Rachmaninov Shostakovich

Despite its undoubted longueurs,

Rachmaninov’s Trio élégiaque can

sound mightily impressive in the

right hands. In this no-holds-barred

interpretation, Boris Berezovsky

demonstrates a masterly control of

the enormously demanding piano

part, revelling in the opportunities

to let rip at the most intense climaxes

but without in any way forcing the

tone or endangering the balance

between all three instruments. The

string players match Berezovsky

delivering sumptuous phrasing of

Our rating

4

Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:55 pm

COMPOSERS: Rachmaninov Shostakovich
LABELS: Warner
ALBUM TITLE: Rachmaninov/Shostakovich
WORKS: Trio élégiaque in D minor; Piano Trio No. 2in E minor
PERFORMER: Dimitri Makhtin, Alexander Knaizev, Boris Berezovsky
CATALOGUE NO: 2564 61937 2

Despite its undoubted longueurs,



Rachmaninov’s Trio élégiaque can



sound mightily impressive in the



right hands. In this no-holds-barred



interpretation, Boris Berezovsky



demonstrates a masterly control of



the enormously demanding piano



part, revelling in the opportunities



to let rip at the most intense climaxes



but without in any way forcing the



tone or endangering the balance



between all three instruments. The



string players match Berezovsky



delivering sumptuous phrasing of



Rachmaninov’s sombre melodies



in the first movement, but also



supplying some wonderfully magical



textures in the more reflective sections



of the extended variations. These



ingredients, coupled with a finely



engineered recording, place this



performance almost on a par with



the classic 1984 Chandos version



from the Borodin Trio, though I find



the Borodin’s pacing of the second



movement slightly more convincing.



The Shostakovich, on the other



hand, receives a somewhat uneven



rendition. While admiring the venom



and virtuosity with which the players



attack the ironic scherzo, the



disembodied opening of the work



is far too slow in tempo and static



in phrasing and seems more like an



Adagio than the composer’s prescribed



Andante. Likewise, at the return of



this material at the climax to the finale,



the performers’ decision to opt for a



surprisingly deliberate tempo and some



cautious phrasing threatens to derail



the pent-up emotion that has built



up throughout the whole movement.



All in all, the performance doesn’t



hold me in thrall to the same extent



as that of some of the frontrunners in



the catalogue, most notably Elisabeth



Leonskaja with members of the



Borodin Quartet on Teldec, and



more recently the Trio Wanderer on



Harmonia Mundi. Erik Levi

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