| Review by JJ July 4, 2009 (10 of 15 found this review helpful)
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Here united on a multicanal SACD of the first order are the Trios for Piano that Bohuslav Martinu composed between 1930 and 1951. These scores reflect, in a rich catalogue of more than 200 works of chamber and concerto music, the image of a creator in perpetual evolution. “He thus offers a look at the interior of his “creative workshop” which never ceased to be in permanent search of acquisitions, nor to evolve,” notes Ales Brezina, director of the Martinu Institute in Prague, in the booklet accompanying the recording. On the program, then, are the Trios for Piano N°1 (Five brief pieces) H.193 dating from 1930, N°2 in D minor H.327 from 1950, N°3 in C major H.332 from 1951, as well as Bergerettes H.275 dating from 1939. The young Kinsky Trio from Prague, founded in 1998, with Jarolslava Pechocova on the piano, Lucie Sedlakova Hulova on the violin, and Martin Sedlak on the cello, resurrects these admirable pages with a communicative verve at each moment. Its playing, brilliant, passionate, and sometimes bold, gives life to the notes. Under their fingers, Martinu’s music resembles a special expressive celebration, wherein light becomes palpable. Here is a recording of great beauty, in pure DSD, that should be acquired right away.
Jean-Jacques Millo
Translation Lawrence Schulman
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| Review by canonical February 16, 2010 (7 of 17 found this review helpful)
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I particularly enjoy Martinu's music, and was looking forwards to this SACD. Alas, this one is a gross disappointment.
There are two major problems.
First, the balance between the instruments is completely wrong: the piano is overly dominant, with a weak violin and cello sound. For a chamber music recording, the balance verges on incompetence. Second, the performance itself is simply weak: no vitality, an overly dominant piano, a scratchy string sound, frequent intonation errors, and overall something that sounds like your average college student ensemble having a go at it. Appallingly bad.
[As an aside, as a matter of production, Praga have much to learn about presentation. The programme notes are rendered in a tiny font that gives eye strain, the SACD is presented in an old-fashioned redbook CD case, and the layout of the trios on the disc equally suggests little thought has gone into such matters: it starts with Piano trio No. 2, works through Trio No 3, and then ends with Piano Trio No. 1??????]
Resolution: pure DSD
Super Jewel Box: No (standard old redbook casing)
Programme notes: tiny font - far too small. Poor.
Performance: 1 star
Recording: 1 star
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| Review by Fugue February 16, 2010 (11 of 15 found this review helpful)
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| DId you two listen to the same recording? I agree that the piano is a bit dominant, but it is certainly a competent performance. Actually, the balances are rather representative of what one often hears in a live chamber concert. Of course, with the ability to "perfect" the balances under studio conditions, there's no need to settle for for imperfection. Perhaps the performers liked the balance.
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| Review by undertone February 20, 2010 (9 of 10 found this review helpful)
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I regularly attend concerts and recitals by young players at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Musicians at the early stage of their careers bring a different quality to performance than older and more seasoned players; a heightened sense of discovery, the pleasure of creating something new. Such is the case with the Kinsky Trio Prague's recordings of Martinu's piano trios. In these enthusiastic readings, risk-taking and vivacity predominate. Would anyone really want to hear Martinu performed cautiously?
Praga's engineering team of Karel Soukenik and Vaclav Roubal recorded these works in Martinu Hall, rather than their regular venue, Domovina Studio. Perhaps the hall acoustics account for the slightly forward balance of the piano relative to the strings. In my 2-channel system, which leans towards the warm side (tube preamp, silk-dome tweeters), the string tone is firm and the piano image clear without being overwhelming or agressive.
More than a third of my classical SACDs are of chamber music. Through exposure on SACD to groups such as the Mandelbaum Quartet and Altenberg Trio Wien, I've had the pleasure of hearing those artists perform in the Bay Area. The chamber music audience in this part of the world leans to the over-65 and under-25 age groups; music students and their grandparents. If there is to be an audience in the future for chamber music, labels must support younger ensembles who can attract younger listeners. Praga's willingness to record the Kinsky Trio demonstrates sound musical judgment and a commitment to the future of chamber music performance.
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