Vienna Trio Plays Elegantly

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31108, 11 July 1966, Page 14

Vienna Trio Plays Elegantly

Three young but impressively talented performers from Austria, Rudolf Buchbinder, Peter Guth and Heidi Litschauer—pianist, violinist and 'cellist respectively—played with practised ease and elegance for the Christchurch Chamber Music Society in the Civic Theatre on Saturday evening.

The programme began with a trio in C major by Haydn. The first movement was played with infectious gaiety of youthful search for gracious beauty and the players found its secret places with vibrant tone in clear lines, tastefully ornamented, weaving into phrasing of delicate texture. The balance established in the first movement was carried over into the second, and beautifully singing tones gave a soft patina to gently. expressive music. The rondo was played with mounting exhilaration with exciting

and polished rippling from the piano against firmly telling themes from the strings. This scintillating playing showed a high degree of technical control.

Schubert’s popular and exquisite trio in B flat. Op. 99, had sunny and captivating joyfulness and confident security in the first movement. Miss Litschauer’s tone was of melting beauty in the melody of the second subject, and the romantic spirit of the music pulsed with warm feeling in perfect accord among all three players. The second movement began as an idealised cradle song that floated gently and calmly, and the scherzo was played at a very fast clip as of one rushing to share good tidings. The rondo was a jocund dance in soaring spirits and the whole work was played with poised appreciation of its true essence. Interesting and vivacious tonal qualities, matching and balancing in artistic expression, were produced throughout every moment of the work. Ravel’s Trio in A minor ended the programme in grace and delicacy of impressionist colour. It began with a gentle stirring of the surface of the waters. Highly sensitive shadings created elusive patterns and subtle highlights, and the first movement ended with exquisitely wrought wispy sounds. The second movement began with nimble leap-frog thematic material tossed to and fro with lively abandon, and it flew through its short course with marvellously agile playing. The third had mysterious sounds, brooding and melancholy, but gaining confidence and depth of searching. Glittering reflections of summer’s sunshine returned in the finale, and heightened enjoyment rose in grand piling of tone, strong and brilliant in attack, and everything ended triumphantly. —C.F.B.