Brahms & Schubert - Wigmore Hall Live

Chronique

London's Sitkovetsky Trio, since forming at the Yehudi Menuhin music school in 2007, has risen to the top of its profession in an intensely competitive London chamber music scene and gave this recital at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in 2013. Those interested in the next generation of chamber players might check it out. The program is in reverse chronological order, with the dense Brahms Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101, vast in quasi-orchestral space but not in horizontal extent, coming first, and then broadening out into Schubert's Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat major, D. 929. The Brahms is the more successful of the two, with excellent balance among the instruments and a tightly unified performance in the Beethovenian finale. The trio excels at precise voicings, extended line, and the ability to carry a burst of energy through a long movement more than in lyrical feeling, and the "heavenly length" of the Schubert loses something here: the group's tempos are quick, and the emotional impact of details like the extraordinary cyclical return of the C minor subject of the opening movement in the finale is blunted. The Schubert done this way does seem to match the Brahms in a convincing way, though, and many listeners may find this a fresh reading imbued with Viennese elegance. The sound may be the best feature of all; the Wigmore Hall Live series started out strong in this regard and has even evolved in its ability to capture the energy and immediacy of live performances; the youthful virtuosity of this one adds an X factor in the recording's favor.

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