Fountain of Youth

Description

The second album by the Mithras Trio on Linn is devoted to early works by Shostakovich, Korngold, and Lisney, following in the footsteps of their first album, Eros, praised for its "intriguing and eclectic" programme (The Guardian). Fountain of Youth highlights the surprising number of piano trios written by composers at the start of their careers and also presents the world premiere recording of Petrichor by cellist Joy Lisney. Commissioned by the Mithras Trio and premiered at Wigmore Hall in January 2023, this evocatively titled piece is named after the smell of earth caused by rain on dry soil. Two pieces by Shostakovich and Korngold complete the recital. In Shostakovich's First Trio, his mature style is already present: moments of grotesquerie mixed with late Romanticism. Korngold's Trio Op. 1, his first published work, bears the marks of Mahler, Strauss, and Puccini, although the composer's unique voice and exceptional maturity can already be discerned.