Madsen Recital hall, Brigham Young University, March 21

After a three-year absence, the Boston Trio made a return visit to Brigham Young University Friday evening, playing a wonderfully diverse program of Haydn, Brahms and Ravel.

The concert was well worth the drive to Provo from Salt Lake City.

The members of the trio - Irina Muresanu, violin; Allison Eldredge, cello; Heng-Jin Park, piano - are all chamber musicians of the highest caliber. All three possess technical acumen and keen musicality. Their playing is seamless and fluid, as well as intuitive and remarkably alive.

In short, Friday's concert was the way chamber music was intended to be played.

The group opened the concert with Haydn's Trio No. 39 in G Major, Hob. XV/25 ("Gypsy"). The group's engaging and imaginative reading perfectly captured the work's lyricism and lighthearted charm. The performance was characterized by crisp playing and delicately turned phrases.

Rounding out the first half of the program was Brahms' String Sextet in B flat major, op. 18, arranged for piano trio by the composer's younger contemporary Theodor Kirchner. This version, which is not well-known and which is almost never played, is a remarkably vivid and creative arrangement of the original. The Boston Trio captured the passion and surging energy of the Sextet with its dramatic reading, imbuing the interpretation with emotion and vitality. The three artists displayed exquisite ensemble playing here, performing the Brahms as if they owned it. Their interpretation was perceptive, sensitive, deeply felt and dynamic.

After intermission, the ensemble played Ravel's incomparable Trio in A minor. Once again, the trio gave an immaculate performance, capturing the intimacy of the music. The subtly shaded and nuanced playing had depth and meaning. It was evocative and richly expressive.

The trio also played a movement from Arensky's Piano Trio as an encore.