Poul Ruders, Piano Trio, Trio Con Brio Copenhagen

 

Danish composer Poul Ruders has gotten justly a fair amount of attention on these pages (type his name in the search box above). Today we have one of the most impressive compositions yet in the Piano Trio (OURS Digital) well played by Piano Trio Con  Brio Copenhagen. In general terms the Piano Trio is a kind of sleeper of a chamber form. Look at the formidable Beethoven Piano Trios for an example of some major works overshadowed in part by the more iconic chamber formats, especially historically with the String Quartet, etc.

This Piano Trio is major league in its tremendously serious demeanor. It does not seek to be pleasing, to ingratiate so much as to reflect with insightful strength a life in the crosshairs and at the crossroads so to speak. It is more capital /M/ Modern than Post-ing in a beyond sense and therein lies its strength in many ways.

It has especially in the First Movement a sort of rhapsodic or Neo-Rhapsodic flair--not exactly Neo- Romantic in its more reflective feeling base, in the expression of the music. This comes to the fore in the this very dramatic opening section.

The Second Movement is quite mysterious and pushing an experiential envelope to a  feelingful sort of Unanswered Question in the Ivesian sense, if you will pardon my interpretation.

The Third Movement has a slightly more urgent striving forward virtually like no other chamber work as far as the powerful  vibes it gives off.

It is a major work that should be heard by anyone interested in New Music.

To hear a stream of the music please go over to the OUR Recordings site. https://www.ourrecordings.com/stream-music