Benedetti/Elschenbroich/Grynyuk review: Elschenbroich’s playing was gracefully nuanced but Benedetti rarely found beauty in her sound

The Schubert cast its expected spell and the Brahms trio became a cornucopia of lovely ideas

The trio arrived in London after a seven-stop tour of Australia (Mark Mcnulty)

Violinist Nicola Benedetti, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk are leading soloists bound by a nice kind of history. The violinist and cellist played chamber music together at the Yehudi Menuhin School; they then met – and decided to collaborate with – the pianist, who was studying at the Royal Academy. The trio established a symbiosis and developed a vibrant ensemble sound. For the last 10 years they’ve premiered new works and toured the world to acclaim – their appearance at the Wigmore Hall followed a seven-city tour of Australia.

Their programme this time promised a pleasing symmetry. Strauss’s Cello Sonata in F, written when the composer was 19, would team Grynyuk with Elschenbroich, and the same composer’s Violin Sonata in E flat would pair him with Benedetti. All three would then play Schubert’s Notturno in E flat and Brahms’s Piano Trio No 2.

The Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk trio (Nicola Benedetti) (Nicola Benedetti website)

The first Strauss work is seldom performed, and one could see why, but the second, which won admirers led by Heifetz, is a farewell to the world of Brahms and was played as such. The Schubert cast its expected spell and the Brahms trio – reflecting the composer’s mellow maturity – became a cornucopia of lovely ideas. Elschenbroich’s playing was gracefully nuanced throughout but Benedetti rarely found beauty in her sound; Grynyuk held the work together with authority, although his dynamics ranged from loud to very loud indeed.