Claude Frank is the kind of pianist whose playing asks listeners to define their values. Every musician has this effect to one extent or another, but Frank's key characteristic - putting expressiveness above monster technique - is a towering one, and asks for a small concession: Put the miscalculated notes out of your mind, because great pianism is more about a crystalline tone and singing, always-moving phrasing.
Frank, who was one-third of an ensemble playing Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert Sunday afternoon at the Trinity Center for Urban Life, is 81, though there is no need to stoop to kind euphemisms to describe his playing. He was paired with young players - cellist Clancy Newman and violinist Ayano Ninomiya - in a concert presented by Astral Artistic Services. "It's the Marlboro model," one observer said, referring to the Marlboro Music School and Festival philosophy of cross-pollinating the generations. The aim of such contact is to share accrued wisdom, and only the musicians know for sure what may have rubbed off.