Louis Kaufman: Smetana, Tchaikovsky

The Strad Issue: September 2026

Description: Much to admire in these highly personal Romantic piano trios

Musicians: Louis Kaufman (violin) Willem van den Burg, Kurt Reher (cello) Rudolf Firkušný, Theodore Saidenberg (piano)

Works: Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor. Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor

Catalogue number: BIDDULPH 85069-2

Two deeply felt memorial works found interesting interpreters in Los Angeles in the late 1940s. One imagines the moving spirit was the pro-active American violinist Louis Kaufman – both pianists were friends of his and the two cellists were renowned West Coast orchestral principals.

Smetana’s 1855 Piano Trio was his reaction to the unimaginable loss of two daughters – one in 1854, followed by the death of his favourite child Bedřiška, or Fritzi, the following year.

The great Czech pianist Rudolf Firkušný is in full command of proceedings, although it is Kaufman’s superb depth of tone that we meet in the tragic opening bars, while Dutch cellist Willem van den Burg’s distinctive sound is heard in the more consoling second motif. The central scherzo depicts Fritzi’s playful nature but its two trios return us to serious moods. The final rondo needs a pianist of Firkušný’s stature as it tears away, to be interrupted by sad episodes before the optimistic ending in the major.

The 1948 Smetana was released on 78rpm discs, to acclaim. The 1947 Tchaikovsky, issued on LP, must have been recorded in 78rpm takes – unlike the Smetana, it has a certain lack of breadth in slower passages and a slight sense of hurrying in faster music. There is much to enjoy but Saidenberg sounds over-extended at times. Near-contemporary versions by the Oistrakh Trio and Gilels-Kogan-Rostropovich come closer to matching the work’s multifaceted challenges.

Despite the odd blip, tick or blast, the Smetana has tremendous presence. The Tchaikovsky is more restrained in sound but both recordings are good enough to reveal beautiful string sonority.

TULLY POTTER