Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Eugene Istomin :: Mendelssohn: Piano Trios Op. 49 & Op. 66

My most perfect CD.

08/27/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the only CD that I own that I can pretty honestly say I've never been bored by. The playing here is spectacular; Stern is always great and here in company with Istomin and Rose the tempos are perfect, the musicality of the pieces are brought out in all their gorgeous intensity, and the joyful, endearing spirit of the composer is most abundantly evident. It's interesting to note that the two trios were recorded over a decade apart, yet the sound that the performers conjure up doesn't feel that way at all. From the opening bar of the D minor Trio to the final Luther(an)-esque hymn of the C minor Trio, there is about an hour of sublime music that I (at least) sometimes wish would never end."

Beautiful Mendelssohn!

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chamber Music seems so right during the boisterous mechanics of the holidays and one sure respite from the garish noise of the external season can be found in works like the Mendelssohn Piano Trios.



Here Eugene Istomin, Leonard Rose, Isaac Stern perform Piano Trios 1 and 2 in a manner that bespeaks camaraderie of the performers as well as a complete respect for these luminous works. Some have called these works piano sonatas with obbligato and while for this listener that is an unfair judgment, Eugene Istomin plays the piano part with enough flair and thoughtful propulsion that he does at times sound the more important. But that is Mendelssohn's writing and not a self-aggrandizement of a pianist.



The overall sound is simply superb. These two trios are some of the loveliest ever written from that era and the gentlemen performing them offer sophisticated and informed interpretations. The recording is excellent, the music is rarefied! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05"

Right On!

Ryan Richards | Midland, MI United States | 08/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD because I figured I couldn't go wrong with Isaac Stern. I was right. The playing on this CD is taut and powerful, crackling with energy. At the same time, though, the players keep a superior sense of musical precision, and manage to make the music sound energetic without sounding heavy-handed. As Gramophone would say, it was not without irony that *Felix* Mendelssohn composed works of such *felicity*, and these performers keep that felicity intact, which sets this CD way above the myriads of other Mendelssohn Piano Trio recordings. For ten dollars especially, you can't go wrong. This is a CD every Mendelssohnian should have in his or her collection."