Ravel • Shostakovich
Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor; Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Busch Trio
Alpha Classics ALPHA1002 51:51 mins
The Busch Trio has the depth of musicianship to encompass the very different emotions of these great 20th-century chamber works. In the Ravel, I was utterly mesmerised by the sheer beauty of sound that the performers conjure up in the opening movement. The music’s dreamlike quality comes across particularly vividly, without any indulgence. At the same time, there’s no lack of urgency in the more agitated full-blooded sections that have a tremendous visceral energy. Similar qualities abound in the rest of the work, with a wonderfully mercurial account of the second movement ‘Pantoum’, a stoic and dignified ‘Passacaille’ and a ‘Final’ that builds up to a powerfully assertive climax.
After the Mediterranenan glow of the Ravel, the glacial disembodied textures that open the Shostakovich come as something of a shock. The Buschs impressively project the emptiness of this opening passage by maintaining a cool distant sound with minimum vibrato. Such restraint pays dividends later in the movement where they ratchet up the tension with destabilising changes of tempo. There’s no emotional relief in the ensuing Scherzo, which is delivered with snarling accents at breakneck speed before we plunge once again into the abyss with the doom-laden chords that open the Passacaglia. The Finale is the most challenging movement both for the players and the listeners. But once again, the Buschs focus on holding back for as long as possible, so that when the climax is eventually reached – with the forceful restatement of the Trio’s opening material – the impact is absolutely overwhelming. Erik Levi
