German-British chamber group Gaspard Trio don’t do things by half. Witness their current project recording Joseph Haydn’s entire output of piano trios – 45 in all – paired with commissioned complementary works by contemporary composers.

The threesome – pianist Nicholas Rimmer, Jonian Ilias Kadesha on violin and British cellist Vashti Hunter – brought a similar sense of adventure and patent enjoyment to their Australian debut in the latest of the intimate Utzon Music series concerts at Sydney Opera House.

Trio Gaspard, Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House. Photo © Jay Patel

 

Two of Haydn’s trios, written 12 years apart, were featured – the No. 44 in E (Hob: XV:28) and No. 22 in A (Hob: XV:9) – alongside a new work by Swiss violinist-composer Helena Winkelman, Threesome in a high den, a witty and entertaining 10 minutes which imagines the composer and his fellow musicians getting into the copious amounts of wine which he received as part of his salary at the Esterhazy court.

From the jaunty opening of the No. 44 it was apparent that this was not going to be the usual elegant and smooth take one might expect. In fact,...