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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Hans G\u00e1l revival \u2013 on disc, at least \u2013 continues apace. With the\u00a0symphonies, concertos and concertinos, complete piano music and string quartets all available (but alas none of the operas), there remain gaps in his chamber music\u00a0\u2013 a\u00a0major one of which is filled by this scintillating release. (Pianist Sarah Beth\u00a0Briggs\u00a0\u2013 whose marvellous recording\u00a0of\u00a0the Piano Concerto was my\u00a0Critic\u2019s Choice in 2016\u00a0\u2013 recently released another G\u00e1l chamber disc on Toccata\u00a0Classics.)<\/span><\/p>\nThe Piano Trio in\u00a0E (1923) is, as one should expect by now of G\u00e1l, a model of Classical balance if not harmony or structure. Cast in a slow-fast-slow format, it is a work of (mostly) genial disposition, belying the post-Great War instability of Germany and, indeed, the composer\u2019s fragile financial position. Perhaps this is represented in the central Allegro violente Scherzo, although the Trio is as sweet as\u00a0could be. The playing throughout is simply\u00a0exquisite: yes, it is a beautifully written gift for the three performers; but Briggs, David Juritz and Kenneth Woods make the most of it, as they do the earlier Variations on a Viennese \u2018Heurigen\u2019 Melody (1914), full of the innocence pre-Great War. Both works should be staples of the\u00a0piano trio repertoire.<\/span><\/p>\n