Composer: Anton Arensky, Dmitri Shostakovich
Performer: Trio con Brio Copenhagen
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Orchid
Catalogue: ORC100181
Release: 2021
Size: 1.17 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8
Arensky: Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32
02. I. Allegro moderato
03. II. Scherzo. Allegro molto
04. III. Elegia. Adagio
05. IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo
Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
06. I. Andante
07. II. Allegro con brio
08. III. Largo
09. IV. Allegretto
Trio con Brio Copenhagen returns to Orchid Classics with a triptych of Russian piano trios: two works by Shostakovich framing music by Arensky. These Russian composers lived through turning points in their country’s history. Arensky died in 1906, the year in which Shostakovich was born, and their output charts the trajectory of Russian and Soviet political and artistic history during those years. Arensky’s ardent Piano Trio No.1 was written in 1894, when Russian Romanticism was at its peak. Inspired by young love, the 17-year-old Shostakovich wrote his Piano Trio No.1 Poème in 1923 in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), finding expression for strong personal emotions via a musical language influenced by film scores. Just over 20 years later, in 1944, Shostakovich wrote his Piano Trio No. 2. By making use of Jewish music for the first time, he gave the greatest tragedies of the age a voice, while at the same time creating a music that displays an irrepressible spark of life. Praise for Trio con Brio Copenhagen on Orchid: ‘… both explosive and exquisitely intimate’ – The Strad; ‘… an excellent performance all round, showcasing an airtight ensemble, but also these Danish-based musicians’ flair for coloristic detail.’ – Gramophone