Customer Reviews

Mendelssohn: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2, Opp. 49,66

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the only CD that I own that I can pretty honestly say I've never been bored by. The playing here is spectacular; Stern is always great and here in company with Istomin and Rose the tempos are perfect, the musicality of the pieces are brought out in all their gorgeous intensity, and the joyful, endearing spirit of the composer is most abundantly evident. It's interesting to note that the two trios were recorded over a decade apart, yet the sound that the performers conjure up doesn't feel that way at all. From the opening bar of the D minor Trio to the final Luther(an)-esque hymn of the C minor Trio, there is about an hour of sublime music that I (at least) sometimes wish would never end.

Chamber Music seems so right during the boisterous mechanics of the holidays and one sure respite from the garish noise of the external season can be found in works like the Mendelssohn Piano Trios.

Here Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose, Isaac Stern perform Piano Trios 1 and 2 in a manner that bespeaks camaraderie of the performers as well as a complete respect for these luminous works. Some have called these works piano sonatas with obbligato and while for this listener that is an unfair judgment, Eugene Istomin plays the piano part with enough flair and thoughtful propulsion that he does at times sound the more important. But that is Mendelssohn's writing and not a self-aggrandizement of a pianist.

The overall sound is simply superb. These two trios are some of the loveliest ever written from that era and the gentlemen performing them offer sophisticated and informed interpretations. The recording is excellent, the music is rarefied! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

I purchased this CD with the intent of finding fine players playing fine music. What I found, however, was and outstanding example of chamber music as its finest. The ensemble these 3 players generate is some of the finest ensemble music playing recorded. Each player displays exceptional technique, both in the mechanical and lyrical aspects of their playing. Most impressive is listening to Istomen who, playing a very technically and lyrically demanding part, voices his playing with such finess and carefull attention to detail to the strings; a feat very difficult to do as a pianist. This is an excellent recording for the professional to study a score from or for the avid listener to play over and over.

I bought this CD because I figured I couldn't go wrong with Isaac Stern. I was right. The playing on this CD is taut and powerful, crackling with energy. At the same time, though, the players keep a superior sense of musical precision, and manage to make the music sound energetic without sounding heavy-handed. As Gramophone would say, it was not without irony that *Felix* Mendelssohn composed works of such *felicity*, and these performers keep that felicity intact, which sets this CD way above the myriads of other Mendelssohn Piano Trio recordings. For ten dollars especially, you can't go wrong. This is a CD every Mendelssohnian should have in his or her collection.

The Mendelssohn trios are some of the most beautiful music ever written. While I thoroughly enjoyed this recording and would highly reccomend buying it (at a bargain price here), i do have one small problem with it. Stern and Rose accompany each other quite well and while Stern here is at his usual, fiery and passionate, i feel that the pianist, Istomin, failed to match the fire that his accompanists create. Mendelssohn is said to have called his piano trios, "piano sonatas with accompaniment", as Mozarts works; which puts more emphasis on the piano part. And unfortunately here, there are more passages in whcih Istomin fails to live up to that than there should be. But where he fails, Stern makes up for, and that is why this recording is worth it.

Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose, Eugene Istomin. It's hard to get any better than that. The depth of emotion is moving and the clarity is wonderful. If you are a Mendelssohn fan, as I am, and if you are a fan of chamber music and string music this is the recording of Mendelssohn Piano Trios to buy.

Highly recommended.

Sharon Goldstein

To hold back the general decline of chambe music, famous mucisians band together to entice public interest. Today we have Martha Argerich leading the way; forty years ago it was Isaac Stern (and many cohorts from the Marlboro Festival rallying around Casals and Serkin). On the whole, I enjoy the relzed older style that is represented here. The Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio was made up of virtuosos, but they don't show off in the genial Mendelssohn piano trios. rgerich does, and her propulsive, nervy, spontaneous style lights a spark under the Trio #1 (EMI) in a way that we don't get here. Just compare her feiry palying in the Scherzo to Istomin's more correct, elegant approach. In every respect these are fine performances in an older style, recorded well by Columbia/CBS. I just think that these two trios need a bit more advocacy of the kind Argerich, and also Julia fischer (Pentatone), provides.

My most beloved piece of music, Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in D minor. Deep, rich cello, sparkling piano, and the lyrical voice of Stern's violin that leaves one humming the mesmorizing melody over and over again. This is Mendelssohn and chamber music at their finest.

Mendelssohn wrote several works that can safely be called "Masterpieces." His piano trios are most certainly amongst them. Add to that the famed Stern, Istomen and Rose trio, with their bouncy, passionate and absolutely precise rendering of these classics and you have the definitive recording of the Mendelssohn trios. Period.

One of Felix Mendelssohn best compositions. Piano Trio # 2(op. 66), though not as well known, might be a little better then the 1st piano trio (op.49). Though it's really splitting hairs, because this some of the finest chamber music from one of classical musics greatest composers. If you like piano based chamber music, check this one out it's one of the best.