The Strad Recommends: Trio E.T.A.: un///known

THE STRAD RECOMMENDS

The Strad Issue: August 2026

Description: A recently formed group celebrates youthful promise

Musicians: Trio E.T.A. 

Works: Brahms: (attrib.) Piano Trio Anh.4/5. Franck: Piano Trio op.1 no.1. Grieg: Andante con moto

Catalogue number: SWR MUSIC SWR19172CD

Here’s an intriguing repertoire idea: three works that are not exactly ‘unknown’ – as the disc’s title declares – but which nevertheless exist at the fringes of the repertoire. What is unknown is who wrote the A major Trio attributed to Brahms, assuming it wasn’t the man himself: on a blind tasting he’d be the first name you’d opt for, given the harmonic flavour and expansive lyricism of the opening movement, the menacing scherzo, the hymn-like introspection of the Lento and the rhythmic games of the Hungarian-tinged finale.

You wouldn’t mistake the Scandi-modalisms of Grieg’s Andante con moto for anyone else, though. It appears that, buoyed by the achievement of his sole String Quartet, he embarked on a further piece of chamber music but only completed this movement; like the ‘Brahms’ Trio, it was not published until decades after his death. Franck’s op.1 – an ambitious set of three Trios concertans – was, though, published when the composer was only 21 and caught the ear of Liszt, who would have appreciated their reliance on cyclic procedures. Their bemused reception, however, meant that it was a further four decades before Franck ventured back into the chamber domain, with his powerful Piano Quintet.

Intriguing, then, and beautifully played. Trio E.T.A. (formed in 2021) responds instinctively to the individual sound worlds of each work and gives performances of unforced naturalness; the quasi-Grand Guignol of the Franck, especially, is enhanced by some striking pianissimo playing. Not just one for repertoire junkies: a stimulating programme played by an exciting new ensemble.

DAVID THREASHER