Charles Villiers Stanford - Piano Trio No. 2; Piano Quartet No. 1 (Gould Piano Trio)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Completed in April 1879 and premiered the following month at one of Hans Richter’s Festival Concerts in London by a distinguished ad hoc ensemble including the composer-pianist Xaver Scharwenka, Stanford’s First Piano Quartet proves quite a find, its superbly swaggering outer movements framing a captivating ‘hop, skip and jump’ of a Scherzo, whose contrastingly serene Trio melody reappears to magical effect at the end of the gloriously long-breathed, memorably heartfelt slow movement. Small wonder the gifted 26-year-old Irishman was beginning to make a name for himself both at home and abroad. The Second Piano Trio dates from two decades later and represents another mightily impressive achievement: not only is the writing brimming with skill and confidence, there’s also a wealth of eloquent inspiration, above all perhaps the piano’s nobly Beethovenian main theme that launches the Andante slow movement, as well as much subtle thematic interplay and harmonic resourcefulness besides.

It would be hard to improve upon the Gould Piano Trio’s irresistibly stylish and fervent advocacy of both these uncommonly rewarding works; indeed, they sound as if they have been playing this repertoire for many moons, and in the Piano Quartet they generate an infectious rapport with the excellent viola player David Adams. What’s more, both production values (Michael Ponder, working in the the Music Room at Champs Hill, West Sussex) and annotation (our very own Jeremy Dibble) are all one could desire. A coupling to relish, this, and most enthusiastically recommended.

Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor. Some regarded Stanford, together with Hubert Parry and Alexander Mackenzie, are responsible for a renaissance in music from the British Isles. In 1882, aged 29, he was one of the founding professors of the Royal College of Music, where he taught composition for the rest of his life. From 1887 he was also Professor of Music at Cambridge. His students included Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and many more. His composite style is conservative and his music was eclipsed in the 20th century by that of Edward Elgar as well as former pupils.

***

The Gould Trio was formed in 1987 and the members of the group are violinist Lucy Gould, cellist Alice Neary, and pianist Benjamin Frith. From the turn-of-the century era the group has regularly toured the U.K., U.S., Europe, and Asia, and has frequently made recordings for major labels like Naxos and Chandos. The repertory is broad, taking in a huge swath of composers, included an array of British composers. It has also commissioned many important new works, like Judith Bingham's trio Chapman's Pool.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------