PIANO trio TrioZ comprises pianist Kathryn Selby of the disbanded Macquarie Trio, violinist Niki Vasilakis and cellist Emma-Jane Murphy. All are well-known soloists and chamber artists. Their combined musicality is potent and often brilliant.
Their 2008 concert series started with a program of German romantics.
Schumann's Piano Trio in A minor Op.88 is not a work of genius. Still, Vasilakis and Murphy gave strength and meaning to snippets that could easily lose direction. The third-movement string dialogues had effortless, natural phrases with understated piano accompaniment.
The quick finale was exhilarating, if a little earnest. Selby established a satisfyingly clear balance that she maintained all evening. She knew when to dominate and by how much.
Violist Irina Morozova joined TrioZ for the second piano quartets of Mendelssohn and Brahms. Morozova compensated less successfully than the other strings for Melba Hall's dry acoustic. She fitted the ensemble well rhythmically, but her sound and bowing style were at times ill matched to Vasilakis and Murphy's.
The rarely heard Mendelssohn shone for its sumptuous adagio. Selby again created warm, authoritative shapes. Clever string figures in the finale took on an adolescent show-off quality: the composer was only 14.
The Brahms was the strongest composition on the program. The second movement, containing the evening's deepest, darkest music, brought out TrioZ's best-matured musical ideas.
Listening to TrioZ, you can take technique, preparation and tight ensemble for granted. Just sit back and absorb the musical nourishment.
TrioZ's 2008 concert series continues. Information: www.selbyandfriends.com.au