BaL 26.10.19/4.04.20 - Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor 'Dumky'

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Katy Hamilton compares recordings of Antonín Dvořák's ever-popular Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor 'Dumky' and picks a favourite.

Dvořák's music, suffused with the rhythms and melodic inflections of Bohemian and Moravian folk traditions might never have gained international recognition beyond his Czech homeland but for the enthusiastic and public endorsement of a certain Johannes Brahms. After that, Dvořák sometimes reined in the freshness and charm of his music in favour of a more serious and occasionally portentous Teutonic style. But when it came to his final piano trio, Dvořák happily returned to his Slavic folk roots, aiming to write an unashamedly popular work. Made out of six movements, each modelled on the dumka (an instrumental folk form with two contrasting sections) Dvořák hit the spot with his public and today the Dumky trio is still a great favourite with audiences -- and recording companies.



Available recordings:

Abegg Trio
Ad Trio Prague
Ahn Trio *
Arman Trio *
Lisa Batiashvili, Sebastian Klinger, Milana Chernyavska
Beaux Arts Trio
Beaux Arts Trio
Benaud Trio *
Borodin Trio
Busch Trio
Ceske Trio
Cohen Trio
Marcia Crayford, Christopher van Kampen, Ian Brown *
Daroch Trio *
Devich Trio
Dresden Piano Trio
Dvorak Trio
Arnold Eidus, George Ricci, Leopold Mittman *
Eroica Trio *
Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov *
Florestan Trio *
Fujita Piano Trio *
Grieg Trio
Gryphon Trio *
Guarneri Trio (SACD)
Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, Jacob Lateiner *
Noé Inui, Alexandre Debrus, Sebastien Lienart
Joachim Trio
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
Young Uck Kim, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax
Max Brod Trio
Merling Trio *
Mori Trio
Münchner Klaviertrio *
New Arts Trio *
Oberlin Trio *
David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Knuschevitzky, Lev Oborin
Osiris Trio
Rembrandt Trio *
Ruggiero Ricci, Zara Nelsova, Rudolf Firkusny
Virginie Robilliard, Péter Szabó, Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter
Rosamunde Trio
Svetlin Roussev, François Salque, Elena Rozanova *
Alfred Schopper, Rudolf Hindemith, Mariangela Granata
Hagai Shaham, Raphael Wallfisch, Arnon Erez
Suk Trio
Tempest Trio
Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt
Trio Artemis *
Trio Céleste *
Trio con Brio Copenhagen *
Trio de Barcelona *
Trio di Parma
Trio Fontenay *
Trio Les Esprits
Trio Solisti
Triple Forte
Turina-Trio
Vienna Piano Trio
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Boris Pergamenschikow, Paul Badura-Skoda
Smetana Trio
Trio Wanderer
Z.E.N. Trio

* = download only

[verismissimo]

Really a suite of dumkas, rather than a classical piano trio. Dvorak's genius shining throughout.

I've only ever had two Czech recordings on LP - the great Suk Trio (1977-78) and the Czech Trio (1972, same as Ceske Trio in Alpie's list I suppose).

Time for something new (to me).

[LMcD]

Although I can't lay my hands on it for the moment, I think I have quite a good performance on a BBC Music Magazine CD, which won't be considered of course.

[Pulcinella]

Although I can't lay my hands on it for the moment, I think I have quite a good performance on a BBC Music Magazine CD, which won't be considered of course.

Volume IV (as they were identified then) number 5.
Peter Frankl (piano), György Pauk (violin), Ralph Kirshbaum (cello).
Recorded 16 March 1992, St John's, Smith Square, London.

Just taken off the shelves for subsequent listening.

[CallMePaul]

All BALs this season to date have been "standard repertoire" works, with no less familiar items. Is this a new and worrying trend? At least this one is not being reviewed by a performer; I have never thought that performers make good critics and may not always be able to consider versions of a work objectively.

I have the Tempest Trio recording of this work, coupled with the F minor trio and said to be "Volume 1" on the booklet (whatever has happened to volume 2? - I have never heard either of the first two trios and suspect that I am not alone on this forum with respect to that). I will be interested to see how it compares with recordings by better-known ensembles.

[LMcD]

Volume IV (as they were identified then) number 5.
Peter Frankl (piano), György Pauk (violin), Ralph Kirshbaum (cello).
Recorded 16 March 1992, St John's, Smith Square, London.

Just taken off the shelves for subsequent listening.

As you've probably guessed, it was nestling among the B's!

[Pulcinella]

As you've probably guessed, it was nestling among the B's!

Ah! So that's how you file them!
It might have been a kindness to mention the coupling.


You do know about the listing mentioned in another thread, don't you?

https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/

[richardfinegold]

I’ve got several. The aforementioned Suk Trio is my favorite and the Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson ocassionally gets the nod...

[LMcD]

Ah! So that's how you file them!
It might have been a kindness to mention the coupling.


You do know about the listing mentioned in another thread, don't you?
https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/

I didn't, until now - thank you!

[Barbirollians]

I didn't, until now - thank you!

Tetzlaff Trio are excellent - though the coupling of Piano Trio No 3 is even better IMO.

[pastoralguy]

Lovely to hear the vintage recording led David Oistrakh.

[BBMmk2]

Not too bad at all this. The reviewer certainly doesn’t need any guidance.

[Master Jacques]

"We do have a tendency to think of Dvorak as - a Czech composer. Well, he's - well, just a fantastic composer."

And nearly every extract prefaced by "... and X,Y and Z really nail this moment better than anyone else". No they don't: they make it work. And there might be others who make it work just as well, but differently.

This was tabloid chat at its most hyperbolic and least illuminating. Katy Hamilton would I think have been able to do this well as a solo. The twofer-banter format has defeated her, I'm afraid, as it does almost everyone.

(And by the way, the Suk Trio were no more a "specialist trio" than any of the other star groups played. They got together irregularly: just because they didn't call themselves the Suk-Panenka-Chuchro trio (or whoever else were on piano/cello at the time) doesn't mean they were not world names in their day. Ms Hamilton made a false - and baffling - distinction there, drawing wrong conclusions as a result.)

[BBMmk2]

A truly very good listen yesterday.

[CallMePaul]

Once again the top recommendation, which I agreed with, is download only (checked on the Presto website), which to me is the equivalent of a deletion in pre-download days. I loathed the runner-up (Kim/ Ma/Ax) and will certainly not consider buying it. Of those surveyed the Suk Trio was my personal runner-up but I have not checked its availability. I do wish that reviewers would realise that not everyone does downloads and that the proportion of downloads to CD sales in the classical market is probably much lower than in the pop market. Please re-release this on mid-price CD, Harmonia Mundi, if anyone who works for the company reads these posts!