My brief early Autumn tour of lunchtime cathedral concerts ended today at Chichester. The Fujita sisters are widely travelled since being formed into a trio in the 1990's. It looked to me as if the eldest is the pianist, the middle one the violin and so I wondered when it was that the youngest realized she would be the cello. However, it is not third choice in my book because the cello is just about my favourite instrument.Their programme of Mozart and Smetana offered an obvious contrast in styles, Mozart being the more popular choice, one might think, but it was the Smetana that was most memorable here.
The Mozart Trio in C, K 548 begins with all the Allegro playfulness expected of the boy wonder but was more affecting in its limpid slow second movement with the trio in close concentration on each other's playing, without scores. The difference between the two composers is of course in Mozart's decorum and perfectly formed classicism, which was given superb expression here, compared to the more impassioned and changeable temper of the Smetana.The Trio in G minor, Op. 15 begins with great urgency before moving into lyrical passages of some tenderness and the piece continues to alternate between the two regularly with some pizzicato phrasing shared by the stringed instuments. Perhaps the Smetana favoured the strings more, with the cello given the main theme at times whereas the Mozart featured the piano more prominently but the point of a trio is for all three players to take a significant role, otherwise it would be a sonata.
The Smetana was a great success, rousing and emotional, the notes on the CD telling us it refers to the loss of a daughter to the composer, aged 4. Gladly, and perhaps not surprisingly in the circumstances, it is ffeatured on one of the discs they had for sale, which I didn't need any persuading to buy, especially when the trio were on hand to sign a copy. I hope the marker pen doesn't wear off.
Last year in Chichester I arrived about half an hour before the concert started and was a dozen or so rows back. It looked to me that the long, narrow space might mean late arrivals sitting near the back might not get much of a view or hear too well. So I was in place earlier this time although perhaps didn't need to be, but the seats were filled a long way back by the time the music began. So, you can't be too sure but I wouldn't advise leaving it too late before taking a seat here because the enjoyment was enhanced by being on the second row.