Classical performance: Vienna Piano Trio

The talented trio of Matthias Gredler, Stefan Mendl and David McCarroll. Photo / Supplied

Piano ensemble adds a taste of today to its Austrian repertoire

There's a distinctively Viennese lilt in Stefan Mendl's voice when the pianist chats about the Vienna Piano Trio's tour of the country. Mendl founded the group in 1988, after realising that life as a solo pianist was not for him.

"It's such a lonesome career on the recital stage," he says. "I've always felt more comfortable playing in the company of others."

As for taking the ensemble's name from the Austrian capital, what could be more natural when Mendl has always lived there. "Vienna is in my blood. You might as well ask a fish about the importance of water. Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms all lived in Vienna and their music is an essential part of our repertoire. Mind you," he adds, "they would also be essential if we were not Viennese."

For a man who insists he would rather talk of the future than the past, he is easily coaxed into remembering the great pianists heard in his youth, names like Claudio Arrau, Wilhelm Kempff and Emil Gilels.

"Vladimir Horowitz made such a great impression on me," he says. "Especially in the sound he was able to bring out of the instrument. And I was so lucky to hear Arturo Michelangeli at a time when he cancelled so many concerts."

When Mendl originally teamed up with cellist Marcus Trefny and violinist Wolfgang Redik (now replaced by Matthias Gredler and David McCarroll), they idolised the legendary Alban Berg Quartet.

"We wanted to have the same intensity as them," he recalls. "Our goal was to play piano trios just as those four men played string quartets. It was the blend that appealed to us. Although it can be interesting and even thrilling when three soloists come together for a piano trio, it's not really true chamber music."

Next Thursday, in Hamilton, the Vienna Piano Trio offers works by Haydn, Brahms and the Eduard Steuermann transcription of Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht that was a highlight of its 2004 Auckland concert. This programme will also be broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert on Monday, from Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre.

Auckland's Friday concert sets off with Beethoven's E flat major Trio Opus 70 no2, which shares an Opus number with the better-known Ghost Trio.

Mendl is extremely fond of the piece, praising it as quite experimental. "It's only because it has no nickname that it's not famous."

The pianist won't be persuaded into picking a favourite between Schubert's B flat major and E flat major Trios, the second of which is on Auckland's bill of fare.

"To me, these are the greatest things ever written for our three instruments to play together. So masterful, in fact, that you might say they're also the best things that ever will be written."

In-between two Viennese classics, the trio adds a taste of today with Johannes Maria Staud's Fur Balint Andras Varga. This set of miniatures originated in a 2007 tribute to the Hungarian music publisher Varga, with contributing composers including Wolfgang Rihm and Harrison Birtwistle.

"Later on, Staud added another six small pieces to our original four," says Mendl. "It's this version that we premiered in Boston in 2010. There's such a range in this work, from very, very tender moments to brutal outbursts. I think it's very exciting."

When it comes to playing contemporary music, Mendl is an enthusiast. "It's so wonderful to have the chance to work with the composer on his own music. We would have so loved to have done this with Beethoven and Schubert but, alas, it's no longer possible."

Performance

What: Vienna Piano Trio
Where and when: Academy of Performing Arts, Hamilton, Thursday at 7.30pm; Auckland Town Hall, Friday at 7.30pm