For anyone interested in Glinka's Trio, choice here is simple. The new Borodin Trio performance is greatly superior to the Pavane version cited above, which is on the stiff side and not blessed with a very distinguished recording (it is coupled with Beethoven's Clarinet Trio). Not only is the sound far better on the new Chandos, but the playing has a sweep and eloquence, also a neat wit, of which the work stands in some need. Though I think myself that David Brown is a little hard on it in his study of the composer (London: 1974), it has to be allowed that this is not vintage Glinka. The first movement is indeed somewhat laboured, but especially in such an attractive performance as this, the scherzo has a deft turn of phrase and the Largo, if rather self-consciously reflecting Glinka's current Italian sojourn, has a certain charm. Glinka's original version, for piano, clarinet and bassoon, was recorded by Alan Hacker, Richard Burnett and Hansjurg Lange using period instruments on L'Oiseau-Lyre (DSLO524, 7/76) but has now been deleted.
Arensky's Trio is also delightfully played, with a nice lilt making the scherzo acquire a pleasant touch of the waltz; the Borodin's rhythms are agreeably flexible here. The final deadpan payoff is very drily managed. The ''Elegie'' shares something with Glinka's slow movement in that use is made of a cantilena over punctuating piano chords. The pianist judges these very well here, accompanying and propelling the string melody and giving it a pleasantly oblique character.
Neither of these work is a masterpiece, but both are well made and refreshingly unpretentious (though Arensky does rather outstay his welcome in his opening movement). They should give much harmless pleasure.'