Bernstein; Schnyder; Kapustin Piano Trios
Ensemble from Cologne in trios from America
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Nikolai Kapustin, Daniel Schnyder, Gene Pritsker, Igor Frolov, Leonard Bernstein
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Ars Produktion
Magazine Review Date: 1/2012
Media Format: Super Audio CD
Media Runtime: 78
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: ARS38097

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphonic Dances from 'West Side Story' |
Leonard Bernstein, Composer
Leonard Bernstein, Composer Trio Pantarhei |
Worlds Beyond |
Daniel Schnyder, Composer
Daniel Schnyder, Composer Trio Pantarhei |
Concert Fantasy on Themes from Gershwin's 'Porgy a |
Igor Frolov, Composer
Igor Frolov, Composer Trio Pantarhei |
Trio |
Nikolai Kapustin, Composer
Nikolai Kapustin, Composer Trio Pantarhei |
Everything Profound |
Gene Pritsker, Composer
Gene Pritsker, Composer Trio Pantarhei |
Author: Philip_Clark
Trio Panta Rhei make even heavier weather of their boiled-down Symphonic Dances. Gudrun Pagel finds the melodic contours of ‘Somewhere’ tailor-made for a violinist but the trio fall into deep trouble during those numbers where big-band physicality and a jazz idiom come as standard. Julia Vaisberg’s piano-playing is appropriately gnarly but the strings lack precision enough to carry the ‘Prologue’, while ‘Mambo’ and especially the fugue from ‘Cool’ fall victim to some gruesomely acid intonation and feeble rhythmic attack. And whoever reckoned dropping bits of ‘America’ into ‘The Rumble’ as flashbacks was a good idea ought to be dragged down the station house by Officer Krupke.
Their Porgy and Bess, although not entirely free from iffy intonation, nails the dramatic trajectory of Igor Frolov’s paraphrase rather well, but the other works disappoint. Daniel Schnyder’s Worlds Beyond and Nikolai Kapustin’s Trio tinker boringly with jazz licks; Gene Pritsker’s Everything Profound is built on stock light-music sequences. Pritsker says in his programme-note that ‘all music is good music as long as it is played well’. Just thought I’d quote that and leave the inference hanging.
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