# Tchaikovsky - Op. 50 - Piano Trio in A minor ("In Memory of a Great Artist")



## HansZimmer (11 mo ago)

The "great artist" is Nikolai Rubinstein: Tchaikovsky wrote this piece after the death of his close friend. How do you rate it?

Performed by Evgeny Kissin (Piano), Joshua Bell (Violin) and Mischa Maisky (Cello) live in 2009.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I was hesitating between good and very good - I did pick it as one of my 12 favourite Tchaikovsky compositions, but in the end I voted for good.


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## REP (Dec 8, 2011)

Excellent. It's a monumental work that may well be Tchaikovsky's magnum opus in the field of chamber music. It is to the piano trio genre what the Pathetique is to the symphony.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

I give it a 4.5/5. I think it's a fine piece, but I seldom feel the urge to listen to it. The string sextet _Souvenir de Florence_, on the other hand, I absolutely adore this piece and rate it amongst Tchaikovsky's greatest works.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

REP said:


> Excellent. It's a monumental work that may well be Tchaikovsky's magnum opus in the field of chamber music.


Agreed, I never tire of listening to it, a very draining work. The range of emotions it conveys is awesome.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

Its excellent. Two people voted horrible! Really?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

REP said:


> Excellent. It's a monumental work that may well be Tchaikovsky's magnum opus in the field of chamber music. It is to the piano trio genre what the Pathetique is to the symphony.


I think there are parallels between the two, and not only because they're late pieces.



MusicSybarite said:


> Agreed, I never tire of listening to it, a very draining work. The range of emotions it conveys is awesome.


True. At the end of the performance I attended, the musicians appeared exhausted. It's almost an hour long if all the variations are played, as they where at the concert. The recording I have, which if I remember correctly omits a couple of them, goes for about 45 minutes. One of my favourite works by Tchaikovsky, and I did a write up on it here:









Tchaikovsky


I have heard the Mravinsky/Leningrad 4th, and I would call it good, not great. For the 4th, I would recommend Rozhdestvensky/LSO, Jansons/Oslo, and Abbado/VPO. I'm still looking for an outstanding 5th. For 6, I do love the Mravinsky/Leningrad, but I also love Reiner with Chicago.




www.talkclassical.com


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Very good. I quite enjoy it, but still prefer Tchaikovsky's compositions for orchestra. A 7.5 out of 10 in terms of my taste.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Very good gets my vote I did spin Martha Argerich (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin), Mischa Maisky (cello) on DG.
Sublime.


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## LKB (Jul 27, 2021)

Around 1980, EMI came out with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman and Lynn Harrell in a winning performance. Sound quality is on the bright side, but still acceptable. Ashkenazy really brings out the color in Tchaikovsky's writing for piano, and imho this effort represents the best recording Harrell ever made. Perlman is also quite solid, with a few memorable moments. Worth checking out, for whomever hasn't heard it.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I would have gone for pretty bad if that were an option, but I upgraded to not so good/not so bad. I have never enjoyed a performance, live or recorded. I have a ticket to hear a trio featuring Daniel Trifonov this spring, so I'll be giving it another chance.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

This is one of the best chamber recordings I’ve ever come across. The sound is a little rough, but the playing is so out of this world that you soon forget it.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Art Rock said:


> I was hesitating between good and very good -


Pretty much agree with this. It's a good piece but I don't quite get the enthusiasm some have (I have heard this named not infrequently as favorite piano trio or favorite Tchaikovsky piece ever). It's too long and the drawn out melancholy mood gets a bit tedious for me.


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