The Benaud Trio from Australia was formed in 2005 and immediately won the
Piano Trio prize at the Australian Chamber Music Competition. The name comes
from the late Australian cricket icon Richie Benaud, as the three musicians
share the love of this game. This is only their second recording - the first
(Melba MR301139) was dedicated to piano trios by modern Australian composers
(Ross Edwards (1998); Paul Stanhope (2007) and Matthew Hindson (2007)). Here
the ensemble presents two Romantic piano trios by Bohemian composers and
adds an unexpected encore.
Smetana's Trio is tragic and intense. The first movement is Beethovenian
in its span and impact, with strong dramatic gestures. The performers play
with genuine feeling, youthful and sincere, favouring shades and tints and
avoiding bombast. They always stay in sync and their strong drive never lets
the listener's attention slip. The Scherzo, where sad little elves are
dancing, is played with sorrowful tenderness. The cello is very expressive
without overdoing it. In the busy, agitated finale the Benauds are effective
and sensitive; they play with dexterity and finesse. This cinematographic
movement is presented coherently and does not fall apart in their hands. The
quiet scenes are warm and tender while the defiant culmination is radiant
and powerful.
The same combination of raw power and fragile beauty characterizes
Benaud's reading of Dvořák's singular
Dumky Trio. The slow passages
sing, the fast ones dance contagiously, all with rustic directness. No
decadent finesse here - just down-to-earth candour. The "polka" episodes are
irresistible and have that degree of recklessness which seems not calculated
but lived through. They show that carelessness of the dance where you may
jump too high or stomp too loud but it's only natural and you love every
moment of it. The surface is wonderfully rough to the touch, which uncovers
the music's folk roots. In the second movement the musicians show
beautifully the contrasts between the static soaring of the first section
and the wild abandon of the second. There is no hurry or excessive pressure
in the lyrical third movement; they turn it into a poetic ballad with some
unexpected Celtic hues. All tempi seem perfect; their changes are natural
and justified. The images are 3D, and the colours are vivid. Make this a
stop on your quest to the perfect
Dumky: this could well be the
best version I've heard.
In a concert such performances would definitely invite an encore and this
disc supplies one. It is one of the most unexpected encores possible, though
technically related to the two Czech composers through the word
Bohemian. Does it really fit with the two big trios? Definitely
not. First, it's an encore. Second, Queen's
Bohemian Rhapsody
belongs to the "Big Music" as it is a true rhapsody in the Lisztian
tradition. Third, the arrangement is so cool. I doubt that it is possible to
add more humour to the original song - although a Rossini quote was
inserted. All the quirks and the whims of Freddy's voice and the many faces
of the chorus are revived here. I would prefer to hear this piece among its
peers on a different disc - jazz and rock crossovers are a Benaud speciality
- but hearing it here is better than not hearing it at all.
The trio is very well recorded. The instruments are well balanced
acoustically. The sound is clear and deep; everything is highly visible yet
without annoying closeness. I hope that this recording will make the name of
the Benaud Trio more known; they deserve it. According to the group's
Facebook page, finishing touches are being applied to their new record right
now. I don't know what they have recorded but I know that I will be looking
out for that disc.
Oleg Ledeniov
