MASTERS OF MELODY

TrioZ, Melba Hall, July 2

REPLACING cellist Emma-Jane Murphy, the Goldner String Quartet's cellist, Julian Smiles, slotted easily into the TRIOZ music-making ethos with original members Kathryn Selby and violinist Niki Vasilakis.

The scheduled program of piano trios remained unchanged: Mozart in G Major K. 496, the Dvorak Dumky, and Schubert No. 2 in E flat. Smiles gave understated service in the first of these, which is keyboard-centric with plenty of warm-up matter for Selby, while the other group members occasionally enjoyed the spotlight.

But the remainder of the night proved the benefit of years of chamber music experience. Both the Dvorak and Schubert have become favourite chamber music competition fodder as well as material for young groups with an eye to the opportunities for weltering emotion in the Czech work. This TRIOZ reading showed an admirable welding of technique and lyrical responsiveness, highlighted in the final pages of the third dumka, which produced persuasive, warm playing.

TRIOZ's Schubert interpretation also lived up to the first half's promise, the riches here more numerous. Selby's restraint in the C minor Andante gave both string contributors space to play without strain, notably in their resonant pizzicato work; a fine realisation of the composer's direct voice with attention given to all dynamic shadings.

However, the players once again moved up several notches in their realisation of the third movement's trio - as definitively etched a picture as you could want of Schubert's ebullient honesty of expression.