Classical album review: Rostropovich, Gilels, Kogan - Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Fauré

Published on Friday 14 August 2009 17:01

ROSTROPOVICH, GILELS, KOGAN Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Fauré ***** Deutsche Grammophon

It is almost impossible to believe that the Moscow recordings in this twin-CD set range from 50 to 60 years ago, and they demonstrate just how far studio techniques had come even in the USSR's post-war period.

Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the last surviving member of the trio of violinist Leonid Kogan and pianist Emil Gilels, died only in 2007, more than 60 years after the three musicians first played together in 1945, having met at the Moscow Conservatoire. It was the USSR's existence that brought them together: Kogan and Gilels were both Ukrainians, Rostropovich was from Azerbaijan.

The talent of the three players is evident from the outset, and there's an immediacy in these performances of piano trios that grabs, and holds, the listener's attention.

Download this: Haydn, Piano Trio In D major