Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt - Johannes Brahms: The Piano Trios (2015) 2CDs

The Brahms piano trios are subtle works only slightly resembling the more outward and active string quartets and piano quartets and quintets. Despite the low opus number of the Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8, these are all three really late works: Brahms revised his youthful trio in 1889, largely keeping the themes, but redoing the inner content in the dense motivic manner of the composer's late style. The 1889 version of the trio is frequently played, but one of the many attractions of this German recording of the three trios is that violinist Christian Tetzlaff, his cellist sister Tanja Tetzlaff, and pianist Lars Vogt get the distinctively inward nature of the reworking, the only such piece in the Brahms catalog. There are many other attractions: the almost trance-like quality of the slow movements (sample that of the Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, CD 1, track 7); the low-key dynamics of the whole thing, which more closely resemble the rooms in which the music would have been heard than do the big symphony halls where Brahms is usually played; the superb studio sound from the Ondine label, which fits the aims of the performers exceptionally well. This performance avoids the sweeping Romantic Brahms mode, but neither could it be called intellectual: it is, rather, intimate and extremely intelligent. A fine set that will provide years of satisfying listening.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

Brahms’s three piano trios make an obvious programme for disc, even if, played one after the other, there’s just slightly too much music to fit on a single CD. No matter, however, when enterprising companies such as Ondine offer the two discs for the price of one; but wouldn’t it have been better to have an extra piece and another half-hour or so of the Tetzlaffs’ and Vogt’s marvellous musicianship?

Never mind, as these are truly admirable performances. Disc 1 contains the Second and Third Trios, while the First sits alone on disc 2. So you can play them in chronological order simply enough, although it’s instructive to be introduced to these performances via the more ebullient sound world of the Second, with the First, the most popular of the three, to close the programme. These players have been performing together for a long time – the string players, naturally, since childhood – and much in evidence is that telepathy that passes between musicians comfortable in each other’s company. Think back, for example, to Christian Tetzlaff’s Schumann violin sonatas with Vogt (1/14) and the fervour of concentration and musical consideration that was so clearly evident in those performances.

For comparison I went back to another siblings-plus-pianist ensemble – the Capuçons with Nicholas Angelich. Whereas they imbue this music with a certain Gallic douceur, albeit strengthened by the backbone of Angelich’s pianism, the Tetzlaffs and Vogt bring a Teutonic terseness to it, screwing up the tension that is so much part of Brahms’s music and making each span into a wonderfully cathartic experience. Christian Tetzlaff perhaps doesn’t play with the creamy richness of Renaud Capuçon but the blend between this most thoughtful of musicians and his sister is as natural and complete as one might expect. And Vogt’s propulsive pianism is every bit the equal of his American counterpart’s – especially in the strenuous writing of the First and Third Trios – and deliciously light-fingered in moments such as the eerie Hexen-Scherzo of the Second Trio. If ultimately it comes down to the invidious choice between Tetzlaffs and Capuçons, I’m stumped. Buy both.

Review by David Threasher, Gramophone

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 15. November 2015, 2:35

Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt / Brahms - The Piano Trios - CD1

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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-11-08 22:11:28

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Analyzed: Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt / Brahms - The Piano Trios - CD1
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -1.50 dB -21.41 dB 9:14 01-Piano Trio No.2 in C major, Op.87 - I. Allegro moderato
DR16 -1.80 dB -24.03 dB 7:56 02-Piano Trio No.2 in C major, Op.87 - II. Andante con moto
DR15 -2.39 dB -24.41 dB 4:51 03-Piano Trio No.2 in C major, Op.87 - III. Scherzo: Presto
DR14 -1.46 dB -21.01 dB 6:20 04-Piano Trio No.2 in C major, Op.87 - IV. Finale: Allegro giocoso
DR14 -1.58 dB -20.00 dB 7:08 05-Piano Trio No.3 in C minor, Op.101 - I. Allegro energico
DR17 -4.74 dB -28.85 dB 3:29 06-Piano Trio No.3 in C minor, Op.101 - II. Presto non assai
DR15 -1.66 dB -27.61 dB 4:07 07-Piano Trio No.3 in C minor, Op.101 - III. Andante grazioso
DR14 -1.21 dB -20.23 dB 5:48 08-Piano Trio No.3 in C minor, Op.101 - IV. Allegro molto
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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================================================================================

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 15. November 2015, 2:58

Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt / Brahms - The Piano Trios - CD2

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GU70N Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
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Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "Date=%year%" -T "Genre=%genre%" %source%


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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-11-08 22:11:36

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Analyzed: Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt / Brahms - The Piano Trios - CD2
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
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Codec: FLAC
================================================================================