Joseph Haydn
Piano Trio No. 39 in G major, ‘Gypsy’ Hob XV/25

Andante – Poco adagio, cantabile – Rondo all’ Ongarese :Presto

Felix Mendelssohn
Piano Trio n. 1 . in D minor, Op.49

Molto Allegro agitato – Andante con moto tranquillo – Scherzo:Leggiero e vivace – Finale :Allegro assai appassionato

The Kaja Trio at the Royal Albert Hall, all graduates of the Royal College just a stones throw away. Three beautiful young ladies all imbued with a passionate need to make music together that was evident from the sumptuous performances of Haydn and Mendelssohn that they offered a full Elgar Room this morning .

A change of programme brought the Mendelssohn D minor in place of the announced Dumky Trio. But the Haydn Gypsy Rondo was still there.

In Haydn as in Mozart the cello was not yet regarded as a soloist but more the anchor where music was was created. It was Clare Juan who not only presented the Haydn but also presided over the scintillating playing of her colleagues creating a base on which the beauty of Kaja Sešek’s sumptuous violin playing could duet with her fellow Slovenian Zala Kravos with the grace and elegance of its time.

Zala playing with the lid wide open of Elton John’s Red Yamaha piano without any fear of overpowering her colleagues. Three musicians that play as one, each master of her instrument . Sumptuous beauty of the piano in the second movement accompanied by the discreet richness of the violin and cello before passing the melodic line to the violin, this time with cello and piano following with vibrant attention . The Gypsy Rondo, last movement is a famous show piece for the piano and Zala’s glowing fluidity was brought vividly to life with the support of her two colleagues . All bursting into a Hungarian dance of exhilaration played by all three with searing conviction and dynamic brilliance

Zala is a wonderful pianist but her public speaking is not at the same level so her introduction I missed . What a surprise then that the ‘Dumky’ Trio in our programme was suddenly transformed into the sumptuous magic of Clare’s solo cello as she intoned the Mendelssohn D minor trio . I have heard Zala many times, she even gave a piano duo concert with her brother in France last summer who now was content to turn pages for his sister. No easy task for the pianist in Mendelssohn where there must be a record amount of notes for the piano!

It was an ideal decision because the Mendelssohn Trio is a masterpiece for three virtuosi musicians that can comune with each other with passion , mastery and technical brilliance. Three solists who can live together under the same roof passing Mendelssohn’s unstoppable melodic invention from one to the other with a mutual anticipation that requires great musicianship and above all listening more to their partners than to themselves.

At last we could appreciate from the very first notes the sumptuous beauty of Clare Juan’s cello and the ravishing rich sound of Kaja’s violin but above all the masterly brilliance and beauty of Zala’s playing .

Nowhere more than in the scherzo where all three played with the gossamer lightness of a Midsummer Mendelssohn, and the joie de vivre that made the composer a favourite at the court of Queen Victoria who had erected this very monument to the memory of her beloved husband Albert . There was a radiant beauty to the Andante with Zala’s opening solo creating a magic that became ever more radiant as the violin and cello duetted with her. The Allegro assai finale was played with passionate abandon and ravishing melodic beauty with three beautiful ladies playing as one with a voice of masterly conviction.

Sešek is a Slovenian violinist, currently finishing her Master of Performance degree at the Royal College of Music, London, where she is studying with Detlef Hahn. She completed her undergraduate studies at Academy of Music Ljubljana with Gorjan Košuta. She is an ongoing member of Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester since 2022. She has performed as a soloist with RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and the Slovene Military Orchestra, among others. Her studies are supported by the Ad Futura Public Scholarship Fund of the Republic of Slovenia.

Clare Juan is an Australian cellist currently pursuing a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, London, under Gemma Rosefield. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed with the Marmen String Quartet and Ensemble 360 at venues like Wigmore Hall. Clare recently won first prize in the KraCamera International Competition and the RCM Contemporary Competition. She is The Sir Peter and Lady Walters Scholar, supported by the Pauline Hartley Award and the TAIT Performing Arts Association. Clare plays a 1804 William Forster Junior cello, on loan from the Royal College of Music.

Zala Kravos, born in Slovenia in 2002, began playing piano at five and has studied with Maria João Pires, Louis Lortie, Jean Müller, and Norma Fisher. A winner of multiple international competitions, she has performed in 19 countries, including China and the US. In 2018, she was nominated for the “Export Artist of the Year” award in Luxembourg. At 14, she recorded her first solo album, followed by a second in 2021 with her brother Val, featuring music for piano four hands.

Zala Kravos at St Marys A born musician of great artistry and intelligence