Grechaninov displays in his chamber music the same attachment to the old world as he does in his symphonic works. Piano Trio No. 1, from 1906, appropriates a Tchaikovskian style, not least in the driving dotted rhythm (from Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony) that dominates the first movement. Moving forward to 1927 we find Grechaninov moving backwards to the 1800’s in his Cello Sonata, a well-crafted and serenely lyrical piece that recalls Schumann and the German romantics. Paradoxically, the latest piece here, the vigorous and youthful Piano Trio No. 2, sounds like the earliest. It recreates in sound the world of Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov, even though it was composed in 1930, long after that world had faded into memory.
The Moscow Rachmaninov Piano Trio offers fine, polished performances that reflect their faith in the music. Reactionary? You bet! But then, some people enjoy Grechaninov for this very reason. So if you think Russian music was just fine until that meddlesome Stravinsky introduced all those horrible dissonances, than you’ll be delighted with this warmly and vividly recorded disc.
