Tchaikovsky started things off by writing his A minor Piano Trio as a musical memorial to Nikolay Rubinstein. Rachmaninov then wrote his second Trio élégiaque in memory of Tchaikovsky, and Alexander Goldenweiser wrote his E minor Trio in memory of Rachmaninov. Alongside this sequence there can be added Arensky’s D minor Trio, composed as a tribute to the departed cellist Karl Davydov, and Shostakovich’s Second Trio, prompted by the death of his friend Ivan Sollertinsky. But it is particularly enterprising of the Piano Trio Schäfer Then Bergh Yang to link together the Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Goldenweiser: even though the first two are already healthily represented in the catalogue, the Goldenweiser, composed in 1950, seems otherwise to be available only on an old recording (from Revelation) featuring Goldenweiser himself on the piano with Leonid Kogan and Mstislav Rostropovich.

In terms of structure, Goldenweiser follows Tchaikovsky’s pattern of an elegiac first movement followed by a theme and variations. The music lacks anything like the strength of profile that Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov proffer in their own trios, though the performance itself is thoroughly sympathetic and well balanced instrumentally. The players are on much stronger ground with the Tchaikovsky and the Rachmaninov, in the latter deploying the optional harmonium to announce the theme of the central movement’s variations. The playing blends poignancy with passion and some impressive projection and sensitive turns of phrase. The Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninov coupling alone would make the recording recommendable, and it is at least useful to have the Goldenweiser to complete the chain.