Gould Piano Trio

“The Gould Piano Trio, established players in this repertoire, prove masterly: nimble, agile and intense.” The Observer, 2nd December 2012

“warmly played by the Gould Trio, who are particularly sensitive to the lyrical minuet-like third movement of [Op. 70 No. 2]...the Goudl Trio's playing is unfailingly musical...All fine performances, in first-class sound.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ****

“The charm of WoO38 is persuasively conveyed, with the group playing up thje work's galant origins. Their conversational ease in the opening movement works well...There are more dramatic readings of these works around but these performances are unfailingly musicianly” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013

“These excellent performances are distinguished by beauty of tone and a rhythmic spring and alertness that has not always been Ireland's lot… the Gould Trio bring out the music's rhythmic variety, the nervous strength in the way the lines - admirably balanced in Naxos's recording - are made to work against each other.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 *****

“…Ireland… plundered material from the Clarinet Trio in D… for the last of his piano trios. …this is one of Ireland's most effortlessly fluent and approachable works… The Gould Piano Trio lend it exquisitely refined, infectiously eager advocacy… and it is preceded by similarly lithe and luminous accounts of the endearing Phantasie Trio and magnificent Second Trio from 1917...” Gramophone Magazine, August 2009

“This is a fascinating disc, illuminating Ireland’s natural affinity with the medium of the piano trio and its capacity – coincidentally shared by so many Russian piano trios – for voicing sentiments of an elegiac frame of mind.” The Telegraph, 28th May 2009 ****

“The performances are excellent: Lucy Gould leads the Trios in fine style, Alice Neary is richly expressive in the Folk-Tale, Benjamin Frith works wonders with Bax's alarmingly note-laden piano parts, and Robert Plane is responsive to the shifting moods of the mature Sonata. ...a programme to intrigue all Bax enthusiasts.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2006 ****

“Robert Plane is a much-admired clarinetist, and he plays with fluency and conviction… He's well supported by the players collectively known as the "Gould Trio"- who, on their own, provide a knowing performance of the late Piano Trio” Fanfare

“Bax's engaging Clarinet Sonata of 1934 has been lucky on disc, with distinguished versions from Janet Hilton, Emma Johnson and Michael Collins happily still adorning the catalogue.
Robert Plane's irreproachably alert and stylish account with Benjamin Frith leaves a similarly delightful impression. Plane's timbre could hardly be more alluring and he strikes up a tangible rapport with Frith. The pleasures continue with the 1945-46 Piano Trio, Bax's final chamber offering, which finds him at his most economical and relaxed.
It gets a first-rate performance from the Gould Trio, who bring plenty of bite and sparkle to the rhythmically buoyant finale. In the wistful and brooding Folk-Tale (first performed in 1918) Alice Neary and Frith do full justice to what is an unexpectedly powerful eight-minute essay.
But what makes this generously timed Naxos CD essential listening are three world-premiere recordings. Both the one-movement Sonata in E and Romance for clarinet and piano date from 1901 (Bax's first year at the Royal Academy) and may well have been conceived as parts of a larger work. The 1906 'Trio in one movement for piano, violin and viola' was the first extended score Bax deemed worthy for publication, a decision he later regretted (he described it as a 'derivative and formless farrago'); it is performed here with the viola part taken by the clarinet, an option sanctioned by the composer.
Neither of the clarinet pieces is likely to set the world alight, whereas the fluent and predominantly extrovert 17-minute Trio contains tantalising glimpses of greater achievements to come. Enthusiasts can rest assured that these admirably agile and idiomatic performers give Bax's youthful inspiration every chance to shine; indeed, it's impossible to imagine a more convincing account of the Trio.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“[The Bax Piano trio] gets a first-rate performance from the Gould Trio, who bring plenty of bite and sparkle to the rhythmically buoyant finale… Enthusiasts can rest assured that these admirably agile and idiomatic performers give Bax’s youthful inspiration every chance to shine; indeed, it’s impossible imagine a more convincing account of the Trio.” Gramophone Magazine

"Sweeping energy and well-shaped long melodic lines make both these performances gripping and rewarding. This is an impassioned, German-Romantic Mendelssohn, far closer to Schumann or Stainer. Each work is approached very much as a whole, so that even the quasi-orchestral chorale-writing in the finale of the C minor Trio comes across convincingly, both as a sound in itself and as the apotheosis of a compelling symphonic argument." - Stephen Johnson, BBC Music Magazine, March 2002

“This first volume in the Goulds' series proves utterly successful, deftly contrasting a lively account of the early trio with a vigorous, very much flesh-and-blood version of the Ghost. A most promising start.” Classical Music, 19th May 2012 ****

“Presumably because it comes from a concert, the Gould have chosen a varied programme rather than a chronological approach, which makes for compelling listening. They strike a fine balance, offering playing that is characterful but not unduly interventionist...The Gould judge the extraordinary build-up in the slow movement of the Ghost very finely...taken as a whole, this is a fine and musicianly start to the Gould's Beethoven cycle.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012

“This first instalment in the Gould Piano Trio's complete Beethoven cycle has much to recommend it...[the Variations in E flat major op. 44 are] players with a delicate touch that makes each of the variations a pleasure to listen to individually.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 ****

“These are mostly excellent performances matching sweet string tone with a muscular approach to musical argument. The first movement of the B flat trio coudl have been more expansive, but the development, with its exquisite conclusion, is impressive.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ****

“all these performances bring great lyrical concentration, consistent throughout the set, with the violin and cello often creating a real partnership together and the group overall wonderfully balanced musically” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“The trio bring just the right amount of Moravian bounce to the early works and invest the later ones with joy and pathos. A firecracker of a disc.” METRO, 11th June 2012

“[The Piano Trio] is certainly no wilting English violet of a piece, this excellent performance from the Gould Piano Trio highlighting its sinew, and its dramatic contours. In the Piano Quartet No 2 of 1913 there is a toughness and resolution to the workings that the Gould elucidate with understanding and panache.” The Telegraph, 7th July 2011 ****

“hats off to Jeremy Dibble, the leading Stanford scholar, for his performance edition of the Quartet (and the disc's booklet), to the Gould Trio and David Adams (who joins them for this work) for their spirited and persuasive performances...A special nod goes to pianist Benjamin Frith for his expressive accompaniments in the violin and piano pieces” Classic FM Magazine, September 2011 ****

“It's hard to draw a deeper connection between an apparently un-Teutonic composer who came up with this winsome Irish material, and the one who could absorb himself so fully, and to such a finished technical standard, in the Brahmsian Piano Trio.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 ****

“[The First is] a wonderfully fluent, superbly crafted creation that by no means follows convention...I'm delighted to be able to report that the Gould Piano Trio are magnificently stylish and sympathetic champions...Benefiting from top-notch production values throughout, this generously filled disc should be snapped up without delay.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011