Hard on the heels of the Solomon Trio's Pickwick coupling of the piano trios by Tchaikovsky and Arensky comes this one from Naxos. This pairing of works that have much in common, much that separates them, is a successful one, as other ensembles have found. In some ways, Arensky solves the problems of texture better than Tchaikovsky, who can let the sound become very thick especially in his first movement. This is not helped on the new version by over-emphatic playing from Vovka Ashkenazy and a rather cluttered recording. Richard Stamper and Christine Jackson have to struggle a little here. All three players are more at ease in the Variations, though sharper differentiation between each successive one would have heightened their character: the scherzo is delicate but a little inert, the musical clock ticks away quite nicely, and the following waltz is started well by the cello but is then held earthbound by rather heavy rhythms. Arensky's Scherzo is also clear but static; the Elegy is gravely and eloquently handled by the strings. There are now some dozen versions of Tchaikovsky's work in the catalogue, with couplings to Arensky's by other ensembles as well as the recent Solomon; the latter has its faults, but, even at the price, I would not prefer the new record.'