TRIO CON BRIO, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Oct. 18
The Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City opened its season Tuesday with a return visit by Denmark’s Trio con Brio (Soo-Jin Hong, violin; Soo-Kyung Hong, cello; Jens Elvekjær, piano). Bringing a wonderful program with them in what is their first stop on their current United States tour, the three showed what they are made of.
These are three excellent players who are musically connected with each other in a manner that one surprisingly doesn’t find too often among ensembles. At Tuesday’s concert, their playing was balanced and nuanced. They sounded almost as if they were one instrument rather than three – a rare accomplishment, but this trio has managed to achieve it.
Individually the three are technically and musically stunning. They proved beyond any doubt that they are one of the top piano trios today, and it was wonderful to have them back in Salt Lake City again.
They started the concert with Joseph Haydn’s Trio in G major, “Gypsy.” Haydn was a prolific composer of piano trios – just as he was of symphonies and string quartets – and his creativity never ceases to amaze. And the “Gypsy” Trio is an absolute delight.
The three captured the graceful lines of the opening Andante with beautifully crafted phrases, while the Poco adagio second movement was filled charm and delicate lyricism. The finale, on the other hand, with its “gypsy” twist was played with exuberance and cleanly defined articulation.
The group paired the Haydn with Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio, his sole venture into the medium and one of his most gorgeous works. The threesome captured the richness of Ravel’s indulgent harmonies with their luminous playing. They actually succeeded in making this music come alive with color. Their interpretation was insightful, expressive, nuanced and wonderfully lyrical and fluid.
After intermission, the group closed out the concert with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s only Piano Trio. Tchaikovsky didn’t write much chamber music, but each is as abundantly melodic as his orchestral works, and the piano trio is as lyrical and mellifluous as they come.
The trio brought an earnestness to the opening “Pezzo elegiaco” that unearthed the undercurrent of sadness that flows through the music. Their playing was infused with a rich palette of expressions.
The second movement (the trio consists of only two movements) is a lengthy theme with variations, and the group brought the necessary cohesiveness to it that is so necessary to make this extended movement work. It was a finely crafted and masterful account that did justice to the music, especially in the splendid fugue variation.