Haydn: Piano Trios Vol. 1 / Florestan Trio

The Florestan Trio: Susan Tomes, piano; Anthony Marwood, violin & Richard Lester, cello

Piano Trio in D major HOB XV:24 [15'15] 1 Allegro [10'14] 2 Andante [2'27] 3 Allegro, ma dolce [2'30] Piano Trio in G major ‘Gypsy Rondo’ HOB XV:25 [13'42] 4 Andante [6'12] 5 Poco adagio [4'15] 6 Finale ‘Rondo all’ Ongarese’: Presto [3'09] Piano Trio in F sharp minor HOB XV:26 [16'27] 7 Allegro [7'54] 8 Adagio cantabile [3'26] 9 Finale: Tempo di menuetto [5'00] Piano Trio in C major HOB XV:27 [19'02] 10 Allegro [7'48] 11 Andante [4'39] 12 Presto [6'33]

Chamber music devotees will welcome with enthusiasm this first volume of a new series by one of the world’s greatest piano trios. Every recording by the award-winning Florestan Trio receives extravagant plaudits from the critical world and the public alike. Haydn’s piano trios are a uniquely important body of work in the classical spectrum and a detailed survey by this group is welcome indeed—especially in 2009, when the musical world will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death. The piano trio form (where the piano took centre stage and was accompanied by a violin and a cello) was popular in domestic circles and many composers supplied the market. Haydn took the form beyond the domestic arena, and indeed poured into his accompanied sonatas as much inventiveness and range of musical expression as he did into his mature piano sonatas and string quartets. But the music requires a very different approach from the great piano trios of later composers. It requires a particular sensitivity to the shifting relationships between strings and piano, which Haydn exploits so subtly. When it receives it, these trios are revealed as works with a very special sense of unified, co-operative music-making, unlike anything else in the history of music. Four such works from Haydn’s career are recorded here. Among them the Piano Trio in C major Hob XV:27 was written for one of Clementi’s finest pupils and the piano writing is suitably virtuosic. The delightful Piano Trio in G major was written while Haydn was at Esterháza and revels in the Hungarian gyspy music which the composer heard at this time. Praise for MOZART Piano Trios Volume 2 CDA67609 ‘At the start of K548’s airy finale, Susan Tomes’ gracefully demure piano is swiftly countered by Anthony Marwood’s raffish forte riposte: and this sense of delighted, quick-witted dialogue between quasi-operatic protagonists runs through the whole movement, abetted by touches of sly, subtle timing, from Marwood especially. No performance of this piece has ever made me smile as much … Talk of an outright winner is always dangerous. For my taste, though, the Florestan’s sparkling, inventive performances, on this disc and its companion, make them a top recommendation for the complete Mozart trios, their claims enhanced by the warm, ideally balanced recording’ (Gramophone) ‘The Florestan Trio get it exactly right, with Susan Tomes’ exquisite pianisim perfectly supported by violinist Anthony Marwood’s lithe, highly articulate playing and cellist Richard Lester’s finely judged asides. Another winner from this wonderful ensemble’ (Classic FM Magazine) ‘These are certainly performances to be treasured, with the playing unfailingly stylish and full of imaginative touches … Their new recording can be unreservedly recommended’ (BBC Music Magazine)

Price: $22.98