CHERNIAVSKY TRIO

Evening Star, Issue 19799, 24 February 1928, Page 4

CHERNIAVSKY TRIO

SECOND RECITAL The three Cherniavsky brothers— Leo, Jan, and Mischel—appeared together in a second recital in His Majesty’s Theatre last evening, and were again accorded a very flattering reception. The programme was a classical one, and contained only three set numbers—a Beethoven sonata for the ’cello and piano, a Franck sonata lor the violin and piano, and a Tschaikovsky trio. There was little in the nature of show pieces, and a great deal that made severe demands upon the three artists, Their ensemble playing was finished and highly developed in all shades of expression in the music. The Cherniavskys have taste and technical skill that enables them to present, the compositions they oiler exquisitely. Anyone possessing the smallest degree of musical appreciation cannot fail to extract the maximum of enjoyment from their supremely artistic playing. To the discerning listener their music is a pure delight. In the allegro of the Beethoven sonata, Mischel, the ’cellist, obtained particularly pleasing tone—rich, sonorous, and deeply expressive. His staccato notes were crisp, but not, quite true at times, and them was a, suggestion of unevenness in Jan’s piano tone. In the scherzo the tone was much better, especially m the piano. The third movement—the adagio—was one of surpassing beauty. The ’cello maintained a perfect evenness, with a breadth and color and purity in definition that was most noticeable. There was a clear and limpid freshness about the piano tone. As an encore, Mischel played the restful but worked-to-death ' Minuet in G’ of Beethoven in a sympathetic and characteristically graceful manner. The four movements of the Cesar Franck sonata for the violin and piano provided an exacting lest for both Leo and Jan. The former played as if the technical difficulties did not exist, and oven in the most intricate passages never lost, his beauty of tone. The delicacy of the more refined passages was treated intelligently and sympathetically by both artists. Jan’s piano work was superb. The power and "bigness” of tone that came from his flying fingers was most striking. Clean phrasing,’finish, and a. certain restraint, were the apparent qualities of their version of the sonata. On being recalled Leo played Kreisler’s ‘Caprice Viennois ’ with charm. The beauty of Ids cadenzas and double stopping effects stamped the. number as a little gem. As a further encore he played one of the Chopin mazurkas. The Tschaikovsky (A minor) Trio was undoubtedly the. outstanding number of the evening. It was perhaps a little lengthy, occupying ns it did some forty minutes. Exacting as the previous sonatas were, the trio was even heavier. There was only one distinct break, but the artists at no time flagged in a remarkably fine interpretation of the trio. This composition is a, splendid example of Tschaikovsky’s amazing descriptive powers in music. It has every reason to he popular, for it has every characteristic calculated to appeal to the music lover. It is exceptionally rich in melody, and contains _ passages of great, brilliance tor the display of the artists’ virtuosity. Tschaikovsky took the French Revolution as the melodic theme of this extraordinary work. The subject matter is clearly defined. Under the. Cherniavskys if, assumed vivid colors-, and in their hands it was seen for the masterpiece it is. The three artists did full justice to its sharply cont rast ino moods and emotions. I he

fire and verve of the striking passages are admirably interpreted, and at the same time they were able to preserve all the quieter beauties. The work was marked with some lovely flowing passages, and the tone, balance, and precision of the players were indeed notable. A feature of the effort was the happy way in which the tone qualities of the strings and piano blended. The artists were insistently recalled, and concluded the recital with Boccherini’s melodious little ‘Minuet..’ The third and Inst recital will bo given to-morrow evening, when a “popular” programme will be presented.