Benjamin Godard - Piano Trios (Trio Parnassus)

Information

Composer: Benjamin Godard

• Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor, Op. 32
• Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 72
• Berceuse de Jocelyn

Trio Parnassus

    Yamei Yu, violin

    Michael Groß, cello

    Chia Chou, piano

Date: 2010

Label: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 8 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Although Benjamin Godard’s prolific output is represented today primarily by the Berceuse from his opera Jocelyn, his two piano trios are anything but salon fluff. Each four-movement work fully taps the medium’s textural potential, with plenty of melodic interest, well-sustained development, and witty touches, such as the deft alterations from triple to duple time in the G minor Trio Minuetto and the hushed exchanges between the piano’s broken chords and the pizzicato strings in the F major Trio’s Allegro vivace finale (letter L in my copy of the Durand score).

The Trio Parnassus pretty much matches the high standards it set in its excellent Schumann recordings for MDG. The musicians are especially responsive to the Adagio movements’ long, unfolding narratives, and generally take Godard’s explicit dynamic directives on faith. Ideally I’d prefer faster, more effervescent and sharply characterized finales than what the Trio Parnassus delivers, but the ensemble still makes a strong case for reviving these works. In the absence of an earlier, out-of-print edition on Koch Schwann featuring the Trio Ma Non Troppo, the Trio Parnassus has no current catalog competition here. Recommended.

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Apr11/Godard_mdg30316152.htm

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/m/mdg31615a.php

http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/keep-godard-trios.html

https://www.amazon.com/Godard-Complete-Piano-Trios-Benjamin/dp/B003A6OHDW

-----------------------------------------------------------

Benjamin Godard (18 August 1849 – 10 January 1895) was a French violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Henri Vieuxtemps (violin) and Napoléon Henri Reber (harmony). Godard's long list of works includes eight operas, five symphonies, two piano concertos, three string quartets, four sonatas for violin and piano, a sonata for cello and piano, two piano trios, and various other orchestral works. Godard was opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and also highly critical of Wagner's antisemitism. His style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Godard

***

The Trio Parnassus was formed in 1982 on the initiative of its cellist, the only original member still with the group, Michael Groß. Pianist Chia Chou, violinist Yamei Yu, and Groß represent the fourth different grouping. The Trio has maintained a reputation as one of the finest piano trios in Germany from the latter 20th and early 21st centuries despite a fair number of personnel changes. The ensemble has developed a reputation for playing standards repertoire, while also devoting much time to the rediscovery of forgotten compositions. The Trio Parnassus has made over 30 recordings, all for German label MD&G.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/trio-parnassus-mn0002190646

https://www.trioparnassus.com/

-----------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!