CD and Concert Reviews - recent and historical
The Leipzig Circle Vol.II SOMM
London Bridge Trio
‘Leipzig – like Vienna, a city of music!.. Such is the basis for this splendid recording on the Somm label, the second one to feature the London Bridge Trio, this time performing piano trios by Mendelssohn and Robert and Clara Schumann.. Throughout, the London Bridge Trio performs with great panache, demonstrating a sensitive but confident approach in this most intimate repertoire. This disc is a delight!’ The Whole Note 2020
The Leipzig Circle Vol.l SOMM
London Bridge Trio
‘The performance by Kate Gould and Daniel Tong (Mendelssohn Song Without Words Op 109) is appealing. Gould is adept at maintaining a singing line and shaping it with sensitive expressivity. Her tone is smooth and burnished..’ Daniel Morrison, Fanfare magazine 2019
Dvořák Piano Quartets CHAMPS HILL RECORDS
London Bridge Trio
***** PERFORMANCE
***** RECORDING
‘The London Bridge Trio bring this familiar work to life as if it were an old friend..
‘The players succeed unerringly… This is first-rate reflective chamber music’ BBC Music Magazine 2017
London Bridge Trio
Kings Place, London
“Melody shot forth with magical poignancy, particularly from the cello of Kate Gould” Paul Driver, Sunday Times, Dec 2014
Faure Piano Trio etc SONIMAGE
London Bridge Trio
‘Kate Gould’s radiant cello sings with lyrical fervour in the outer movements..’ David Denton, The Strad 2012
Schumann Songs and Chamber Music SONIMAGE
London Bridge Ensemble
‘This is a disc of a concert and very satisfying it is. The young ensemble, whose name alludes not only to their base, but to their desire to bridge the gap between chamber music and song, and to their admired composer Frank Bridge, perform superbly….’, Paul Driver, Sunday Times 2011
Bach Goldberg Variations HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio
‘This arrangement has been recorded several times … but the Leopold's belated entry into the field eclipses all others … the hushed withdrawing of the Aria's ultimate reprise is spellbinding … for listeners, there are times when holding one's breath is inescapable’ BBC Music Magazine 2011
Frank Bridge Piano Quintet etc DUTTON
London Bridge Ensemble
‘Another generous Bridge helping from this sensitive and stylish outfit.. The poetry, flexibility and ardour displayed by these gifted players held me captive from first note to last.
‘..Kate Gould’s sweetly sung cello in Spring Song (1912) is another treat..
‘Don’t hesitate for a moment and fingers crossed for more Bridge from this exemplary team!’ Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone 2010
‘the light and lyrical ‘Spring Song’.. is played exquisitely by cellist Kate Gould.’ American Record Guide 2010
Leopold String Trio and Paul Lewis, piano
Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
‘..an exhilarating account of Dvorak's Piano Quartet in E flat as the climax. By Dvorak standards still something of a rarity, it was played with all the tangy Bohemian sonorities it demanded, the string trio's lyrical contribution in no way overshadowed by the crisp clang of the piano.
‘With equal resourcefulness, earlier, the Leopolds subtracted a player for an equally rare account of Kodaly's Duo, Op 7, for violin and cello, one of the glories of Hungarian instrumental music, in which Isabella van Keulen and Kate Gould showed that a pair of expansively lyrical strings, even without Lawrence Power as their pivot, could converse and rhapsodise as eloquently as three.’ Conrad Wilson, The Herald 2008
Frank Bridge Chamber works and Song DUTTON
London Bridge Ensemble
‘What’s more, in the glorious Phantasie Quartet of 1910 these stylish newcomers deserve a place at the top table next to such exalted predecessors as Benjamin Britten with members of the Amadeus Quartet.. Elsewhere the programme allows each instrumentalist to shine: Kate Gould sparkles in the flirtatious Scherzo (1901)..’ Gramophone 2008
‘If you're after an all Bridge disc [list of pieces]... all in excellent performances, then look no further…’ BBC Radio 3 CD Review
Taneyev String Trios HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio
‘It would be hard to over-praise the Leopold Trio's performances. Agility and all-round aplomb … Warmth and colour … Structural and idiomatic awareness …'' Gramophone Magazine 2008
'The Leopold String Trio … are arguably the leading such trio in the world … Taneyev was one of the greatest Russian musicians of his time… The three string trios on this Hyperion CD make a very important contribution to our knowledge of Russian chamber music of the period… The music is inherently Russian, beautifully composed and so varied in convincing expression that the attentive listener is at once drawn into the composer's world. This is wonderful music, wonderfully performed and recorded … Highly recommended' International Record Review 2008
'There is … an individual creative spark, urgency and textural richness that the Leopolds communicate with sensitivity and terrific panache' Daily Telegraph 2008
'Listening to the three trios that the Leopold String Trio present with such commitment and persuasiveness leaves no doubt as to Taneyev's contrapuntal ingenuity and resource … Excellent recorded sound makes this a rewarding issue in every way' BBC Music Magazine 2008
Leopold String Trio
Tabernacl, Machynlleth Festival
‘Even by the high standards of the Machynlleth festival, the richly resonant sound of the Leopold String Trio seemed to take its audience by surprise. But then this is an ensemble who have effectively redefined both medium and repertoire, scotching any lingering perception that they might be deficient in the violin category. With regards to the programme, the combination of Boccherini, Taneyev and Alwyn is certainly not a common one, yet the Leopold players made each piece an exploration in texture and timbre that was absolutely compelling…
It is precisely the capacity of each individual to match the others in depth of tone and expression that makes the Leopold so special. The instinctive way they homed in on the moments of incipient genius in Beethoven's Trio in E flat, Op 3, was further testimony to their profound corporate musicianship.’ Rian Evans, The Guardian 2007
Leopold String Trio
‘The Series’, Wigmore Hall, London
‘For technical finish and musical insight, the Leopold String Trio have, by now, established themselves among those select few ensembles who can command a full house playing almost anything... these players went on to surpass themselves in Beethoven's String Trio in G. Here, the subtly inflected vivacity of Marianne Thorsen's violin, the husky humour and warmth of Lawrence Power's viola, and the dramatic definition of Kate Gould's cello, their perfection of intonation and ensemble, and a continuing sense of unexpectedness in a score they must, by now, have played a hundred times, were a joy.’ Bayan Northcott, The Independent 2006
Brahms Piano Quartets HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio and Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
‘I doubt we will ever hear better recorded performances of the three piano quartets than we have here... Kate Gould's cello in the moving slow movements of Nos 2 and 3 is breathtakingly beautiful, while in No 1, Marc-André Hamelin's verve and articulation will make you smile and scratch your head in wonder.’ Classic FM Magazine 2006
‘A delight from start to finish: this is such cultivated and characterized playing, which becomes quite exultant in the finale. It's also beautifully recorded by Hyperion. Given that, this new set can take a well-earned place at the top of recommendations of these three works.’ International Record Review 2006
Leopold String Trio
Royal Philharmonic Society Awards
'Through the sheer brilliance and maturity of their playing, their collaborations with other outstanding performers, and their enterprise and imagination in programming, commissioning and touring, the Leopold String Trio have shown uncompromising dedication to an otherwise neglected genre, and advocacy for the richness of chamber music as a whole' On presentation of the Chamber Music Award 2005
Leopold String Trio
‘The Series’, Wigmore Hall, London
‘Likewise, the Leopold String Trio called in Pascal Rogé for Fauré’s C minor Piano Quartet, an emphatic conclusion to a revelatory programme showing the ensemble’s versatility and finesse. This was the opening gambit of a three-season series, and fielded two rare string trios by Sibelius, one a student piece with pre-echoes of his mature vocabulary, the other an intense slow movement that capitalises on the unexpectedly ample sound that three string instruments can summon. Here, as in the subtly shifting, exotic atmospheres of Judith Bingham’s Fifty Shades of Green, the Leopold projected those qualities of textual clarity, dynamism and intricate colouring that fuel its compelling interpretative personality.’ Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph November 2005
Schubert Trout Quintet and String Trios HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio, Paul Lewis, piano and Graham Mitchell, bass
Instrumental Disc of the Month
‘one of the finest modern Trouts available. As with their Mozart, their Schubert benefits from scrupulous attention to detail, a keen sense of the music's drama and a deeply rewarding expressive response to this imperishable masterpiece … exquisitely played.’ Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times 2006
‘The Leopold String Trio understands Schubert's pursuit of beauty and the sublime, enhanced in their joyful 'Trout' Quintet partnership by pianist Paul Lewis and double-bassist Graham Mitchell. This 'Trout' surely ranks high on the all-time list of Schubert chamber music recordings.’ MusicWeek
‘Their interpretation is compelling for its spontaneity and compelling detail. It shows them to be completely within the Schubertian sensibility and encompasses the piece's mood changes with subtlety, capturing its lyricism with true Schubertian bonhomie.’The Strad
London Bridge Ensemble
Wigmore Hall, London
‘They demonstrated throughout the evening an extraordinary ability to weave and sustain extended melodic lines. This showed to great advantage in Faure's D minor Piano Trio, particularly the slow movement, in which the composer's relentlessly intensifying musical paragraphs were played with steadily increasing power…
‘in the final work, Faure's La Bonne Chanson, the group produced sounds of unfailing beauty and warmth.’ Tim Homfray, The Strad 2005
Dohnányi, Martinu, Schoenberg HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio
‘Three players whose persuasive musicianship is consistently revealing.
‘The beauty of this recording by the Leopold String Trio is the way the players draw out the music’s full harmonic implications, more so than the Juilliards (on their second recording) or the LaSalles…All manner of devices are used in the pursuit of maximum colour, including col legno, harmonics and pizzicato…the Leopolds score in their rapturous playing of the quieter music.
‘…the Leopold Trio have…a warm, pooled tone, a relaxed demeanour and an ability to search out the subtler aspects of the score. The sound is consistently excellent…’ Rob Cowan, Gramophone Magazine 2005
Leopold String Trio
Wigmore Hall, London
‘The string trio is a combination given to intimacy, of which there was plenty. But when the Leopold let rip, it was mightier than many a larger group. This was playing of grand gestures, youthful gaiety, wit and a sense of theatricality bordering on the operatic. But strangely, for all that one half expected trombones to join in, these remained quintessentially chamber music performances, full of internal dialogue…The virtuoso Leopolds made light of Schoenberg’s horribly difficult work, bringing to it eloquence, occasional violence, and mystery. The Schubert (D581) was a joy. This is music that really should be heard more often, and who better to play it? The players found in it naivety, Classical elegance (of course), but also in places a teasing, questioning quality. They played as an organic whole: there was no simple separation of melody and accompaniment here, but a communal shaping, eloquent and sublime’ The Strad 2004
‘Their Schoenberg…was a master-performance: all the outré string-effects confidently in place, but also a lucid, communicative grasp of what the music is about, how its linked sections should go and how its ‘twelve-note’ harmonies should sound. Many in the predominantly elderly audience who came for the Mozart were probably astonished to find that this late trio, much freer and less ‘academic’ than Schoenberg’s earlier, doctrinaire 12-note pieces, is proper music from start to finish.’ The Financial Times, January 2004
‘Because of its extreme technical demands Schoenberg’s String Trio has tended to be performed, when at all, by ensembles specialising in hard-edged avant-garderie. So one was particularly interested to hear what the Leopold String Trio, so warmly identified with their classical repertoire, would make of it. Nor did they disappoint…The result was by far the most meaningfully nuanced, cohesive and sheerly musical live performance this pair of ears has ever heard of it, with its mesmeric final fadeout stilling even the most disaffected listeners in a packed Wigmore Hall.’ The Independent, January 2004
Leopold String Trio
Edinburgh Festival, Queen’s Hall 2004
‘Both the Brahms quintets are certainly lushly romantic, but with this group of musicians never turgidly so – their playing was a breath of fresh air, bringing to the fore the vibrant brilliance and energy of the music.
‘The contrast of pairing each Brahms quintet with a trio by Webern was predictably effective, but the real revelation was the way in which the Leopold Trio performed these works. The sparse, fragmented musical language…can seem austere and rather earnest, even icily rigorous but playing with the multi-faceted colours and textures of the music, the Leopold Trio showed these works in another light: delicate, mercurial and dancing – every bit as captivating as the Brahms.’ The Herald 2004.
‘The Leopolds shining with musical intelligence, brought out the deeper feelings informing the Adagio [Brahms’s String Quintet No. 2] and then gave us an exuberant finale.’ The Scotsman 2004
Leopold String Trio
Wigmore Hall, London
‘The performance by Marianne Thorsen, Lawrence Power and Kate Gould gave the concert’s best demonstration of the Leopold players’ incredible finesse and musicality.
‘Were there only three musicians? The Leopolds’ multiple bowing effects, fancy bridge work and plucked delicacies suggested about ten, colouring the notes with a beauty and subtlety managed by all too few Schoenberg performances.’ The Times 2003
Mozart Piano Quartets HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio and Paul Lewis, piano
Classical CD of the week
‘When these musicians played these quartets at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival, I wrote that ‘every bar sounded fresh-minted in the hands of these wonderful young artists and Lewis is a star in the making: a born stylist’. Almost four years on, their performances retain the same youthful freshness.’ Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times 2003
CD of the week
‘There have been other memorable recordings of these glorious pieces, but few, if any, can rival this new disc’s combination of deep musical understanding with a sense of fresh, delighted discovery.’ Richard Wigmore, The Daily Telegraph 2003
Record of the Month
‘The player’s close spontaneous rapport, challenging or coaxing in dialogue and dovetailing their lyrical lines with natural grace, make even the augmented Beaux Arts Trio sound a shade studied….But for all the delicacy of playing, the music’s darkness and passion are fully expressed, whether in the mounting tension of the development or the turbulence of the coda. ..for freshness, insight and sheer beauty of tone and phrase, this new disc takes the palm.’ Richard Wigmore, BBC Music Magazine 2003
Editor’s Choice
‘There have been several excellent recordings recently of these two works, mostly on period instruments. Here’s another, on modern instruments, and with performances quite out of the ordinary.. A real winner, this disc: warmly recommended.’ Stanley Sadie, Gramophone Magazine 2003
Editors Choice
‘Remember the old adage that young artists should steer clear of indisputably ‘classic’ repertoire until they’ve lived long enough to have something genuinely original to say? Well either it’s plain wrong, or musicians are maturing faster these days. Take Mozart’s piano quartets, two absolute pinnacles of the medium: here we have a superb issue from young, world-class players, Paul Lewis and the Leopold String Trio. And they not only get to the heart of these pieces to a degree I’ve rarely encountered, but they take on such stalwarts of the CD catalogue as the expanded Beaux Arts Trio, Clifford Curzon and members of the Amadeus Quartet, not to mention the two versions by Isaac Stern and friends and top them all. You don’t have to listen far into the first movement of the G minor Quartet to discover passion, grace, pathos, brilliance, and a superb balance of shape and inner detail as the players spark off one another. It’s pure joy from first to last, and I urge you to add it to your shelves.’ Harriet Smith, BBC Music Magazine 2003
Edinburgh Festival, Queen’s Hall 2003
‘If the 2003 International Festival music programme has felt unduly biased towards Beethoven and Brahms, then the Leopold Trio (augmented to a quintet) certainly sought out some of Beethoven’s more obscure pieces with which to dazzle…they were playing with brio and sensitivity, fluidity and delicacy, empathetically revealing the full complexity of musical exchanges and developments within the pieces…the more audacious Quintet in C, with its more mature emotional architecture and denser textures, allowed for a wonderfully imaginative reading.’ The Scotsman 2003
New Zealand & Australia Tour with Paul Lewis April/May 2003
‘Lewis and the trio played in a sumptuous style, producing a full and rich sound. In Beethoven’s String Trio No. 3 the poise and focus of the Leopold String Trio produced a marvellous performance in all four movements. There was some wonderfully tender playing in the second movement adagio, and great energy and momentum to the fourth movement presto.’ Australian 2003
‘Dohnanyi’s Serenade is full of charm and drollery, sometimes kidding you, sometimes beguiling you. I’ve heard it played by excellent local groups, but this was something else, raising a second-division composer to first-division rank with playing of elasticity and vigour, wit and illumination. It was a wonderful meeting of minds and spirits; the audience knew it and their enthusiasm was rewarded with the Larghetto from Mozart’s other piano quartet.’ The Dominion-Post 2003
Wigmore Hall 2002
“Ambitious ambassadors of chamber music” (Headline)
‘The New Year traditionally belongs to the young in London's concert halls, and on Saturday the Wigmore Hall began its latest Rising Stars programme. This prestigious scheme, run by Echo (the European Concert Hall Organisation) provides debut recitals in many of Europe's leading concert halls for young musicians nominated by each member country.
‘This year's UK representative is the Leopold String Trio, a group that has already won acclaim for its recordings and Radio 3 appearances and is now being given the chance to perform all over the world. It would be hard to imagine more accomplished ambassadors for the healthy state of British chamber music-making.
‘…Its Wigmore programme included three very different approaches to the medium, by Beethoven, Dohnanyi and Weir. In the G major Trio of Beethoven's Op. 9, full democratisation of the three instruments had still to be achieved, but such was the richness of the ensemble-playing on show here from violinist Marianne Thorsen, violist Scott Dickinson and cellist Kate Gould that the supposed innate problem of leanness with this combination was banished from the mind.’ The Daily Telegraph 2002
“Expanding the string trio's range” (Headline)
‘When that questing young string consort, the Leopold Trio, first emerged a decade ago, it comprised three Graces, of whom two – the violinist Marianne Thorsen and the cellist Kate Gould – still survive, though complemented now by the eminently masculine viola of Scott Dickinson. Survive? They positively burgeon: unfailingly well-tuned, lustrously toned and responsively balanced, and ever alive to the interplay of phrasing and vibrato, nuance and colour that the choice, but perilously small classic string trio repertory requires to keep it fresh.
‘Nor should such supremely cultivated chamber playing succumb to the latent danger of mannerism, so long as these players continue to expand their range as vigorously as at present…’ The Independent 2002
‘The buzz surrounding the youthful Leopold String Trio, on the evidence of their Saturday concert, requires no explanation. Already internationally established, this group shines out for the brilliance of its playing and its inventive programmes, not easy with a line-up of violin, viola and cello’ The Observer 2002
Edinburgh Festival, Usher Hall 2002
‘The Leopold String trio gave itself a head start on Tuesday with Mozart’s E flat Divertimento K563. The young Leopold players caught the nocturnal atmosphere beautifully, playing sensitively to the hall’s spacious acoustic. Breathy pianissimos wafted through the air, but never without focus and character. The full scope of the ensemble’s expressive vocabulary came flooding out in the testing fourth movement variations…at its height this was a glowing display of Mozart at his most intimate and inspired.’ The Scotsman, August 2002
Mozart Divertimento K568 HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio
‘The Grumiaux Trio’s 1960s recording has dominated the catalogue, and challengers have been few. This account .. is the most glowing and perceptive account since the Grumiaux’s, and deserves to win friends for this wonderful music among a younger generation of music-lovers.’ The Sunday Times, September 2001
‘This new recording from the Leopold Trio seriously challenges the 1967 Grumiaux version on Philips, long the benchmark for many Mozart lovers. …. the Leopold is a more democratic group, the players matching and reacting to each other’s phrasing with rare empathy. Their performance as a whole is gentler and more classically chaste than the Grumiaux; but, with scrupulous attention to Mozart’s dynamics and articulation, they characterise at least as vividly, whether in the remote modulations in the first-movement development (enhanced by the players’ veiled sotto voce colouring), the rarefied intensity of the Adagio, or the range of mood and colour they bring to the fifth-movement variations. For its uncommonly refined and democratic interplay, this new disc now eclipses Grumiaux as my top recommendation…’ Richard Wigmore, BBC Music Magazine 2001
Beethoven Complete String Trios - 2 discs HYPERION RECORDS
Leopold String Trio
‘This repertoire has been recorded by some world-famous artists in the past, but no performances have given me as much pleasure as these. A real treat’ BBC Music Magazine
‘An outstanding pair of discs’ The Daily Telegraph
‘The most sensitive reportage that these works have enjoyed since the advent of digital recording’ The Independent
‘A remarkably gifted young ensemble who bring classical elegance to these glorious works’ Classic CD
‘[A] startlingly good debut’ The Scotsman
‘Here is the finest string ensemble in Britain’ Daily Mail
‘One of the best and most beautiful ensembles to emerge blinking into the sunlight from London's conservatoires in recent years’ The Evening Standard