{TABLE} Trio in C, K545 ..................... Mozart Trio in D minor, Op 49 .............. Mendelssohn Trio in B flat, Op 97 (Arrhduke) .... Beethoven {/TABLE} MENDELSSOHN called on Queen Victoria and was charmed to discover that he was the favourite composer of the queen and Prince Albert and frequently performed by them. There can be something comfortably Victorian in his music, but one cannot imagine - a performance of the Trio in D minor by the royal couple and Gladstone or Disraeli. The moody passion of this work, well brought out by the Gould Trio at IMMA last Sunday, would have been considered morally reprehensible.

In this concert, technique was always subservient to the message of the music; the members of the ensemble identified to an extraordinary degree with the spirit of inspiration expressed in the works. Mozart's Trio in C had a morning freshness and unforced charm which contrasted strongly with the murky depths revealed by Mendelssohn.

Beethoven's Archduke Trio was sensibly placed last in the recital, for the other works could not match its combination of economy of means with variety of expression and purity of feeling. Once again the Gould Trio threw itself into the music with a youthful gusto that made the music spring quivering from their fingertips, rejuvenating the largely middle aged audience.