TCHAIKOVSKY: PIANO TRIO IN A MINOR, OP 50T - YEFIM BRONFMAN, GIL SHAHAM, TRULS MORK

Gil Shaham violin

Yefim Bronfman piano

Truls Mørk cello


Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio encompasses moods of gaiety, pathos and tragedy and, in the grand series of variations which form the second movement, that sense of bittersweet reminiscence of which the composer was so fond. Although he was, by his own admission, less than enamoured of this combination of instruments, Tchaikovsky created a work unique in scale and ambition, one that presents many special challenges to its performers. This is partly because of its origins as a pièce d’occasion, something which inevitably affected its scale and tone.