Trios & Sonatinas
Navona, 2023
8/10
A composer who focuses much on clarity, Richard E Brown’s neoclassical ways and the players he selects for these timeless chamber pieces align perfectly with his emotive presence.
“Trio No. 1 (Koreana)” starts the listen with the Trio Casals, i.e Alexandr “Sasha” Kislitsyn (violin), Ovidiu Marinescu (cello) and Anna Kislitsyna (piano), who blend their instruments with much grace and intimacy that flows sublimely, and “Sonatina For Viola And Piano” follows with Peter Sulski’s viola and Randall Hodgkinson’s piano interacting with both adventurousness and intimacy that’s quite stirring.
In the middle, Anne Howarth (horn), Ryan Shannon (violin) and Julia Scott Carey (piano), aka Juventas New Music Ensemble, make for a soft and firm album highlight that has the keys dancing around the soulful brass and lively strings, while “Sonatina For Cello And Piano” has Ovidiu Marinescu’s cello and Anna Kislitsyna’s piano emitting a poetic and expressive display of dynamic chemistry.
The final piece, “Trio No. 2”, brings the Trio Casals back for a bit of mysteriousness in the darker qualities that meshes the strings and keys together in exciting, sometimes eerie ways of exploration.
The Western classical piano trios and Korean folk themes mix together seamlessly here, as Brown continues to impress us with his diverse and distinct vision.
Travels well with: Garth Baxter- Ask Of Me What The Birds Sang; Frank Felice- The Beauty Of Innuendos