One might not think of mentioning
Mozart
in the same breath with minimalist composers
Arvo Paert
and
Peteris Vasks
, but this program by the trio of violinist
YuEun Kim
, pianist
Mina Gajic
, and cellist
Coleman Itzkoff
reminds the listener that the comparison was suggested by
Paert
himself in his fascinating
Mozart-Adagio
, an elaboration on the slow movement of
's
Piano Sonata in F major, K. 280
. That work, the only one in which the full trio is heard, is performed on the central track of this
Sono Luminus
release, and the rest of the program has an almost-arch shape, with works by
Vasks
at the beginning and end, and
's two well-known minor-key fantasias surrounding the
-
piece. The notes by composer
Pall Ragnar Palsson
attempt to connect the program to the idea of the passage of time, and listeners can judge the success of this for themselves. Whatever one's conclusion, the music hangs in one's mind.
's way of expanding harmonic fields in his works is an essential feature of his style. Think of the scene in
Peter Shaffer
Amadeus
where
Salieri
marvels at how much he can extract from a single note in the
Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major, K. 364
. The concept is aided by the iron rhythmic control of the players, especially
Kim
; sample the final
Spiegel im Spiegel
of
, which has the unrelieved tension essential to a good
performance. The
label contributes characteristically pristine sound. Put this album on late in a quiet evening, and it will haunt. ~ James Manheim