By David Beech

(Editor’s Note: Because of a scheduling conflict, I asked David Beech to review the following concert. Mr. Beech is a retired computer scientist who lives in Monterey. He is a clarinetist and occasional pianist. His mother was a pianist who brought him up to revere the playing of Solomon. Other great pianists that he has heard and admired over the years include Cortot, Myra Hess, Arrau, Katchen, Curzon, Brendel, Lupu, Ashkenazy, Cherkassky, and Perahia.) 

A highly enjoyable program was presented by the Ekaterinburg Classical Trio on Thursday evening, March 27, at Le Petit Trianon, San Jose. Ekaterinburg is San Jose’s Russian sister city, and this trio of graduates from the Ural State Conservatory there consists of the rare combination of clarinet, violin and piano – the clarinetist and violinist being husband and wife. There are few major classical works for this instrumentation, the most notable being the Khachaturian Trio and Milhaud Suite, which this group has recorded (more of this anon) but did not include in the concert under review. Hence we heard mostly shorter pieces of a serenade or salon character, but given strongly musical performances. The Kat Trio, as they like to be known in their lighter offerings, also includes settings of hymns and of American popular standards in their repertoire. It would be exciting in future to hear them perform with equal conviction the contemporary classical works written by many composers for the Verdehr Trio, the best-known trio of this kind. 

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