Description
The London-born pianist Myra Hess was one of the most beloved musical artists in the English-speaking world, especially in Britain where she established the famed National Gallery concerts which brought much comfort and hope to a war-ridden nation. Although renowned as a solo artist, she was a magnificent chamber musician, as revealed in these CD of her performances in piano trios by Schubert and Brahms. The Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Aranyi plays in both works and was a close friend of Hess. d'Aranyi was a student of Jeno Hubay and was the great-niece of the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim. Her spectacular violin playing resulted in numerous works written for her, including Bartok's two violin sonatas, Ravel's Tzigane and Vaughan Williams's Concerto Accademico. Hess and d'Aranyi were renowned as a violin-piano duo, and in 1928 the Telegraph's critic declared that there had been "no duo so fine since Ysaye and Busoni". The Hess-d'Aranyi duo are joined in the wonderful Schubert B-flat Trio by the English cellist Felix Salmond who was the first soloist to perform Elgar's Cello Concerto. In the Brahms C-major Trio, the cello part is taken by the marvellous Spanish cellist Gaspar Cassado who was one of Pablo Casals's most renowned students. Also included in the CD is Myra Hess's eloquent recording of the Schubert Piano Sonata in A, Op.120.
