Peabody Piano Trio Meets the Challenge of Dvorak, Brahms

In the sense that it offered Romantic blandishments from familiar composers, the Peabody Piano Trio’s program Monday at Cal State Northridge’s Performing Arts Center might be considered conservative. In terms of interpretive and technical risk, however, it was an act of almost foolhardy daring.

Dvorak’s “Dumky” Trio, Opus 90, delivers all the folksy frenzies and achingly poignant tunes we expect of the composer. But it does so in an odd, expansive and repetitive, tough-to-integrate form. It challenges concentration and communication as well as technique.

The Peabody group met it solidly, diving into its expressive byways with supple, moody passion. Some of the vigorous dance passages were overplayed, driven past ensemble security and purposeful persuasion. But at the soft, slow end of their interpretive spectrum, violinist Violaine Melancon, cellist Thomas Kraines and pianist Seth Knopp probed deeply, attuned in nuance and reflective commitment.

There could be few reservations about their big-boned Brahms. Whether in agitation or in repose, the Trio in B, Opus 8, was developed with character and skill, rich in detail but with an ear to cumulative tensions and momentum. As lavish in span and color as the Dvorak but more conventionally framed, the piece sounded both well thought-out and urgently experienced in the Peabody approach.

Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces, Opus 88, opened. The Boston-based ensemble, frequent visitors here lately, stated this under-appreciated music with clarity, grace and feeling.

* The program, closing the main Music Guild series, will be repeated tonight at 8, Wilshire-Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th St. $5-$24. (310) 552-3030.