Perhaps one of the defining characteristics that separates an adequate chamber music performance and a great one is the degree to which the ensemble puts forth a single, unified concept of the music. The
Smetana Trio, in this recording of the third and fourth
Dvorák piano trios, is made up of three quite talented musicians. However, the ensemble is more like three soloists playing a piece of music at the same time, rather than an integrated piano trio playing as one. The string players often have vastly different approaches to their instruments: vibrato does not match; attacks vary considerably and do not always occur at the same time; the cellist pushes the pitch of leading tones quite high while the violinist does not; and tone color, while very clear and piercing in the violin, is mismatched with a very muted almost muddy sound in the cello. Some rhythmic nuance and individual notes in the piano are lost to the pedal during tutti forte sections.
Of the two works recorded here, the Dumky Trio is less appealing from an interpretive standpoint. The contrasts between the sections often seem insufficient resulting in a bland, "mezzo everything" feeling. The opening Lento maestoso is quite brisk, failing to contrast with the somewhat pedantic dumka section that follows despite the fact that the score indicates the tempo should be almost doubled. The same sensation is repeated in the sixth dumka -- a brisk lento followed by a not-so-brisk allegro.