Balance is a difficult problem to solve in Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio, as the composer himself acknowledged with his reluctance to write one at all. He does not always make matters easy for himself, for to set against such delightful textures as the charming 'mechanical clock' variation there are passages where huge chords (thickly written, down below the bass stave in root position) make a clogged effect and one which creates problems for the pianist when accommodating the strings.
Natalia Zertsalova is well aware of the difficulties and does her best, with a little help from her friendly recording engineers: the strings seem to be set a bit nearer the microphone. But there are still some awkward moments (an example comes in a repeated figure at, for instance, 13'34'' on track 1, and the second and final movement are rife with them). Moreover, Igor Oistrakh tends to dominate Evgeny Altman, a more self-effacing artist and one who does not phrase as boldly as Oistrakh. In Var. No. 2 the violin decorations are not made secondary to his delivery of the tune, though this is pleasantly phrased, as is his charming delivery of the waltz. Everything gets a bit strenuous in the fugue and in the finale (which is played without the optional cut).
There are many attractive things in this performance, and Oistrakh has some superb turns of phrase and an idiomatic feeling for a long line. However, it is not such a true chamber music performance as some.'