Berlin Stories
is the first in a series to come from
Trio Gaspard
, all to be devoted to specific musical capitals. It is not clear how well a musical essence of the city is conveyed here.
Mendelssohn
's
Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
, was composed in Frankfurt, although the composer had been associated with Berlin earlier in his career. The
Litaniae, Op. 70
, of composer
Paul Juon
indeed had its premiere in Berlin but, the composer said, referred to a scene he witnessed in a church in Munich, while the
Acht Variationen ueber ein griechisches Volksthema
("
Eight Variations on a Greek Folk Theme
") of
Nikos Skalkottas
, though first performed in Berlin, is very much part of the Viennese cultural universe of
Skalkottas
' teacher,
Arnold Schoenberg
. However, it doesn't matter too much how "Berlin" the pieces are; the music and the music-making are solid throughout.
C minor trio
is one of the most serious and most Beethovenian things he ever wrote, and the
gives it a full measure of tumult. The
Juon
Litaniae
, which the composer termed a "tone poem," is a post-Romantic piece with a unique evolving structure and an intense near-mysticism. The
piece is also unique, mixing serial and tonal elements. This release has elements that will appeal to a great variety of chamber music lovers. ~ James Manheim