Pristine Audio, PACMO45, 29:20 [www.pristineclassical.com] ***:
Recorded in 1941 for Columbia’s UK division, this elegant rendition of the Dvorak Dumky Trio features Louis (Lajos) Kenner (1905-1987), who gained a considerable reputation for virtuoso pianism in the music of Liszt, Brahms, Liapunov, and chamber music that included work with his brother-in-law, Yehudi Menuhin. Beautifully-restored from shellacs via the XR process by engineer Andrew Rose, this Pristine Audio CD completely reverses my prior impression (based on the Belshazzar’s Feast CD), attributable to a faulty download once removed from the Pristine original.
The performance itself captures the totally mercurial temperament of the work, its integration of Bohemian rhythms, folksy melodies, and pungent harmonic progressions, some based on germ-like riffs that explode in the manner of Beethoven. If I am correct, violinist Henry Holst–who worked with the pianist Solomon as well–sported a fine Guarnerius del Gesu whose slick, wiry tone he wields like a rapier in his often whiplash interchanges with his partners. On the other hand, Holst’s affecting tone in the last movement Lento can break your heart. Anthony Pini’s claim to fame still rests with his famed Elgar Cello Concerto made in collaboration with Eduard van Beinum. The directness of attack, the boldness of the thematic statements, will surely suggest the later realizations by the Beaux Arts Trio. The marcato of the Andante moderato proceeds, via some energetic twangs, to a glassy, crystalline Allegretto scherzando that shimmers and swaggers at once. Lovely burnished tone from cello Pini. Typical of Dvorak, the latter movements intimate his “and so my children” epilogue that moralizes all wonderful folk tales. Kentner’s facile runs, followed by non-legato passagework, testify to a pair of deft hands, capable of power and plastic inflections. Great musicianship, just give us more of it for the dollar, Pristine.
— Gary Lemco
