CCMusic.com

Continuing Avie's acclaimed and influential series of recordings of the music of Austrian émigré Hans Gal, this latest release brings together two of today's most eminent Gal interpreters, Sarah Beth Briggs and Kenneth Woods with violin virtuoso David Juritz for a recording of Gal' breathtakingly lyrical Piano Trio in E major and his witty Variations on a Popular Viennese Tune. Gal's music and destiny was shaped by war and political upheaval, as was that of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose Piano Trio in E minor, one of the monuments of 20th century chamber music, is a harrowing souvenir of the times in which it was written. "Beautifully poised, enchanting accounts." (Gramophone) "Briggs is an artist with prowess and personality... [her] infectious pianism is impossible to resist." (MusicWeb Inernational) "Woods holds his own against such wonders as Sawallisch, Celibidache, Giulini and immediately becomes a favorite for this delectable work." (Classical Source) "Refreshingly spontaneous." (BBC Music Magazine)