Dvorak: Piano Trios

Dvorak: Piano Trios

This trio is being promoted as a sister act of glamour girls: the record credits the creators of their wardrobe, hairstyles, and makeup before the producer and engineer. This is too bad, not only because these musicians really play very well, with impressive brilliance, a good sound, and true sisterly rapport, but because it seems to encourage them to put their egos before the music. They play fast and loose with DvorÃ¡k's tempo indications, take enormous liberties, and exaggerate everything to underline contrast and effect. This gives their playing a lot of character but also leads to willful distortion. Worst of all, the violinist and cellist slide incessantly, making the piano part an oasis of stability. DvorÃ¡k's "Dumky" Trio suffers most; Suk's Elegy has a nice, dreamy quality; the Ahn sisters' excessive approach works best in the Shostakovich. --Edith Eisler

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