There is nothing subtle or surprising about the Trio Solisti's piano trio arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The violin and cello take the big tunes and the piano takes the big chords. The strings double the piano in thickly scored passages and supply scales and trills and tremolos as needed at climaxes. The piano dominates in tuttis and provides ballast and weight in fortes. While Ravel's orchestral arrangement of the piano original illuminates Mussorgsky's music with undreamed of colors, the Trio ...
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There is nothing subtle or surprising about the Trio Solisti's piano trio arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The violin and cello take the big tunes and the piano takes the big chords. The strings double the piano in thickly scored passages and supply scales and trills and tremolos as needed at climaxes. The piano dominates in tuttis and provides ballast and weight in fortes. While Ravel's orchestral arrangement of the piano original illuminates Mussorgsky's music with undreamed of colors, the Trio Solisti's piano trio arrangement merely makes it bigger and louder.The Trio Solisti's work here is sensual, even if it may strike some as less than musical at times. They make the lightning flash and the wind howl, always going for dramatic effect and achieving it. In Ravel's Piano Trio, the Trio Solisti is nowhere near as demonstrative, but for many fans of the French composer, it is still likely to seem excessive. Showing no sign of typically French restraint, the Trio Solisti tears...
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