Cécile Chaminade - Piano Trios (Trio Parnassus)

Information

Composer: Cécile Chaminade

• (01) Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 11
• (05) Capriccio, Op. 18
• (06) Trois Morceaux, Op. 31
• (09) Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 34
• (12) Romanza appassionata
• (13) Sommeil d'enfant

Trio Parnassus
Julia Galić, violin
Michael Groß, cello
Johann Blanchard, piano

Date: 2017
Label: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm

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Review

So far as I can see, this is only the second time that both of Chaminade’s piano trios have appeared together on the same disc. You might have missed them on the small dB Productions label and, as that disc lasts just 47 minutes and the performances lack the suave polish of the Trio Parnassus, this newcomer is really your only option. Even without that lack of choice, I would strongly recommend it.

The Trio Parnassus has been winning awards and critical acclaim since it was founded in 1983 by cellist Michael Gross. But let’s be clear. The trio has had numerous changes of personnel, the only constant being Gross himself. This recording is the first made with violinist Julia Galic´ and pianist Johann Blanchard. The latter is as close as anyone I know to being a Chaminade specialist (Harriet Smith gave a welcome to his solo Chaminade recital in July 2015) and here shows himself to be a chamber musician of real distinction. The three sound as though they have been together for decades while retaining their freshness and character.

Chaminade may not have the distinctive voice of Mendelssohn or Schumann, and she may lack the originality of Brahms or Fauré (these are the four composers who seem to be her models), but there is more than enough in the elegant, well-crafted pages of her piano trios to convince you of their merit. Dip into the scherzo third movement (Presto leggiero) of the four-movement First Trio (1880) or the expressive cantabile of the second movement of the Second Trio (1886) and it is hard to see why they are so little known. Elsewhere, Chaminade’s fecundity produced uneven results. For example, only one of the Trois Morceaux for violin and piano is truly memorable – but then turn to the Capriccio, Op 18 (which might have been penned by Fritz Kreisler), and, if you have a sweet tooth, the lovely Romanza appassionata (Chaminade’s own arrangement for cello and piano), and only the most hair-shirted of music lovers could fail to be charmed.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Aug/Chaminade_trios_30320022.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Sep/Chaminade_trios_30320022.htm
https://www.allmusic.com/album/c%C3%A9cile-chaminade-piano-trios-op-11-34-works-for-violin-cello-piano-mw0003044343

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Cécile Chaminade (8 August 1857 – 13 April 1944) was a French composer and pianist, one of the relatively few women composers of her time to achieve great popularity. She was a regular on British concert stages and a big hit in America. Many of Chaminade's piano compositions received good reviews from critics; her music was described as tuneful, highly accessible and mildly chromatic. Chaminade was relegated to obscurity for the second half of the 20th century, as her piano pieces and songs mostly forgotten. The Flute Concertino in D major, Op. 107 (1902) is her most popular piece today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9cile_Chaminade

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Trio Parnassus (formed 1982 in Stuttgart, Germany) has maintained a reputation as one of the finest piano trios in Germany from the latter-twentieth and early-twenty first centuries despite a fair number of personnel changes. While the ensemble plays standards from the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as many twentieth century and contemporary works, it has also devoted much time to the rediscovery of forgotten compositions by nineteenth century composers. By 2010, the ensemble had recorded the complete piano trios of over 20 composers, ranging from Mozart to Gade and Vasks.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/trio-parnassus-mn0002190646/biography

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