Rachmaninov’s Elegiac Trios at Avie Records

Pianist Alexandre Panfilov, violinist Andrey Baranov and cellist Christoph Croisé unite their sensibilities for the benefit of a Rachmaninov program imbued with the melancholic soul of the composer.

The Elegiac Trio No. 1 in G minordates from January 1892 (Rachmaninov was 18 years old) and includes only one movement noted Lento lugubre. From this youthful opus, characteristics appear that will lastingly mark his compositions, where an atmosphere of dark sadness, ample melodies and a vibrant and moving ability to identify with the feelings of his peers dominate. After a few measures given to the cello then to the violin, the entrance of the piano draws the main theme which turns out to be the reversal of the initial motif of the Concerto pour piano n° 1 by Tchaikovsky. The musical sequence gives way to several events, sometimes more active, sometimes tinged with emotion. A funeral march based on the main theme leads to a mournful climate at the end of the score. The three musicians offer an interpretation of this remarkable piece that is both faithful and endearing, intense and inhabited.

A year later, Rachmaninoff returned to the same training with his Elegiac Trio No. 2 in D minor, op. 9, to which he attributes four movements inspired by themes drawn from a trio in A minor that Tchaikovsky composed in 1882 after the death of his friend Nicolaï Rubinstein. After the completion of his score in 1894, dedicated to the memory of Tchaikovsky, his much-loved mentor who had died the previous year, he was still dissatisfied; he returned twice, in 1907 and 1917, without giving excessive credit to his work, despite a certain number of welcome cuts.
Listening to the version recorded for the Avie Records label largely contradicts the creator’s doubts and pays a well-deserved tribute to this long score (45 minutes) in three contrasting and brilliant movements. The opening Moderato-Allegro vivace in D minor offers lush and voluble music, imbued with solemnity. The central movement Almost variation in F major (a theme followed by eight variations) opts for a chorale with religious accents. It contains magnificent passages entrusted mainly to the piano. The brief last movement Allegro resoluto-Moderato (D minor) repeats the main theme forte on the violin and cello. The trio exults and expresses deep despair leading to a funeral march that could be described as vehement despair.

Despite his major qualities, the Russian master was criticized for his excessive changes of tempo and his iterative repetitions, even a certain lack of breath. Nevertheless, attentive listening partially erases these faults, undoubtedly accentuated by the deep respect that Rachmaninoff had for his illustrious predecessor. The pages devoted to the piano, often elegiac, constantly excite the listener.

In addition, four melodies for voice and piano, from opuses 21 and 38, appear here in arrangements for instrumental trio by Panfilov (It is good here; Un Rêve; Marguerites; Lilas), while Autumn song, extracts from Seasons by Tchaikovsky, is presented in a delicate arrangement by Louis Eaton.

A convincing album which will not make us forget the indisputable successes of great predecessors such as the Moscow Trio (Chant du Monde), the Oistrakh-Khnushevitzky-Oborin trio (Melodya), the Beaux Arts Trio (Philipps) or the Lang Lang trio -Vadim Repin-Mischa Maisky (DG).

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