Smetana wrote a huge amount of piano music, but his chamber ensemble works are much fewer in number. The two string quartets are already well known and have been released in superb performances by the Panocha Quartet as Volume 1 of the present series. This second and last volume contains the early Piano Trio, a lovely, unusual work in three movements, all of them relatively quick. The middle movement does double duty as both slow movement and scherzo, and the whole work is so appealingly melodic and attractively written that it really doesn’t deserve its comparative neglect, particularly as we’re not exactly swimming in great Romantic piano trios (there are less than a dozen worth talking about). The other two works, for violin and piano, are charming, unassuming, and very well played, as is the Trio itself. Anyone looking for some delightful chamber music by a major composer, that hasn’t been played to death, should consider this wholly winning disc. [1/18/2000]
