At Sunday’s chamber music concert given by the Buswell-Ou Piano Trio at Minsky Recital Hall at the University of Maine, violinist James Buswell pointed out wryly that the theme for the afternoon was, in a word, death. And so it was — beginning with Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, also known as the “Ghost” trio because the composer was thinking about the story of Macbeth.

But if you have to spend an afternoon mulling over death, then this is the way to do it, and these are vibrant musicians to do it with. They are alert, tenacious and intrepid, plus they have one of those rare rapports that can take on even the trickiest of themes and fastidiously turn it into a compelling whirl of activity.

It would be appropriate enough to say that Buswell had partners in crime in Carol Ou on cello and Meng-Chieh Liu on piano. These colleagues work together like happy bandits, shamelessly driving toward the treasures.

In the Beethoven, they came on strong, performing at a breakneck speed and slipping right past warmth in favor of brightness and power. By the end of the piece, they had created a captivating adventure crafted from rigor and vigor. The vision was determined and unflinching, the likes of which you can’t help but root for as you listen.

The centerpiece of the program was the Piano Trio on Irish Airs by 20th century Swiss composer Frank Martin. Here, the musicians were entirely in the idioms of lyricism, gigues and funeral marches. At times frenetic, at times pastoral, this piece had Irish strains with a cubist abruptness that worked in the same way a good modernist poem both confuses and enlightens.

Here and elsewhere, Liu’s meticulous and clearheaded piano playing was very much up front in sound, and although some may have found him untempered, it wouldn’t be fair to say he stole from his fellow performers. None of these players would fall into the background without putting up a tremendous fight. In other words, you wouldn’t want to meet Liu and his piano, Buswell and his violin or Ou and her cello in a dark concert hall unarmed, because you’d lose.

That’s not to say these musicians are humorless or threatening. Quite the contrary. It’s as if they have all the undaunted spirit of competition and none of the contentiousness. They zing musical phrases at each other as if to say “Take that! And that!” and it all comes off in an exceedingly pleasant and sparkling conversation. The fact is, they are imperatively driven in their work, which looks to be at least as much fun as it is difficult.

This was never more true than in a performance of the Piano Trio in A Minor, Opus 50, Tchaikovsky’s astounding tribute to his teacher Nicholas Rubenstein. This is a massive work for a trio and is rarely played in its entirety, but leave it to this gutsy group to take it on completely.

With natural candor, the three musicians exposed both the profound melancholy and underlying joy of this memorial to a beloved teacher and friend. The last note was scarcely done resonating before the audience was on its feet with a deeply appreciative applause for the ardor and emotion on the part of the players.

No one could have possibly expected an encore presentation after such an athletic performance, but the Buswell-Ou Piano Trio returned to stage after three ovations and played a miniature by British composer Frank Bridge.