Review: The Eggner Trio

In a week that sees the city hosting three piano trio concerts, the Eggners, in the Town Hall last Tuesday night, came across as the classical equivalent of stadium stars.

The Austrian brothers are the epitome of hip elegance. Sharing the stage with Amihai Grosz, the Berlin Philharmonic's principal violist, they reminded us of their very individual style and musical tactics.

The first movement of Mozart's G major Piano Quartet presented classical cool poised on a knife edge. Christoph Eggner's piano scales were slashes of colour, while Grosz fitted in well with the Eggner's house style of hyper-nuancing.

From the start, Grosz made his presence felt, even with the simplest of sustained notes, reminding us that the viola was the composer's own instrument.

Schumann penned his Piano Quartet in a state of post-nuptial joy and, at the end of this concert, the composer's happiness was upgraded to the level approaching delirium.

In the opening Allegro, the musicians happily ignored a ritardando to sustain the frenzy, while the Scherzo that followed let loose a whirlwind of flying quavers.

The second of two more relaxed episodes allowed the musicians to enjoy the composer's almost jazzy rhythmic ploys and the Andante was a frank love ballad, instigated by Florian Eggner's rapturous cello.

The three brothers had the stage to themselves for a Beethoven Ghost Trio that bordered on the terrifying.

The slickly navigated first movement was airborne and zooming within a few notes followed by a dramatically charged Largo assai ed espressivo that ranged from thunderous crashes and roars to mysterious, spooky whispers.

The presence of Amitai Grosz enabled the inclusion of Anthony Ritchie's Oppositions that fitted in well with the other volatile performances of the evening.

Finally, Christoph Eggner revealed that the encore would be intimate and beautiful. It was all of that and more. The Andante from Brahms' Third Piano Quartet was a soulful song of entwined textures and heart-stopping shifts from major to minor.

What: The Eggner Trio
Where: Auckland Town Hall