This enterprising series shines a light on two lost Russians
The Strad Issue: September 2025
Description: This enterprising series shines a light on two lost Russians
Musicians: Brahms Trio
Works: Aloiz: Piano Trio in F major. Winkler: Piano Trio in F sharp minor
Catalogue number: NAXOS 8.574688
There’s a certain pathos now to a disc devoted to the late 19th-century period during which Russia had become part of international musical culture. This presumably wasn’t lost on the Brahms Trio while setting down these two world premieres in the Moscow Conservatoire’s Large Hall in November 2022 – with a recording that is ideally balanced.
Czech cellist Vladislav Aloiz performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in Odessa in 1893 under the composer’s own baton; then in 1897 moved to St Petersburg, where he taught at the city’s Conservatoire and served as principal cellist in the Imperial Orchestra. His Romantic Piano Trio in F major of 1894 dishes up a bravura expressive first movement, a fascinatingly tonally complex Andante con passione, and a spirited, folky finale – to which these musicians bring a light, lucid-textured exuberance.
Kharkiv-born Alexander Winkler – who taught the likes of Myaskovsky and Prokofiev in his St Petersburg Conservatoire composition class – often sounds spookily Brahmsian in his F sharp minor Trio. The darkly searching main theme of the opening Allegro is one instance – interpreted here with intimate delicacy. Also in the mix is more overtly Russian melodicism, which is wonderfully conveyed here by the Brahms Trio. The strings’ duetting in the Andante con passione is another highlight in an album full of riches.
CHARLOTTE GARDNER
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