Tchaikovsky’s celebrated large-scale Trio op.50 sets the tone of this recording, at once elegiac and virtuosic. Dedicated to his friend Nikolay Rubinstein with the French epigraph ‘À la mémoire d'un grand artiste’, it shows great originality both in its dimensions and in its style, which calls for highly skilled performers. A similarly ambitious work is the Trio op.32 of Anton Stepanovich Arensky, also dedicated to the memory of a musician, the cellist Karl Davidov (1838-89). This gem of chamber music, much less often played, constitutes the true discovery of the programme.
ANTON ARENSKY Piano Trio no.1 op.32 in D minor / ré mineur / d-Moll · I. Allegro moderato (12'00) · II. Scherzo. Allegro molto (5'41) · III. Elegia. Adagio (5'59) · IV. Finale. Allegro non troppo (5'53) PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY [1840-1893] Piano Trio op.50 in A minor / la mineur / a-Moll · I. Pezzo elegiaco. Moderato assai (17'41) · II A. Tema con Variazioni. Andante con moto (0'58) · Var. I (0'48) · Var. II. Più mosso (0'32) · Var. III. Allegro moderato (0'51) · Var. IV. L'istesso tempo (1'04) · Var. V. L'istesso tempo (0'38) · Var. VI. Tempo di Valse (2'29) · Var. VII. Allegro moderato (1'07) · Var. VIII. Fuga. Allegro moderato (2'17) · Var. IX. Andante flebile ma non tanto (2'58) · Var. X. Tempo di Mazurka (1'39) · Var. XI. Moderato (2'07) · II B. Variazione Finale e Coda. Allegro risoluto e con fuoco - Andante con moto (6'49)
