A freezing January night in London, the kind of weather when a comfy sofa in a warm room feels very inviting, yet despite this an enthusiastic audience made their way to an out of the way church for a concert of chamber music. Patriotism may have been part of the equation but it was not the only factor, for the recital was being given by the Seraphim Trio whose achievements have already put them amongst the ever growing band of outstanding Australian artists with international reputations. The superbly talented trio did not disappoint  with this concert, presented by the Tait Memorial Trust in memory of Tait family friend Janet Alstergren Webb.

Their programme – Beethoven’s Op. 1 No 1 and the Schubert Trio in E Flat Op. 100 – was well chosen not only for its innate brilliance but also, as the programme note explained, as an illustration of the pivotal roles the two composers played in the development of classical music. The works represent very different stages in the development of chamber music (early Beethoven developing out of Haydn, late Schubert assimilating the lessons of Beethoven) but share that crucial element, the composers’ deep emotional involvement in their compositions....