What an utterly captivating release this is, with three consummate performers recreating a Parisian fin de siècle salon in which the mandolin takes centre stage.
Beilman moved effortlessly from the opening movement’s ambiguous vocalics and marvellous cadenza through a serene C major cantabile to a sparkling, elfin finale, while Bihlmaier and WASO projected a classically proportioned sound picture enlivened by romantic burrs.
Lovers of Robert Schumann’s lieder – and I count myself among those happy multitudes – will find song in everything he wrote. Judging by this intimate, lyrical performance, Belarusian-French cellist Ivan Karizna, conductor Otto Tausk and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra certainly seem to have done so in the composer’s Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129.
Nolan brings to them the same concentration one brings to a page of Celan: nothing is throwaway, everything is load-bearing...
This immensely enjoyable chamber music recital afforded a rare opportunity to experience the evolution of the piano trio across three distinct musical epochs.