It was in devastation at the sudden death of his champion, idol and close friend Tchaikovsky that Sergei Rachmaninov wrote his Trio élégiaque No. 2 (op. 9) for piano, violin and cello in 1893. The work still clearly shows the young composer’s early artistic influences, while also featuring many of the key elements of his later masterly creations.

As artist-in-residence with the Philharmonia Zurich, French pianist Lise de la Salle has already performed and recorded works by Rachmaninov for piano and orchestra, the latter on Philharmonia Records in 2015. She now follows this up with a studio recording of his Trio élégiaque No. 2 together with its smaller brother, Trio élégiaque No. 1. De la Salle interprets these rarely-recorded chamber music pieces together with Bartlomiej Niziol, first concertmaster and Claudius Herrmann, solo cellist of the Philharmonia Zurich.