CD review by Anna Mika in the Kronenzeitung, April 15th 2021.
The Schwarzenberg Trio was newly formed around cellist Roland Lindenthal. It takes its name from the Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, where the three musicians first came together to make music—not, as one might assume, from the Schubertiade location of Schwarzenberg in the Bregenzerwald, although the Vorarlberg connection of this ensemble is unmistakable.
The story behind the creation of their CD reads like a fairy tale. After a concert in Vienna, a gentleman from the audience approached the trio and said: ‘My company and I would like to support you financially.’ Very quickly and without complication, the major Viennese construction company sponsored a CD—an attractive corporate gift for them, and a most welcome calling card for the young ensemble.
Indeed, the Schwarzenberg Trio demonstrates its wide expressive range on this recording. It opens with Beethoven’s Op. 1 No. 1, his Piano Trio in E-flat major, a radiant work whose clear structure demands the utmost precision from its performers. Hanna Bachmann (piano), Franz-Markus Siegert (violin), and Roland Lindenthal (cello) meet this challenge with thoughtful interpretation and a refined, delicate tone. They then reveal another side of themselves in Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49, embracing the romantic character of the work with a rich and full sonority. Between these two more familiar works, the musicians devote themselves to a gem of contemporary music: the piano trio Heimat? by the late Tyrolean composer Werner Pirchner (1940–2001), a work of great sensitivity and delicacy.
Finally, the three musicians deserve to be introduced in more detail. The youngest member is the Vorarlberg-born pianist Hanna Bachmann, who already has an impressive record of international concert activity. Also raised in Vorarlberg, Roland Lindenthal has combined a busy chamber music career with his role as principal cellist of the Vienna Volksoper since 2000. Franz-Markus Siegert, originally from Dresden, has held one of the concertmaster posts of the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna since 2009.
The well-designed album, released by the label Quinton, has been available in stores for just a few days.