Music review: Kristian Bezuidenhout, Shunske Sato and Jonathan Cohen

Edinburgh International Festival: Mozart described his Piano Trio in E major K542 as a 'new sonata for the pianoforte with the accompaniment of a violin and violincello' leaving no doubt about which instrument he favoured.

St Cecilia’s Hall

****

Buzuidenhout did not disappoint, coaxing honeyed tones from the fortepiano which blended seamlessly with Cohen’s warm cello lines and the lightness of Sato’s violin. The balance of power was more even in the skipping finale which echoed the swagger of the menuetto in Mozart’s Jupiter symphony.

But it was Beethoven who really pushed at the virtuosic boundaries in his Piano Trio in C minor Op 1 No 3. The musicians’ pitch-perfect account ticked all the boxes from the allegro’s waltzing lilt and beautifully ornamented melodies to the declamatory statements of the menuetto and the finale’s sizzling dynamic extremes.

It was more sturm und drang than Hadyn’s filigree-light Piano Sonata in G minor Hob XVI.44. Its two short movements were played by Beuzuidenhout in a crisp and fluid style, especially the wistful moderato.

What is fascinating about this early music series is the instruments themselves and Paul McNaulty’s modern copy of the 1805 Anton Walter & Sohn fortepiano was a joy to listen to in Buzuidenhout’s expert hands.