Customer Reviews

Dvorák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90, 'Dumky'/Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor

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I am not a musician, but appreciate excellent Classical music. I have played this disc over and over and it is one of the favourites in my collection. It is great value, and the Borodin Trio superb (as they are in the Rachmaninov elegiac Piano Trios). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this version-you won't be disappointed.

Ok, I understand that no two performances of the same work, even by the same artist, are exactly alike and that everybody is entitled to his/her own interpretation based on conception. But this? Come on, it's as if the world-renowned Borodin Trio is playing for a funeral procession that is taking FOREVER to pass. The two works on this disc - the Smetana Trio and the Dvorak 'Dumky' Trio - while different in both structure and character, share one key ingredient: passion. This is almost completely overlooked in these recordings. The performances are entirely too slow and, at times, meekly played. The former is especially aggravating when one considers that the essence of the Dvorak trio lies in tempo. The 'Dumka" structure (plural 'Dumky'), which Dvorak used time and again in his works, is one which is marked by alternating fast and slow passages. Therefore, this contrast is of primary importance in this piece. I, for one, do not sense much, if any, of it here. The spirited sections are played only slightly faster than the weighty sections, not allowing for much of a change in character to be perceived by the listener. I like to think of this piece as depicting the ongoing conflict between the rational and the impulsive - rushing ahead impetuously and then stepping back and rethinking one's actions. Instead, this whole performance is mostly just one ongoing lamentation with maybe a faint glimmer of hope here and there, and does not come anywhere close to capturing the real spirit of the work. It is the same story with the Smetana. While aware that he wrote this trio after the death of his infant daughter Bedriska, contrast of emotion is still essential. This contrast helps to emphasize the main mood of the piece - in this case a lamenting one - and to enable the listener to experience each emotion afresh upon hearing the difference. With the limited emotional range here, the listener becomes desensitized to the music (or at least I did). I found myself (especially in the last movement) wondering, "When is this going to be over?" and trying to stay awake while driving. Listening to such a beautiful and rich work as this, one should not get this feeling. I've found this to be the case with a number of the Borodin Trio's recordings (though I do like their Schubert B-flat Trio), and tend to stay away from them as a result.

Recommended for Dvorak: the Suk Trio on DG or the Beaux Arts Trio on Philips

Recommended for Smetana: Beaux Arts Trio on Philips (from 1990 with Peter Wiley on cello) or Trio di Torino on Real Sound