Town House, Inverness, 20 February 2008

Kungsbacka Piano Trio

THE KUNGSBACKA Piano Trio – Malin Broman (violin), Jesper Svedberg (cello) and Simon Crawford-Phillips (piano)  made a welcome and spirited return to Inverness, hosted by the city’s Chamber Music Society. The trio’s love of the music they play is richly evident in performance, with a selection of works that explored the true range of chamber music.

Formed in 1997 and winners of the First Trio and Audience Prizes at the 1999 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the group have gained an international reputation for their energy, sensitivity and interpretation in performance. Invited to become BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists in 2000, Kungsbacka made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2003 and were featured as part of the ECHO Rising Stars series of recitals in European concert halls.

Their professional ease and rapport with each other, an essential ingredient in music of an intimate scale, is obvious. There is also a refreshing informality to their presentation of chamber music which invigorates established repertoire.

The programme itself was an interesting journey from a cornerstone of classical tradition in Beethoven’s early work Variations in E flat major, expansion in a late work by Saint-Saëns Piano Trio No. 2, and finally Schubert’s wonderful Piano Trio No. 2, one of the finest examples of composition for Piano Trio with balance between the instruments at its height. This exploration of the genre cleverly built throughout the programme to deliver the finest ensemble playing as musical form evolved through the chosen works.

Beethoven’s early Variations reflects the conventions of its time as an example of a work written for home music-making. The piano has the most dominant part overall, with a greater balance between instruments achieved in later works. Although it is an interesting piece in the context of his life’s work and the classical music tradition I found myself craving the creative development that later became his signature.

The piece was pleasing to the ear but felt more like a brilliantly executed musical exercise than a satisfyingly expressive or empathic work of art. Through our most immediate sense of sound Beethoven usually appeals straight to the heart and at his best he stays there. The beauty of his later works, not centre stage in this one, is that structure is not what you hear first. What the Variations do reveal is the understanding of tradition necessary for art to truly evolve and expand beyond its maker.

Saint-Saëns Piano Trio No. 2, with its five movements felt like it belonged in the architecture of a concert hall with full orchestration. Although the textures in this work are at times very beautiful, such as the rippling, brooding undercurrent of the opening ‘Allegro non troppo’, the way in which violin and cello interplay with piano seems less convincing when compared to the final work on the programme. Characterised by what Simon Crawford-Phillips described as “sincerity and ecstasy” it certainly had both in abundance, but the stronger relationship between instruments exhibited in Schubert’s composition was for me the highlight of the evening’s programme.

Composed in 1827,the last year of his life, Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat allowed Kungsbacka to excel, their finely balanced musicianship exemplified in a work which reflects equality of voice in all three instruments. Each part is beautifully interwoven, responding in extraordinary variation of violin, cello and piano. There is a sense of complexity in this work, a satisfying journey of an evolving theme which is ultimately affirmative.

The second movement ‘Andante con moto’ with its march-like rhythm derived from a Swedish folksong is extremely beautiful and memorable. First introduced by the rich melancholic sound of the cello this moving statement is transformed triumphantly into the major key in the final movement.

Malin Broman suggested in her introduction the link between the imagery of the original folksong, a sunset and Schubert’s impending final farewell in musical form. A friend of the composer described his attitude to life; “He walked towards his own death unable to stop telling everyone how beautiful the world is”, a sentiment reflected in the structure of the E flat Trio and its effect upon the listener. What we hear is struggle and human complexity but ultimately beauty is the resounding principle we are left with as an audience.

Described by fellow composer Robert Schumann as “the ‘master trio’ of its age” it is easy to hear why this is one of the most celebrated works in the repertoire. It was recorded by Kungsbacka on Naxos in 2006, and in performance the trio have made the work resoundingly their own.

Kungsbacka consistently deliver a musical programme that satisfies and exceeds expectation. With a selection of repertoire reinterpreted in their own exuberant style, their performances always represent a rewarding journey of discovery for the audience. The group are scheduled to make an early return to the Town House as part of a tour instigated by Aberdeen Music Society in November 2008, which will feature a new work by Helen Grime.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• Kungsbacka Piano Trio
• Inverness Chamber Music Society