concert Renaud Capuçon and the Trio Zeliha perform Brahms and Korngold Festival Singer Polignac

Brahms originally composed his Piano Trio No. 1 when he was only twenty years old, but he revised it over thirty years later to trim its "youthful excesses" so that it would "not be so dreary as before." The result is a beautifully soulful composition, one that balances the composer's fiery young character with the mature and experienced approach he developed over the following decades. A rarely heard but no less heart-rending piece of chamber music, Korngold’s Suite for Two Violins, Cello, and Piano Left Hand was commissioned for Paul Wittgenstein, a concert pianist who lost his right arm in the First World War. Blending Romantic lyricism with dissonance and modern rhythmic variation, Korngold created a truly triumphant and emotive work — and this rendition reminds us of its enduring relevance.

Photo © Simon Fowler