Spanish Impressions

Approfondimenti

With the exception of Enrique Granados, the most famous composers of the Spanish golden age of the late 19th and early 20th centuries avoided classical forms, seeking new formal parameters for Spanish-inspired material. However, they had contemporaries who, while by no means rejecting the nationalist impulse, merged it with more conventional forms. The four piano trios performed here by the Hermitage Piano Trio offer excellent examples of the riches to be found, and only the impassioned Piano Trio No. 2 in B minor, Op. 76, of Joaquín Turina, is all common on concert programs. The Hermitage Trio's performances are impressive. All its members are of Russian background, but the deeply lyrical mode works well in this repertory, which would seem to have gems aplenty to offer. Consider the opening Trois pièces originales dans le genre Espagnole of Enrique Fernández Arbós, composed in 1886. Each movement features a Spanish dance, respectively a Bolero, Habanera, and a group of Seguidillas gitanas. Bizet preceded Arbós with his Habanera by a few years, but Arbós' trio has all the feeling of freshness one could desire. The Piano Trio in C major of Gaspar Cassadó is a seriously virtuosic work. Mariano Perello is all but unknown these days, but his Tres Impresiones intriguingly combine impressions of regional scenes with one of Isaac Albéniz. Another major draw is the sound from the reliably strong engineering team of Reference Recordings, here working at Skywalker Sound in California; the famed Keith Johnson had a hand in it. Physical album buyers get an extensive booklet with lots of background, but one should hear this release in whatever format may be available.

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