Sergei Rachmaninov:
- Elegiac Trio No. 1 in G minor
- Elegiac Trio No. 2 in D minor
Edvard Grieg: Andante con moto in C minor
Josef Suk: Elegie in D-flat major, Op. 23 (Piano Trio version)

Have you ever noticed how hearing the music of Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) is like listening to a wise old grandfather recalling stories from long ago, lending important events some extra weight and drama, but also allowing regret and sorrow to slip out based on the tone of his deep and gravelly voice. No one else in Russian music quite produces the same effect. And this effect is particularly noticeable in both of his highly lyrical Piano Trios, which draw from the deep well of melancholy so archetypal of Rachmaninov. Along with two unfinished string quartets and a cello sonata, these are his only chamber music works, and are highly representative of his style.

I love the way the members of the Trio Wanderer set the single-movement Trio No. 1 in motion, like hearing the faint sounds of a locomotive in the dead of night approaching from a distance, getting closer as the drama and lyrical fervour intensify. And as the dramatic journey comes to an end, it's like witnessing that locomotive being led to the junk yard. Their deeply expressive playing evokes these vivid images (at least in my mind's eye). And in quite the same way they make you experience the dark sense of resignation at the end of the highly charged final movement of the Trio No. 2. Not surprising considering that it's based on a melody from the Orthodox Requiem.

The disc concludes with two rarely heard, but very well chosen pieces for piano trio by Edvard Grieg and Josef Suk, which rather than break the mood set by the Elegiac Trios, enhance it. Originally composed for a string ensemble and piano, the Elegie by Suk in particular, which was a funeral tribute to a friend, caps everything on a peaceful note.