This album presents two piano trios composed by outstanding artists, Dmitri Shostakovich and Artur Malawski. In addition to the form and ensemble, these compositions share the tragic fate of their creators, entangled in the difficult history of the 20th century.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) is considered one of the most outstanding creators of his era. However, he was active in the Soviet Russia, a country where great talents were born, but where mechanisms of enslavement and restraint of true expression by the criminal Stalinist regime were also present. The Piano Trio in E minor, op.67, was written by the composer in 1944, in the shadow of a cruel war, sinister censorship and looming terror. Perhaps that is why it is a deeply tragic work, exploring the expressive qualities of the instruments to the limit, using contrasts, drawing the listener into the dramatic narrative of sounds.

The Piano Trio by Artur Malawski (1904–1957) from 1953, an artist pushed to the margins of artistic life in the then regime Poland due to his uncompromising attitude towards art, is equally expressive. In this work, the composer used a rich variety of means to obtain a wide range of emotions, reflecting, perhaps, the difficult reality of everyday life in challenging times.

Both works are performed by the Trio Legend composed of Krzysztof Katana (violin), Monika Krasicka-Gajownik (cello) and Agnieszka Zahaczewska-Książek (piano).