Trio Lalique in Chichester

 Trio Lalique, Chichester Cathedral, October 14

Trio Lalique's programme stood out as a likely highlight of Chichester's Autumn schedule. Heavyweight composers don't come much heavier than Beethoven and Shostakovich, here compared through their first Piano Trios. 

'Heavy' by way of reputation, though, not 'heavy going' like some one could mention. The Beethoven op. 1 no. 1 might not be quite his first work but genius comes ready-made if not yet fully formed. The Allegro sets the predominant tone which is eine kleine Mozartian and 'classical', extending its six-note rising motif through Ilya Kondratiev's tip-toeing piano. Julia Morneweg's cello led the melodic line in the Adagio before the full trio sound was something one could never expect from a disc, especially from the third row. The slow movements of Beethoven's Piano Trios are worthy of special attention, with the Archduke still some way ahead in both time and timelessness and Trio Lalique caught the young man in all his relative innocence. The Scherzo and Presto were flighty exhibitions of dexterity on all three instruments, quickening captivatingly in the violin of Yuri Kalnits to an exuberant ending.

The Shostakovich Trio no. 1, op. 8, is something different entirely. If shorter in length, it is larger in conception. The hero of Russian, if not all, C20th music was 16 when he wrote it but the foundations of his compelling later work are in place. Julia carried a romantic cello line in among the wintry shimmer but Shostakovich is nothing if not restless and there were passages of swarming, high tension before a grandiloquent tutti as the climax. I'm in less of a position to hope for more Shostakovich on our local concert circuit by now because we've had some this year but one can hope that a trend has been set and I'd like to draw the attention of the several fine pianists we have locally to the Preludes and Fugues.

That was truly memorable, not that anything that Chichester lunchtimes ever offer is forgettable, but it made great sense, was immacualtely delivered with Ilya demonstrating remarkable reflexes in turning over his sheet music at moments of high drama and there was nowhere I'd rather have been. That is what makes these event essential.