Many traditions have been handed down from one generation to the next in the Russian classical music tradition. One of them, whether intentional or not, was the nearly iconic use of the piano trio as an elegy. Tchaikovsky began this tradition following the death of Nikolai Rubinstein. Though at first Tchaikovsky vehemently expressed his distaste for the piano trio as an ensemble, the occasion plus exterior motivators compelled him and resulted in one of the giants of the repertoire. While only the first movement is truly elegiac, the vast scope of the two movement work is worthy of dedication to such a cornerstone as Rubinstein. Some years later,
Rachmaninov (whose trio is not heard on this disc) followed Tchaikovsky's example and finally, in 1945,
Shostakovich penned his at times eerie, bone chilling Second Trio after the death of Ivan Sollertinski. Performing on this Stradivarius disc is the
David Trio, an ensemble rapidly collecting an impressive array of international chamber music awards. Their recording skills match their venerability in competition. In both the Tchaikovsky and
Shostakovich trios are performed with the utmost technical precision. The tight knit ensemble and impeccable balance are akin to an ensemble whose members have played together for decades. Most importantly for this literature, the
David Trio captures the poignancy and loss being expressed in their scores without succumbing to over-indulgent rubato or exaggerated expression. They rely on the score to speak directly to the listeners. Stradivarius' recorded sound quality is wonderfully simple, with little added reverb.