Judging from the CD cover and credits, you’d assume that “Foss plays Mozart” represents a one-man show, even if you manage to discover from the small print that in fact this is a chamber music disc. True, Foss’ impressive keyboard prowess is America’s best-kept secret, but that’s no reason for a record company to omit the collaborators’ names from the front and back of the disc. At least they’re credited inside the booklet. Now that we’ve gotten marquee issues out of the way, let’s focus on the music. Foss, clarinetist Stanley Drucker, and violist Irene Breslaw make the most of Mozart’s gorgeously wrought textural interplay in the K. 498 trio. In particular, Breslaw’s lower strings convey a richness and resonance you might easily mistake for a cello. Stanley Drucker’s customary presence and purity of tone are no less major assets. Foss proves both a sensitive accompanist, and when necessary, an assertive leader.
The B-flat piano trio’s extroverted scales, runs, and trills simply sparkle from Foss’ 79-year-old fingers, while his eloquent phrasing underlines the operatic impulses that govern both this and the C major trio’s slow movement. Qiang Tu’s gentle yet solid cello support should be noted, but Chin Kim’s thin tone and variable intonation in the aforementioned B-flat trio Allegretto make repeated listenings tough going. The best way Elysium can take advantage of Lukas Foss the pianist while he’s still alive and healthy is to march him into the studio, make everything cozy and relaxed, and encourage him to play solo Bach hours on end.
