Trio Plays With More Style Than Passion
Superior instrumentalism, accomplished ensemble playing and a sometimes unassertive and bland connection to its repertory marked the performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio, returning to the Los Angeles area Wednesday night.
On the Rosalinde Gilbert series at the L.A. County Museum of Art, the three players--pianist Konstantin Bogino, violinist Alexandre Brussilovsky and cellist Anatole Liebermann--gave stylish readings to three contrasting works, Aaron Copland’s “Vitebsk,” the Ravel Trio and Schubert’s Trio No. 2 in E-flat, Opus 100. They did not usually go beyond stylishness, however, to bring strong personal commitment to otherwise polished playing.
This was most apparent in the this-time-lengthy Schubert piece, which emerged more dutiful than delightful, despite careful detailing. In Ravel’s subtle Trio, some of the glowing pastels, if not the velvet gentleness, materialized in a transparent but ultimately uncharming account.
More gripping was the ensemble’s pointed reading of Copland’s dissonant trio from 1929, a sometimes violent, ever-characterful essay on urban angst. This had personality.--DANIEL CARIAGA
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* The Tchaikovsky Piano Trio plays a different program Monday, 8 p.m., Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. $14 to $25. (714) 854-4646.
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