First, let’s just state that no performance of Bartók’s Contrasts will ever match the authority of the original recording with Benny Goodman and Joseph Szigeti, with the composer at the piano. Having said that, this version has many admirable qualities. Ludmila Peterková’s clarinet has the right piercing tone for the sharp edges of the Verbunkos dance, yet she softens nicely to provide the sharp “contrasts” required in the piece. The second movement is appropriately spooky and emotional, with gripping unisons of the clarinet and violin, murky piano chords, and delicate treble utterings. With the demonic final dance, although never quite pushed to the edge of control, the musicians are on top of their game (there’s an interesting near-Gershwin experience toward the end), making this version at least as good as the terrific account by Michael Collins and friends on Hyperion.
Individually, all three musicians are highly skilled and demonstrate intelligent musical thought. Together, their ensemble creates a greater whole that brings out the best in the other pieces featured on this disc. In Khachaturian’s Trio, Gabriela Demeterova’s silky bowing and wonderfully sighing double stops, along with Markéta Cibulková’s Debussy-like chords and new-agey arpeggios, add that extra dimension needed to keep this work from being a simplistic salon piece. This is a better performance than that of the South African Chamber Society on Discover. The same goes for Milhaud’s Suite, with its charming Divertissement, delightfully dancing third movement, and passionate finale. A trio arrangement of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire comes across equally well; the ensemble plays with keen rhythmic focus and without any slack in momentum, finding a nice balance between the work’s cruder and more lyrical elements. There’s enough excellent playing and variety of repertoire here to entice almost any chamber music fan, and with Supraphon’s engineers providing a warm, intimate atmosphere, it’s pretty hard to resist this one.
