Discography
Rooted
Chandos Records, 2024
Rooted follows A Room of Her Own, the Neave Trio’s fifth from Chandos released earlier this year to high praise and wide international acclaim. Of Rooted, Ideastream Media writes "This latest recording from the Neave Trio further cements their reputation as one of the finest trios of their generation."
Rooted features a range of works centered around folk music. Smetana’s distinctive nationalistic style was largely based on the inclusion of bohemian rhythmic and melodic elements, and he was acclaimed in his native Bohemia as the father of Czech music. His Trio in G minor was composed in 1855 as a response to the death of his four-year-old daughter and shows the influence of Liszt. Josef Suk was a favorite pupil of Antonin Dvořák’s, and his early Piano Trio, while shorter in length and less intense than Smetana’s, is embedded in that Czech tradition. Also deeply influenced by Dvořák, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was inspired by his African heritage, and his Twenty-Four Negro Melodies for Piano was a prime example of his research. He subsequently arranged five of these pieces into the suite for piano trio that we hear on this album. The album concludes with Frank Martin’s Trio from 1925, which is based on several well-known traditional Irish melodies.
A Room of Her Own
Chandos Records, 2024
A Room of Her Own follows the Neave Trio’s critically acclaimed third Chandos album, 2019’s Her Voice. The Times, which called this recording “a richly rewarding disc,” also included the record in its roundup of ”the best albums of 2024 so far.” The Strad praised the disc’s “illustrious performances,” while Stereophile called the album “a must,” for those wanting to “spread your wings beyond the giant [composers] of the [canon].”
Two generations of composers are represented on A Room of Her Own: Cécile Chaminade and Ethel Smyth were born in 1857 and 1858 respectively, while Germaine Tailleferre and Lili Boulanger were born in 1892 and 1893. All four were in their early twenties when they composed the works on this album. Smyth had just begun composing in her late teens, and the Piano Trio is one of her earliest known works, while Chaminade and Boulanger had been writing prolifically from an early age; Boulanger died prematurely, at the age of twenty-four, and her piano trios were among her final compositions, while the longest-lived of these composers, Tailleferre, returned to revise her forgotten early trio in her mid-eighties. The early lives of these composers were shaped by varying levels of familial support and educational opportunity, and each had to contend – in different ways – with the gendered barriers that faced women in music throughout their lifetimes.
Musical Remembrances
Chandos Records, 2022
Nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble category, the Trio’s fourth album with Chandos Records includes Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 1; Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8; and Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 67. The album presents music connected by the theme of remembrance. Rachmaninoff’s early first piano trio was inspired by Tchaikovsky’s trio in A minor, and shows illuminating(is glimpses of the mature composer to come. The elegiac mood of Rachmaninoff’s work is matched by that of Brahms’s first trio – again an early composition – which was inspired by the composer’s (unrequited) feelings for Clara Schumann. Ravel’s only piano trio was composed in 1914, as France was being drawn into the horrors of the first world war. Ravel draws extensively on the rhythms and forms of his native Basque musical traditions, while the title of the second movement, "Pantoum," refers to a form of traditional Malaysian poetry which typically deals with two separate themes in alternation, a feature to which Ravel responds with a series of contrasting themes and textures.
Her Voice
Chandos Records, 2019
Neave Trio's third album for UK label Chandos Records, Her Voice, was named one of the best recordings of the year by both The New York Times and BBC Radio 3, and features the music of distinguished women composers Louise Farrenc, Amy Beach, and Rebecca Clarke. One of her most prominent pieces, Rebecca Clarke’s Piano Trio showcases her unique harmonic language, influenced by both the French and British styles of the early 20th century, as well as by folk music. Amy Beach’s trio was composed late in her career, and incorporates lush romantic melodies over impressionistic tones and colors. A prominent concert pianist and teacher, Louise Farrenc also achieved success as a composer. Her trio conveys inspiration from both the Classical and Romantic eras, but is widely regarded as a notable representation of early Romantic chamber music
Celebrating Piazzolla
Azica Records, 2018
On this recording, the Neave Trio captures Piazzolla’s rich legacy through arrangements by one of Piazzolla’s long time colleagues, José Bragato (Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas) and by a younger protégé, Leonardo Suárez Paz (select songs). Mezzo-soprano Carla Jablonski joins the trio for the Piazzolla songs as well as an original work by Paz. Celebrating Piazzolla was produced by Alan Bise, mastered by Bruce Egre, and recorded at Sauder Hall, Goshen College.
Piazzolla’s original score for Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas matched his quintet: bandoneón, piano, guitar, bass, and violin. José Bragato, who worked with Piazzolla for many years and arranged many of his works, created this stylish version for piano trio, true to the Argentine tango spirit. In the tradition of tango spontaneity and flexibility, he takes liberties with textures, ornamentation, and other details of Piazzolla’s themes.
French Moments
Chandos Records, 2018
French Moments features the only known piano trios written by the French masters Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, and Albert Roussel, and was produced by Jonathan Cooper and recorded at Potton Hall in Suffolk, England.
This program highlights the only known piano trios written by French Impressionist masters Debussy, Roussel, and Fauré. Debussy composed his piano trio when he was 18 years old. The work was thought to be lost until it was discovered by one of
Debussy’s pupils, and was published over 100 years after it was composed. Though Roussel did not begin composing until his late twenties, his piano trio in E-flat Major is one of his earliest known works. Juxtaposed with these early works is Fauré’s piano trio in D minor, which he composed one year before his death, when he was most likely completely deaf.
American Moments
Chandos Records, 2016
Neave Trio’s debut album, American Moments, was released in fall 2016 on Chandos Records. The album is a collection of works which celebrates music written by composers of such different backgrounds, all of whom were celebrated in the U.S. for their unique voices and talents, including Korngold, Foote, and Bernstein. Because Neave’s members come from Japan, Russia, and the U.S., the trio is compelled to express their pride as Americans through three 20th century works by these prominent composers.
Korngold: Piano Trio, Op. 1 Bernstein: Piano Trio, Foote: Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 65