Ravel: Sonatas & Trio (2002)

This recording of chamber works by Ravel performed by Renaud and Gautier Capuçon and Frank Braley may not be the most electrifying, but it has a ... Show synopsis This recording of chamber works by Ravel performed by Renaud and Gautier Capuçon and Frank Braley may not be the most electrifying, but it has a richness of feeling and movement that draws the listener along for a thoroughly enjoyable ride. The opening of the Piano Trio is delicately ethereal and atmospheric, but then it builds to grand heights. The second movement sways and flows in continuous waves, and the third arcs in a way similar to the first movement. The finale has a certain amount of visceral passion, but all of the emotion that these three put into the music is organic and unforced. Braley fits the piano with the strings in a way that is also quite natural sounding, by means of his articulation and tone. Even when the piano has very staccato writing against a smooth string line, or vice versa, as in the first movement of the Violin Sonata, there is no conflict or an adversarial relationship between them. The close sound of the recording helps this by not favoring one instrument over the... Hide synopsis