Clara Schumann
's
Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17
, of 1846 is arguably her greatest work, its ebullient piano part forming marvelous, knife's-edge contrasts with its dense counterpoint that even includes a fugue. Both
Schumann
's work and the 1921
Piano Trio
of composer
Rebecca Clarke
are serious works without a hint of the salon that sometimes seems to persist in the works of other women composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These two works have been recorded before and even recorded together at least once, but this reading by the youthful
Trio Rigamonti
is going to be hard to beat. This sibling group offers passionate, committed readings that capture the tension in
Clarke
's trio, which may have been an attempt to come to grips with her feelings about World War I. The
work, though more common, receives an unusually powerful reading here, with the playful elegance of its Scherzo (
marks it "tempo di minuetto") forming a lovely contrast to the gnarly outer movements. The
Brilliant
label provides excellent studio sound from Milan in a recording that is going to bring plenty of attention to a rising young group from a country not much known for chamber music. ~ James Manheim