The Bechstein Trio perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op.1 No.1 at the newly minted Bechstein Hall on London’s Wigmore Street
All of this year, I’m writing about hearing music I’ve not heard for the first time, not only to highlight excellent performance but to demonstrate how live music-making can trigger an onward listening experience. The first notable work, is a discovery from this month. Beethoven’s Opus 1 No. 1 – his E Flat Major Piano Trio.
Technically, not the first thing he wrote, rather the first thing he published. A strategic choice on his part. Best foot forward, that kind of thing. The classical music equivalent of the first overworked piece of content debuting a brand’s new social media profile. In addition to being habitually good at musical invention, Beethoven also had an eye (and at that time, an ear) for his brand.
This musical discovery came from a performance given by the newly formed Bechstein Trio – Emmanuel Despax, Guy Johnston, and Priya Mitchell – pared the Beethoven Piano Trio in E flat with Brahms Piano Trio no. 1 in B major, op. 8 at the freshly minted Bechstein Hall in Wigmore Street. Just a stone’s throw away from Wigmore Hall, the Bechstein is an audacious endeavour, offering a near-classical cabaret experience combining a plush intimate recital room with a boutique basement restaurant. Its early marketing pre-opening seemed like a hostile piece of positioning, assuming the founding name of the now Wigmore Hall and, as a result, daring to compete for audiences. In practice, the intimate recital room adjoining the piano showroom plus the basement boutique restaurant gives Bechstein Hall a classical music cabaret feel. In that regard, it’s an entirely different offer. Curiosity about the place drove me there, even if there was still a lingering sense of guilt as though I was betraying a trusted old friend.
Bechstein’s major point of difference is its acoustic experience. Proximity always brings music alive — I’ve written about that each time I’ve visited the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival. (I always recommend first timers get as close to the performance as they can even if that sacrifices the balance of sound). The hall is a much smaller space than its name suggests, with an occupancy of nearly 100 and seating that ensures nearly everyone gets good sight lines. The stage isn’t elevated, so those in first few rows will feel as though they’re playing the music themselves. In addition, the space — part private screening room, part studio vibe — is equipped with discreet speakers which collectively mimic acoustics (in the same way the King Singers demo at Imperial College a few months ago written about on Thoroughly Good did). This technology not only enhances the intimacy of an already intimate space, but helps create a consistent sound for everyone in the room. It is in effect, a little like being in a recording studio, and what I imagine sitting in the middle of the ensemble. This innovation won’t be to everyone’s tastes. The die-hards will turn their noses up at it, no doubt. But with its plush seating, clean lines, and its lighting set low, this is an experience like no other. It is one that turbo charges live performance making the music difficult to ignore (which of course, it is).
In this way, the technology enhances what is already obvious. The Bechstein Trio are a fierce combination to watch play. At the keyboard Emmanuel Despax has a lightness of touch that makes light work of Beethoven’s intricate decoration. Cellist Guy Johnston is a calming foil to violinist Priya Mitchell’s demonstrative energy. There are smiles all around frequently throughout. Mitchell never settles in her seat, agitated energy driving events. It is almost as though we’re playing with them. At times their playing is raw, other moments tender. The proximity reveals the daring detail in Beethoven’s score – the unsettling indiscernible beat that opens the third movement scherzo, and the seemingly unconventional pianissimo conclusion to the second movement adagio.
It is the adagio which speaks the most readily on a first listen. Gentle, measured, focussed, Mitchell’s melodic line is full, broad and far reaching. There is peace and tranquility here as well as a reassuring sense of onward motion. There is a hint of Mozart in the score. Later, the shifting keys give this a decidedly richer romantic feel at odds with what I thought the movement was initially. On a first listen it nestles in comfortably — I’m completely focussed on what’s going on. This Bechstein Trio has achieved that magical thing that some performances of relatively unfamiliar classical works do: it’s provided a hook for further discovery.
Since that performance, it is the Beethoven which has dominated further listening (I’ll get to the Brahms in a future post). Barenboim, Zukerman and Du Pre’s recording meets my needs in the first movement – a rich meaty sound far bigger captured close to the microphone, with delicious articulation in the piano paired with the cello in accompaniment. I love hearing the crunch of the bow on the strings the dry articulation in the piano. Both the second and third movements feel too sedate for me (such is the pitfall of hearing other versions of something when the first sticks in your mind) in comparison to the Bechstein’s performance. Wilhelm Kempff, Henryk Szeryng, and Pierre Fournier move at a slightly faster pace in keeping with what I recall hearing first time around; no loitering around in the third and fourth movements either. But it’s the Oliver Schynder Trio’s 2017 recording that ticks all the boxes for me on a first pass. There is weight in the sound and an appealing sprightliness in all of the movements that holds my attention and brings a smile to my face.
There’s more to be heard from the Bechstein Trio in the next few months, selected appearances including 22 March 2025 where they’ll play Fauré’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D major Op.70 No. 1 ‘Ghost’, and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 49. They’ll perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D major Op.70 No. 1 ‘Ghost’, and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No 1 in D minor Op 49 on 2 April—additional dates on 5 May and 18 June with further details on the Bechstein Hall website.