The Gould Piano Trio at the Auckland Town Hall

By WILLIAM DART

There is a handful of truly celebrated Opus Ones and Beethoven's is among them. Listening to the trio play the composers Op. 1 No 1 made one aware of how audiences back in the 1790s must have recognised that a new and vigorous voice was announcing itself to the world.

Benjamin Frith's rippling piano and the finely toned strings of Lucy Gould and Alice Neary reveal why the Goulds are a top-line ensemble. Gould's violin can soar like a lark, with a sweetness of tone that is honey to the ear; Neary's spruce, articulated cello lines bring the bounce and propulsion of a jazz group.

At times, subtlety threatens to tip over into mannerism as sighs become swoons, but one does appreciate the slightly gentler tempo of the first movement's second theme and the shared intimacy of the dialogue running through the Adagio cantabile.

The scrumptiously perfumed score of Frank Bridge's Phantasie in C minor offered the most memorable music of the evening, and there was no holding back with this passionate, rhapsodic outpouring. The incendiary flourish of the opening bars leads to lush pages that seem purpose-written for the trio's highly emotional playing style.

Then there was a glowing account of Dvorak's great F minor Trio. Although there are many opportunities for dramatic ebb and flow, some tiredness seemed to creep in with stressful octaves for Gould and a loss of intensity in the third movement.

But there was the invigorating rhythmic play of the Allegro grazioso and a Finale in which the English musicians moderated Dvorak's rumbustiousness with Schubertian zest.