In a week that sees the city hosting three piano trio concerts, the Eggners, in the Town Hall last Tuesday night, came across as the classical equivalent of stadium stars.
The Austrian brothers are the epitome of hip elegance. Sharing the stage with Amihai Grosz, the Berlin Philharmonic's principal violist,
they reminded us of their very individual style and musical tactics.
The first movement of Mozart's G major Piano Quartet presented classical cool poised on a knife edge. Christoph Eggner's piano scales were slashes of colour, while Grosz fitted in well with the Eggner's house style of hyper-nuancing.
From the start, Grosz made his presence felt, even with the simplest of sustained notes, reminding us that the viola was the composer's own instrument.
Schumann penned his Piano Quartet in a state of post-nuptial joy and, at the end of this concert, the composer's happiness was upgraded to the level approaching delirium.
