The Neave Trio offered an intimate, deeply human remembrance of the great Romantic piano trios
In Kings Place’s Hall One, the Grammy-nominated Neave Trio (Anna Williams on violin, Mikhail Veselov on cello, and Eri Nakamura on piano) presented an intimate journey of music through memory, love and loss. Rather than constructing a complicated programme, the evening focused on something more sincere: revealing the humans behind the musical giants. Bringing together three Romantic piano trios by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, the programme traced a rich emotional arc while honouring musical legacy and personal connection.
Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 1 was extraordinary. It felt like the perfect antidote to the cold, rainy London outside. The main motif started from the piano, clear and limpid, then passed into the cello and then the violin, becoming an intimate whisper among the three instruments. Rachmaninoff has always felt to me like a compassionate gaze cast across humanity: filled with tenderness and empathy, and capable of the deepest romance. Under Neave Trio’s interpretation, the cello’s voice, in particular, was so warm that it transformed the music into something hopeful yet intimate. Unlike many performers who linger over the sentimentality, the Neave Trio’s collaboration made the music feel naturally flowing from within them, preserving its natural momentum and emotional sincerity.
Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor entered lighter in texture, yet no less authentically human. Though often remembered in relation to her husband, Robert Schumann, Clara unmistakably acquires as an artist of her own voice. The first movement began delicately, almost anxiously, yet beneath this delicacy ran an undercurrent of a force, a tension that suggested something on the verge of breaking. The second movement, by contrast, was light and almost childlike. The third unfolded like a melancholy daydream, and the fourth movement returned to the restless energy of the opening, but with greater force. Neave Trio’s performance was faithful yet brilliant to Clara Schumann’s composition, sharing with the audience the depth and emotional maturity of Clara’s musical voice.
Brahms’s Piano Trio in B major, perhaps the most familiar work on the programme, inevitably invited greater scrutiny. The cello entered the beginning with such warmth and promise, making a truly stunning musical moment. Yet as the movement progressed, the balance between the instruments occasionally felt unsettled. The piano lacked clarity in places, and the rhythm seemed to drag. There was a sense of the three musicians trying to find one another again, and in doing so, the momentum lost itself. However, by the fourth movement, the energy returned. The forward motion was restored, and the distinctive character of Brahms’s writing finally emerged with clarity.
Although the Neave Trio has now concluded its appearance at Kings Place, the wider Memory Unwrapped series, bringing together a constellation of artists in reflection on remembrance and connection, will continue to unfold there until November 2026.