This disc marks the start of the Florestan Trio’s Haydn piano trio cycle for Hyperion. These works can be viewed as a turning-point in the development of the piano trio. Whilst Haydn was composing his trios at a time when they would have been viewed as accompanied sonatas (in part to meet the demands of the very active domestic music scene of the time), the music, as the sleeve-notes point out, ‘deserves comparison with later trios by Beethoven and others’. The writing flits between the technique of doubling parts and that of treating the piano as a more equal third member of the trio (the first movement of Piano Trio in D (Hob XV:24) is a good example of this). However, “accompanied sonatas” is an apt description – the violin and cello parts often double the piano, as in the opening movements of both the Piano Trio in G (Hob XV:25) and F sharp minor (Hob XV:26). As a result, performance of these works requires a particular awareness of the changing relationships between the strings and the piano. This is something that the Florestan Trio has in abundance – they display a high sensitivity towards the shifting textures throughout these performances. Perhaps most striking of the four trios presented here is the Piano Trio in G. Also known as Gypsy Rondo, the work demonstrates the influence of Hungarian gypsy music on Haydn, culminating in an exuberant final movement where traditional gypsy melodies have been woven into the score. The Florestans have captured the fire and edginess that this folk-based music demands. There are some sublimely gentle moments also – the Adagio Cantabile of the Piano Trio in F sharp minor is a prime example of the delicate playing from the Trio and their “togetherness”. Throughout, there is a feeling that each of the three voices is part of a whole, and it with this whole voice that the Florestan Trio has brought us a first-rate recording of Haydn trios.

Reviewed by Ruth Squire