Da Vinci Trio

On Saturday, March 19th, a good-sized audience was spell-bound by the artistry of the Da Vinci Trio. Scott Mitchell, piano, Anthony Moffat, violin and Robert Irvine, cello, electrified the audience from the opening bars of the Beethoven Op 1 trio in E flat. Their almost uncanny bond delivered a sound that was hair-trigger precise and charged with feeling. The sheer beauty of what they were doing held the listeners as if in an astonishing dream, though instrumentalists among them were marvelling at the virtuosity that was being unrolled.

Particularly in the haunting Schubert Adagio Notturno in E flat major, the measured, thoughtful phrases wove an intricate pattern that brought a sense of familiarity even though the piece was a long way from the lyricism of much of Schubert’s chamber work. A new piece by an Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, had a bell-like quality coupled with the purity of old music sung in monasteries and cloisters.

The evening culminated in the magnificent Brahms piano trio in C major, Op 87. Throughout, the sense that the performers shared the single mind of the composer brought a sense of privilege to the audience. The passion of the music put a finger on the innermost emotions of listeners and left people feeling moved and exalted. This was an evening when we heard something very special, and it will stay long in the minds of all those present.

Once again, we must be grateful to Colin Guthrie, whose generosity in gifting the Kawai grand piano to Arran made concerts such as this a possibility.

Alison Prince