Melbourne Recital Centre: Benaud Trio

Melbourne Recital Centre: Benaud Trio The Salon is the smaller performance space at the still-new Melbourne Recital Centre but has the intimacy and acoustics for chamber music that has been desperately needed for so long. Performers are at its mercy, however, as every instrument is heard with complete clarity – there are no second chances here! From its coordinated opening attack on Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Op70, No.1, the Benaud Trio embraced this feature of the Salon, adding vigour and balance to the mix. Many in the audience smiled broadly – perhaps with relief, as the fast-moving Allegretto demanded synchronicity from the outset. A series of runs, cleverly interspersed with richly melodic passages demonstrated early the cohesion of pianist Amir Farid, violinist Lachlan Bramble and cellist Ewen Bramble. It was noticeable that, although Farid had some of the mannerisms of a soloist he never exploited his potentially more powerful instrument and instead, was heard to best effect when playing in the upper register of the piano. The first movement ended with a fine flourish in unison, so that the opening of the second sounded a little thin in comparison. Soon, however, the Trio delivered a rich rendition of a classic Beethoven slow movement, with the cello particularly sonorous through to the final, gentle plucked chords. The concluding Presto sounded more like a full-bodied allegretto – and there was the occasional missed note – but it was impossible not to feel satisfied by the Trio’s vitality and interpretation of the work. Fortunately, the Benaud Trio was able to reserve some of that energy for the other item on the program: Matthew Hindson’s Piano Trio. It began with all three instruments playing just two notes before the piano broke into arpeggios in a syncopated rhythm. With more than a suggestion of jazz – and a moment when the strings sounded like a siren – the work evoked images of a busy city, with very occasional sparer passages. At the beginning of the second movement, piano chords heralded a slower, more reflective mood – although a recurrent blues-style theme would not be out of place in jazz improvisation. The third movement was, quite simply, startling. Following an attack as strong as for the Beethoven first movement, the Trio swung into music that seemed to owe much to show-tunes, music theatre, even burlesque. After a slow interlude – perhaps to allow everyone a breather after the pyrotechnics – the work ended with a fire that delighted the audience. The encore cleverly returned to the “ghost” theme, with Freddie Mercury’s spirit never far away from the Benaud Trio’s performance of the Queen hit, Bohemian Rhapsody. This was played with such resonance and richness that you’d swear there were more than three players on stage. It was a daring and brilliant end to the first concert in the Benaud Trio’s 2009 season. BENAUD TRIO Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre Dancing Ghosts Saturday April 4 Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio Op.70 No.1 Ghost Matthew Hindson: Piano Trio Dolcissimo Wednesday April 15 Paul Stanhope: Piano Trio Dolcissimo Uscignolo Maurice Ravel: Piano Trio Canto perpetuo Wednesday July 29 W.A. Mozart: Piano Trio in C major K.548 Peteris Vasks: Episodi e canto perpetuo Songs of Scandinavia Saturday August 22 Percy Grainger: Scandinavian Suite for cello and piano Franz Schubert: Piano Trio No.2 in E flat All concerts at The Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre Cnr Southbank Boulevard and Sturt Street, Southbank, Victoria Tickets One Concert: $30 ($20 concession*) Four Concerts: $108 ($72 concession*) *pensioners and full time students