Tremills, Kathryn & Trio D'Argento - Piano Centric

Since its inception the piano has played a major role in the history and development of Chamber Music. Because it can attain a near-orchestral volume of sound and complexity and yet be played with the precision and intimacy of a single line instrument, it is an instrument perfectly suited to the compositions presented on this album.

What better place to start than with the music of Beethoven, a composer who was involved with the earliest designs of the pianoforte? His Piano Trio in B-flat major is a delightful way to explore the combination of instruments with the piano. Trio d’Argento then performs the two French works on the disc — Saint-Saëns’ spirited Tarantella and the Deux Interludes by Jacques Ibert. These two works have become a staple of the core repertoire for Piano Trio — flute, clarinet and piano.

Finishing this chamber music excursion is a work of majestic proportions, the Quintet for Piano and Winds, Opus 79 by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, whose early years included self-immersion in learning about orchestration. With piano as the central player along with state-of-the-art modern instruments, the works collected here spring to life!