Delicate, tender sounds spun from dark times characterise the new album by the Linos Piano Trio.
In Seach of Lost Dance is dedicated to works by Maurice Ravel written during the First World War. In search of the hidden background of the music, the trio, founded in London in 2007, embarks on a quest for the lost dance – an allusion to the seminal novel by Marcel Proust, at whose funeral Ravel’s “Pavane pour une infante défunte” (Pavane for a deceased princess) was heard. It is a dance with a veil of mourning, like much of Ravel’s piano trio, composed immediately before the war, and the suite “Le Tombeau de Couperin” (The Tomb of Couperin), written during the war, whose six movements Ravel dedicated to six friends who died in the war.
Just as the compositions embody less resignation but rather hope for a brighter future, the Linos ensemble emphasises the life-affirming impulse of the works.
They achieve this with all the delicate sensitivity required, but also with a powerful approach, especially in the piano trio. Nothing sounds overshadowed, but nothing goes against the grain either. The fact that they use instruments from the early 20th century is less significant.
Overall, the three young musicians confirm their reputation as one of the most innovative chamber music ensembles of their generation with this album.
