grand gestures in its central section.
Arvo Pärt is probably the most familiar of Eller's pupils and studied with him when he returned to composition study after a short period spent in military service. His Mozart-Adagio is essentially a transcription of the slow movement of Mozart's early F major Piano sonata K.280, spread between the different textures of the three instruments and with the addition of Pärt's reflections on the music; it makes for a curious mix of straightforward classical transcription, spacious minimalism and a peppering of the dissonance of false relations. His Scala cromatica was written for musicologist Bàlint Andràs Varga and Pärt constructed its very brief comical motif out of the letters of his name. The title comes from the slow, continuously descending chromatic scale from high in the cello's range that is accompanied by short interspersed notes and phrases from violin and piano that suggest a sad, half heard waltz.
Riho Esko Maimet's tutors include David Ludwig and Richard Danielpour at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Helena Tulve and René Eespere in Estonia. His work list includes several chamber works and a decent amount of choral music as well as two concertos for accordion and orchestra. The Three Contemplations inhabit a tranquil world and the rarefied atmosphere of slow moving harmonies and long drawn out melody. Slowly spread piano arpeggios are the backdrop for the first; the harmony, slowly building up as each arpeggio rises, unfolds around the extended notes of the cello and the violin whose voice gradually joins in duet with the cello some way into the movement. The second begins with a gentle song without words that could almost be from the early romantics but could equally be an homage to Mahler as the booklet suggests with its aching melancholy. The final Contemplation gives the impression of a slow waltz, the piano's arpeggios similar to those of the first movement but given gentle impetus with bell like thirds while the strings play an interweaving duet. The texture here is a little fuller and there are some delicious trills for all three instruments. With the pedalled arpeggios and minimal hard dissonance these works have a huge feeling of space and breadth and Maimets uses piano texture to give coherence to these pieces; the final movement, half the length of the first, seems almost like a new development or variation.
The Poll-Varema-Poll trio were formed in 2013 and include plenty of Estonian music in their repertoire; I note that pianist Mikhel Poll has previously recorded the first Piano Concerto by Artur Lemba for Chandos (CHAN20150 review). They are recorded in beautiful sound and play with great enthusiasm, sensitivity and vigour; certainly they present this attractive music in the best possible light.
Rob Challinor
