A recording of thrilling extremes
Smetana Trio
Supraphon SU41452 375
Despite official Soviet disapproval of the Second Piano Trio, the composer made two recordings of the work in the immediate post-war era. The first, featuring the performers who gave the world premiere, dates from 1945. It was followed a year or so later by one taped in Prague with violinist David Oistrakh and cellist Miloš Sádlo. Currently available as downloads on the Doremi label, both performances are fascinating historical documents, even though they are captured in somewhat inferior sound. What they certainly reveal is the brilliance of
Shostakovich’s piano playing, as well as some notable differences in matters of tempo and nuance that don’t always tally with the markings in the score.
One consistent feature of these recordings is the frighteningly breakneck speeds adopted by both sets of these performers in the Scherzo. Of the few modern ensembles that get anywhere near to this daredevil approach, undoubtedly the most compelling interpretation comes from the Smetana Trio. The impact of its no-holds-barred breathless approach to this movement is overwhelming, making the music sound completely unhinged.
The Smetana Trio revels in the extremes of dynamics, texture and mood that characterises Shostakovich’s score, yet achieves the greatest emotional intensity without recourse to idiosyncratic interpretative mannerisms. What is particularly striking about this performance is its comprehensive mastery of the music’s architecture, a good example being the subtle way the players build up tension in the slow tread of the Passacaglia while at the same time maintaining a deliberately subdued colour throughout. This strategy pays particular dividends in the long-term connection between the slow movement and the finale, thereby making the outburst of anger that engulfs the climax near the end of the work and
The Smetana Trio makes the Scherzo sound completely unhinged
the ensuing collapse into near exhaustion in the coda all the more shattering.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of all comes earlier on. At the opening, for example, violinist Ji í Vodi ka follows cellist Jan Pálení ek’s glassy harmonics by imbuing his lamenting theme with a distinctive sobbing vibrato that sets the mournful tone for the rest of the movement. Once the music gathers momentum, the Smetana Trio is adept at negotiating the intensification of the musical argument, avoiding awkward gear changes every time the music’s emotional temperature rises.