Gould Piano Trio

2028 marks the bi-centenary of Schubert’s death. The Gould Piano Trio has been performing his two mighty piano trios for over thirty years and in 2028 will be presenting the towering masterpiece, Franz Schubert: Piano Trio no. 2 in E flat major, D. 929 alongside a specially commissioned ‘companion piece’ from distinguished British composer Joseph Phibbs in this hugely significant commemorative year.

Joseph Phibbs says of the work he is writing for the Goulds, which is kindly co-commissioned by Wigmore hall:

To mark the bicentenary of Schubert’s death, I’m delighted at the prospect of writing my first ever piano trio for the internationally acclaimed Gould Trio, scheduled to be performed at Wigmore Hall – and elsewhere – in 2028. In homage to Schubert, the work will allude to the composer’s great Piano Trio No.2 (with which it will be programmed), drawing on both its melodic and harmonic aspects to create a contemporary response to this mainstay of the classical repertoire.

The Goulds are currently recording all of Schubert’s works for piano trio, on the Resonus Classics label. Volume I was released in October 2021,  with BBC Music Magazine praising their recording of the Trio no.1:

There is immaculate attention to detail of articulation, as well as a generally warm, silken sound. Overall, the recording offers a welcome insight into Schubert’s musical world in the final years of his short life -small-scale and sociable, private and profoundly expressive.’

…. and The Strad proclaiming that:

‘these performers capture the spirit of Schubert’s First Piano Trio in a spontaneous, unforced and imaginative account. They contrast its lyricism and drama with commendable musicality, especially in the opening movement, taking time to pinpoint structural detail such as false reprises in remote keys, observing scrupulously the composer’s dynamic markings and shaping phrases with seasoned artistry.’

The Goulds’ release of Schubert’s second piano trio in Eb, the ensemble’s second account of one of the composer’s very last creations – having recorded it for the Wigmore Hall Live label in 2008 – will follow soon on Resonus, and is eagerly awaited.

Potential programmes created around the Eb Trio, and the new work from Joseph Phibbs’ in response:

‘Right from Schubert’s entrancing opening — Benjamin Frith’s piano delicately picking out the theme, Lester offering succulent plucked notes, with light staccato stabs from Lucy Gould’s violin — we knew we were in chamber music heaven. A special Schubert heaven too, where the composer’s long-legged melodies never end and the material keeps circling as if trapped on a roundabout, but with never a sense of wasted time. The music’s sheer merriment was equally a delight and the perfect lockdown tonic.’ The Times (Wigmore Hall, 2021)

Watch the Gould Piano Trio play Schubert’s Notturno in Eb Op.148, live from Oxford’s Holywell Music Room:

The Gould Piano Trio can also offer programmes built around the Trio no. 1 in B Flat major, D. 898, or, indeed, a complete cycle of all of Schubert’s works for Piano Trio.