Classical Music: In Her Hands Piano Trios

In Her Hands
Clara Schumann, Chaminade & Pejačević Piano Trios

Clara Schumann Trio in G minor, Op. 17;
Dora Pejačević Trio (No. 2) in C major, Op. 29; Cécile Chaminade Trio No. 2 in A minor, Op. 34.

Neave Trio: Anna Williams violin; Mikhail Veselov cello; Eri Nakamura piano

Chandos CHAN 20368
chandos.net

The GRAMMY®-nominated Neave Trio has emerged as one of the finest young ensembles of its generation. For this, their eighth album, they have once again selected a programme of works by female composers—a curatorial choice that proves both historically illuminating and musically rewarding.

Clara Schumann's four-movement Trio opens the disc with wonderfully romantic writing. From the outset, the rhythmic pulse captivates and establishes the quality benchmark for the rest of the recording. The lightness of touch in the second movement and the enchanting flow of the third, with its beautiful pulse, reveal the Neaves bringing something genuinely fresh to this most familiar work on the programme. Written in 1846, the Trio was considered a great success by Schumann's friends and supporters—notably by Brahms—though her lack of self-confidence clouded her own view of the piece.

Intellectually curious and a voracious reader from an early age, Dora Pejačević was largely self-taught as a composer.

The Budapest-born musician, regarded as the founder of Croatian classical music, composed her first piano trio (in D major) in 1905, when she was twenty. The second followed in 1910, by which time her musical language had evolved into its distinctive late-romantic idiom. The slow movement here proves particularly captivating. Cast in E major and marked by restless modulations and shifting tempi, the Lento reveals itself as both kaleidoscopic and individual—a movement that defies convention at every turn. The richness of each instrument working in harmony resonates throughout, whilst the delightful ending is conveyed with exquisite sensitivity.

Cécile Chaminade's Piano Trio No. 2 in A minor was published in 1887, with a dedication to the great French cellist Jules Delsart. The successful première had been given at the Salle Érard on 4 February 1886, and Chaminade went on to perform the work regularly during the 1890s to substantial critical acclaim. The second movement of this wonderful piece captivated me, showcasing exceptional tone, phrasing, and timbre. The Lento resonates with particular richness. The finale moves on apace, nothing lost in interpretation, the balance expertly captured by the Chandos engineers.

The Neave Trio has been praised by BBC Music for its "generous and warm-hearted, utterly beguiling playing", and this disc proves, yet again, that assessment. The musicianship is enthralling in the mesmeric way these performances capture the spirit of the trio genre. The ensemble manages so brilliantly to characterise each work with poise—the lines are beautifully shaped, the attention to detail is remarkable, and the subtlety in dynamics is delivered with assurance as they bring out the colour and harmonic language with such confidence.

The richness and warmth of tone, combined with a thoughtfully curated programme, make this an appealing disc.

Enhanced by Chandos's excellence in recording quality, it has much to commend it in the exquisite phrasing and dynamics.

Wonderful performances, as always, from the Neaves: warm and luminous.