Above: Trio Karénine; photo by Lyodoh Kaneko
~ Author: Oberon
Sunday January 20, 2019 - Trio Karénine making their New York debut with a late-afternoon concert at The Frick. Works by Shostakovitch, Ravel, and Schubert were on offer in the museum's lovely, golden Music Room.
The Frick has a special place in my heart, for it was there, in the Garden Court one afternoon in 1974, that my first lover and I made a commitment to one another. It did not turn out well in the long run, but I always think of it when I am there.
The artists of the Karénine are Fanny Robilliard, violin, Louis Rodde, cello, and Paloma Kouider, piano. The trio are aptly named for Tolstoy's immortal Anna Karenina, since Karenina is one of literature's most passionate women, and the Karénine are among the most passionate musicians I have ever encountered.
Founded in Paris in 2009, Trio Karénine took the top prize at the ARD international Competition in 2013. They have since played with great success at Wigmore Hall in London, the Salle Pleyel and Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montréal, and in Venice, Hamburg, and Munich. They have toured to China and Japan, and they can now add New York City to the places they have regaled with their marvelous music-making.
Young and attractive, the trio settled in to the rather small performing space of the circular Music Room of the Frick; they set their concert off to a simply gorgeous start with the opening of the Shostakovich Piano Trio #1 in C-minor, Op 8. Within seconds, Mr. Rodde seized my imagination with the poignant cello theme that is taken up by Ms. Robilliard's violin. At the keyboard. Ms. Kouider plays gently on high. Soon the three voices are blending to perfection, and the music - in this unique hall - seems to embrace us.
The Shostakovich alternates animation and lyricism, in good measure; and along the way, the players are not afraid of bringing some grittiness to the mix. There is a da capo of sorts - again the cellist is just sublime - and the music becomes ecstatic as the players sail on to a grand finish.
Maurice Ravel's Piano Trio in A-minor provided ample opportunity for us to savour the playing of the three musicians as individuals and as colleagues. Again, the richness of their sound and the ardour with which they play made for a thrilling experience. In the opening Modéré, the main theme originates with the piano; the violin and cello play in unison, a melody that is has a sensuous tinge to it. The music rises in intensity; the violin commences a wide-ranging second theme, excellently played by Ms. Robilliard. The end of the movement is expressively sustained.
Thee second movement, titled Pantoum, is the trio's scherzo. Wit and melodiousness vie for our attention. Ms. Kouider then leads off the Passacaglia with a deep piano passage. From the richness of Mr. Rodde's cello and the melancholy phrases of Ms. Robilliard's violin, a sense of longing arises. Then the two string instruments blend in a duo theme, which is very affecting in its simplicity. A cellphone intrusion during this movement was an annoying distraction, but the players remained firm of purpose and carried us thru by the power of their conviction.
In the dazzling Animé finale, the unison string motifs from the opening movement recur to fine effect. Thru the almost feverish intensity of their playing, the three musicians stir up a powerful emotional resonance that becomes exultant.
Following the interval, which was pleasingly brief, the familiarity of Schubert's Trio No. 2, Op. 100 in E-flat major, invited us as if to a cordial banquet. This music is everything, and the Trio Karénine's interpretation was like the opening of a magical chest from which one treasure after another of melody and harmony could be drawn forth. Mr. Robbe in particular seemed deeply immersed in the music, sometimes gazing upward, like an enraptured pilgrim receiving a benediction.
Long before I became interested in chamber music - recall that opera was my almost-exclusive love for many, many years - I heard the haunting theme of this trio's Andante in the poetic, unsettling vampire film The Hunger. Since then, I have met so many people who have shared my reaction to this music: it reaches the soul, however often I hear it. And it did so again today.
At the close of their long and demanding program, the Trio Karénine drew sustained applause from the audience; as an encore, Robert Schumann's "love letter" to his beloved Clara was luminously played.
My hope now is that the Karénine will soon be back in our City; their passion and artistry will always be welcome.
~ Oberon