Everyone has an ear for Bach's Goldberg Variations to some degree – whether you prefer Glenn Gould or not, harpsichord or piano, the whole thing or just bits and pieces, the choice is yours. But in a trio arrangement? That raises eyebrows for many. Eyebrows that TrioFenix answered with a delightfully sonorous response: – both on the CD they recorded in early 2025 in the Chamber Music Hall of the Concertgebouw Brugge for the label Evil Penguin Classic (2026 EPRC 0080, carefully produced and environmentally responsible) – and at last Thursday's afternoon concert in the well-attended Brussels Instrumentenmuseum.
TrioFenix consists of violinist Shirly Laub, violist Tony Nys, and cellist Karel Steylaerts. After a first CD featuring Mozart (2010) and a Beethoven CD in 2016, they decided to celebrate their twenty-year anniversary with Bach and with devotees at home and abroad. Bach's thirty iconic Variations BWV 988, framed by an ethereally beautiful Aria, date from 1742. In 1984 they took on new life when violist, conductor, arranger, chamber musician, and festival director Dmitry Sitkovetsky (b.1954) transcribed them for piano, alto, and cello.
Legend links them to the sleepless nights of nobleman Carl von Keyserlingk, who sought solace in their performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727-1756). But this is contradicted by dates and figures. What's certain is that it's a perfect fit for these three seasoned professional artists: Shirly Laub, who radiates commitment and empathy from head to toe; Tony Nys, all reserve and control; and add to that the playful twinkle and driven joy in playing of Karel Steylaerts. Despite their differing body language, there was an infectious group dynamic at work. This naturally enhanced the dialogue between the trio, their colorful expressivity, and the remarkable contrapuntal clarity that never did violence to Bach.
Highlights
Illuminating the interpretation of the thirty Variations one by one would diminish the masterful unity that binds them. Yet certain standout moments demand mention. From the very first measures of the Aria, played by a slow, expressive violin, cradled by the viola and cello, a refined symbiosis unfolded where every voice breathed and listened to the others. Then there was the contrasting brisk tempo with which the Trio launched the first Variation and the relentless cello accompaniment.
And how ingenious were the 'Canones'! And Variation V with the flair of a galliard. Followed by a delightful intimate exchange between violin and cello. Variation X is a skillfully constructed Fughetta, unmistakably marked 'Bach.' About halfway through, a stately Overture surprises. But the height of listening pleasure was the pizzicato passage in Variation XIX. Emotionally striking was Variation XXV, an Adagio and one moving lament in the violin.
Aria
Then, almost 80 minutes later, after a joint chord, the Aria returns, like a weary, laborious reverie against an empathetic role from her two fellow players, as if tired from so many conflicting emotions. No stranger, that Aria, for it's a sarabande that Bach drew from the 'Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach' that he had written 17 years earlier.
