Album Notes

These performances mine to a remarkable degree the potential of a genre Beethoven turned to, and brilliantly, between 1794 and 1798, but to which he never returned. Far from being warm-ups for his chamber music to come, these five trios for violin, viola and cello make a contribution to the literature rivaled only by Mozart's Divertimento, K. 563.

Working in the darkly resonant acoustic of the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill, west of Boston, the Canadian Adaskin Trio combines a flexible command of flow and phrase with instrumental power and eloquence and a nutty tonal richness. Nothing has been left unexamined, nothing is thrown away, every bar is savored. With violinist Emlyn Ngai's aristocratic playing in the lead, and each of the three making riveting individual contributions, the Trio savors the sensuality of Beethoven's string writing and the intoxicating profusion of tunes while plumbing the emotional depths that lie beneath.

The performances are complemented by Robert Mealy's extensive liner notes which take listeners through an absorbing discussion of the music and their time.

Founded in 1994, the Trio is named in honor of the Canadian composer Murray Adaskin and his two brothers, violinist Harry and producer/music educator John, in respect of their contributions to music in Canada.

From Laurence Vittes' review in Gramophone