Beaux Arts Trio - Turina: Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2, Fantasía, Granados: Piano Trio (1996)

It is often said that the best Spanish music has been written by Frenchmen. But this disc reveals just how French Spanish composers can be. Refreshingly off-beat repertoire in the shape of piano trios from Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) and the older Granados are given rapturous performances by one of the oldest hands at the game, the Beaux Arts Trio. The pianist, Menahem Pressler, is the longest survivor from this trio, but his companions, violinist Ida Kavafian and cellist Peter Wiley, continue to enhance the name. The discoveries on this disc are the works by Turina – two ‘official’ trios and Círculo... Both trios are impressive for their conciseness of thought and have particularly striking openings – the first intensely impassioned, the second tentatively questioning. Granados’s Trio (1894) is more of a ramble. Indeed, he doesn’t seem to want to let go of the first movement. Kavafian and Wiley are wonderfully matched in sound, bringing the widest range of colours and intensity to music that needs projection. Pressler, too, is warmly supportive in an excellent sound balance. Annette Morreau