Review on Klassik heute, July 24th 2021.
For its musical calling card, the Schwarzenberg Trio – named after its first meeting at Vienna’s Schwarzenbergplatz and consisting of Vienna-based artists from Austria and Germany – chose three piano trios of German-Austrian provenance. Werner Pirchner’s Second Piano Trio Heimat? is based on incidental music for Felix Mitterer’s play Kein schöner Land. Unlike many avant-garde experiments, each of its four movements following a Slow–Fast–Slow–Fast sequence that recalls a Baroque trio sonata more than a classical form, seems to tell a story.
Aus dem Nichts? opens with broken third-steps, faintly reminiscent of bells, over which an unadorned melody unfolds. Wiesel? combines a rock-like ritornello—somewhat reminiscent of Emerson, Lake & Palmer—with a klezmer-tinged lament. Stimmungslied? ironically subverts its title with the slowest tempo and Messiaen-like cluster sounds. Freundlich? presents variations that cross a 17th-century corrente with a Bavarian Zwiefacher, in the purest major key. In this remarkable work, the Schwarzenbergs display a wealth of colours, rhythmic drive, and a palpable joy in storytelling—music that listeners will follow with pleasure.
Exemplary Beethoven, somewhat heavy-handed Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn’s Trio in D minor, Op. 49, brings together some of his favourite forms: Lied ohne Worte, elfin scherzo, and two sonata-form outer movements. Yet especially in the finale it suffers from the composer’s tendency to restate points already made. The Schwarzenberg Trio—however beautifully it plays at times—leans heavily into the “Romantic” label, broadening its tone accordingly. In doing so, it inadvertently underlines Mendelssohn’s sentimental turns, a disservice to a composer who at heart remained a classicist and only loses from such over-emotionalization.
Perhaps my verdict is all the sharper because Beethoven’s Op. 1 No. 1 is interpreted by the Schwarzenbergs with breathtaking brilliance, delicacy, and transparency. Here the ensemble reveals itself to be a first-rate piano trio of the highest class. Special praise is due to pianist Hanna Bachmann, who articulates even the trickiest passages with sovereign clarity, combining agility with intelligence.
The recording technology places the three instruments vividly and cleanly in the soundscape, while the booklet text provides helpful orientation.
Conclusion: A trio recording of high caliber. The Beethoven has no need to hide from the world’s elite trios. The Pirchner, a highly gestural postmodern work, should not cause discomfort even to more conservative listeners. Had the Mendelssohn been approached in the same spirit as the Beethoven, this release would be an unqualified recommendation.