Beethoven - The Complete Music for Piano Trio Volume 1 - Op.70, Allegretto WoO 39
The Florestan Trio
Hyperion CDA 67327

Release date January 2003

The Florestan Trio begin their survey of Beethoven’s works for the medium with a coupling of the Op. 70 trios, composed immediately after the completion of the Pastoral Symphony in the summer of 1808.They are sharply contrasting works. The explosive, dramatic Ghost Trio – so called because of its extraordinary slow movement with its creepy chromatic tremolos – is one of Beethoven’s most popular chamber works. Its companion, the gracious and sunny E flat major Trio, deserves quite as much attention. Richard Wigmore, in his excellent liner note, suggests that the work may have been a homage to his former teacher Haydn; certainly, the warm-hearted, humorous finale has a Haydnesque character. It’s a wonderful piece, and receives a wonderful performance from the Florestans. Susan Tomes’s fluent, unassumingly virtuosic playing, as expressive as it is structurally astute, never overwhelms her colleagues, even when Beethoven takes the cello into its baritone register. The Florestans also give one of the finest versions on record of the Ghost Trio. The return to daylight after the weird happenings in the slow movement is beautifully managed, its numerous jokes perfectly timed. Some of the credit for this outstanding record should go to Andrew Keener’s production; the recorded sound – it was recorded in the Henry Wood Hall - really couldn’t be bettered. Don’t miss it!

Reviewed by Sandy Matheson