It's all in the family string trio poses triple threat

Author: Andrew Throdahl

The string trio is a notorious ensemble - notorious to write for, and difficult to pull off successfully in performance. The string trio repertoire is not as spectacular as the quartet repertoire, but the March 7 concert by the Albers Trio in the Mahaney Center for the Arts surpassed expectations. There was no sense that sisters Laura, Rebecca and Julie, were at all spineless without a piano or second violin. They performed a simple program of Beethoven, Martinu and Brahms, providing just enough contrast in genre without becoming tiresome.

The Albers strove to bring out the conversational qualities of Beethoven's early Op. 9 No. 1. There was no sense that the ensemble needed to get into the music first - the insistence of their playing was apparent from the violin's leaps at the start of the first movement's Allegro con brio.

Their full-bodied tone was particularly effective in the second movement. The shifts in character during this movement's episodes were far better than any recording I have heard. The scherzo was characterized by more convincing changes in character, although it may have lacked some needed wit, especially in the wry trio.

The fourth movement must be one of Beethoven's greatest early achievements - it eerily foreshadows Mendelssohn's hyperactive scherzi. In presenting idea after idea, texture after texture, the Albers' timing was both meticulous and inspired, exciting and fresh. They should record all four of Beethoven's string trios - I would buy it.

The Martinu string trio which followed is a rarely heard masterpiece that was played like a classic. It was written in 1934 in Paris, shortly before Martinu emigrated to Vermont. The Albers' rubato seemed to be carefully calculated to bring out the work's unusual bipartite structure. The piece juxtaposes elements of high dissonance with folkish simplicity, while making remarkable use of each instrument's capabilities. The work featured as much resourceful string writing as a Bartok quartet - and featured solos for viola and cello, giving Rebecca and Julie conspicuous opportunities to display their technical solidity.

Pianist Pei-Yao Wang joined the Albers from Brahms' Op. 26 Piano Quartet. She was proven to be ill-matched from the opening phrase that the piano plays alone. When this gentle theme was passed onto the strings, it sounded completely different - which suggested some interpretive disagreement or lack of rehearsal time. Wang's playing tried too hard, and at times became inaccurate as a result. Throughout the movement she used the same device, striking her first note percussively, then playing a decrescendo. She also tended to accent grace notes, which is a more unjustifiable faux pas. Her insufficiency was clearest in imitative passages between piano and strings, when, like the opening, she overworked the theme - in contrast to the straightforward elegance of the Albers.

The second movement is one of the greatest examples of Brahms' autumnal and nostalgic sound world. The alien entrance of the piano was appropriately slowed down to convey a loneliness. The piano carries the most expressive part in this movement - this seemed to work because the Albers played their unified role as consoling voices convincingly. Nothing seemed labored.

The third movement oscillates around a repetitive theme that opens in the strings, leading to the piano's entrance. Wang's lines were again overworked. She nevertheless did a wonderful job with the difficult octaves in the movement's central section. It seemed at parts that the ensemble failed to build to climaxes in unison, hinting again at a lack of rehearsal time, or perhaps an interpretive disagreement.

The finale is one of Brahms' rhythmic tour de forces - last notes of phrases are accented, lines run independent of time signature and counterpoint is unrelenting. It seems that the joyous effect of this music is never lost, and Wang and the Albers Trio should be commended for playing with as much sensitivity as they did, even if at times the pairing seemed a little off.

I admit that from the advertisements I was skeptical going into the performance. Their lethargic posing reminded me of the Claremont Trio, and that ensemble's self-objectification. These types of posters make the ensemble's superficiality - rather than the music they play - the main attraction. The Albers are better than that.