Regi Papa, Ben Capps, Konstantine Valianatos
And they played like gods, too! During their week-long retreat at Weatherwatch Farm, the trio prepared the huge new program for the upcoming concert season:  Rachmaninoff Trio No. 1 in G Minor, Élégiaque; Brahms Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, op. 87; and Tchaikovsky’s monumental Piano Trio in A Minor, op. 50. We were privileged to hear their first public performance of the new program on Sunday, August 21st at the Saranac Methodist Church, with its splendid acoustics and fine piano. The ensemble had obviously delved deeply into these rich and complex works. They were keenly and passionately committed to each other and to the music, which was note- and phrase-perfect, in full comprehension and context of the overall arc. Each musician a stunning virtuoso in his own right, the whole was far “greater than the sum of its parts.” The audience sensed that they were witnessing something rare and exciting – the energy was palpable, exhilarating. After a moment of stunned silence at the conclusion of the Tchaikovsky, they jumped to their feet in a thunderous eruption of applause, an acknowledgment of their appreciation and affirmation of the power of live performance.
