Hyperion Records | Beethoven: The Complete Music for Piano Trio, Vol. 2

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CDA67369

Recording details: September 2002
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: August 2003
Total duration: 60 minutes 7 seconds

TOP RECOMMENDATION (BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE)

'The playing of the Florestan Trio is memorable for its lyrical tenderness, its luminous sonorities and its rhythmic buoyancy' (BBC Music Magazine)

'With beautifully balanced recorded sound, it's a CD for repeated listening' (Gramophone)

'The second issue in the Florestan Trio's projected recordings of all Beethoven's music for piano trio is one of this lively and sensitive ensemble's best. The players do justice both to the sweetness and spaciousness and to the quirky humour of the great Archduke Trio, which receives a richly satisfying performance' (The Sunday Times)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

The Complete Music for Piano Trio, Vol. 2

The Florestan Trio

LISTEN TO ALL EXTRACTS

		Piano Trio in B flat major 'Archduke', Op 97
1		Movement 1: Allegro moderato [12'38]
2		Movement 2: Scherzo. Allegro [10'39]
3		Movement 3: Andante cantabile ma però con moto [11'17]
4		Movement 4: Allegretto moderato [6'50]
5		Allegretto in E flat major, Hess 48 [2'52]
		Variations on 'Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu', Op 121a
6		Movement 01: Introduzione [4'34]
7		Movement 02: Tema [0'34]
8		Movement 03: Variation 1 [0'37]
9		Movement 04: Variation 2 [0'36]
10		Movement 05: Variation 3 [0'43]
11		Movement 06: Variation 4 [0'39]
12		Movement 07: Variation 5 [0'40]
13		Movement 08: Variation 6 [0'40]
14		Movement 09: Variation 7 [0'50]
15		Movement 10: Variation 8 [0'39]
16		Movement 11: Variation 9 [1'44]
17		Movement 12: Variation 10 [1'50]
18		Movement 13: Allegretto [1'45]

The idea that this plainly and indeed humbly presented disc - the Complete Music for Piano Trio, Volume 2 - contains one of the greatest human utterances in any art-form, may come as a surprise. But it is true. The 'Archduke' Trio is one of the glories of exploring the piano trio repertoire and stands for many of us as the crowning triumph of the medium. Dating from Beethoven's richest transition, from the middle period towards his late works, the trio envelops the listener from the start and shows his ability to combine monumentality and intimacy as well as prayer and dance, on a vast scale and with awe-inspiring power. It has its title from the dedication to the Archduke Rudolph, good friend to the composer and dedicatee of many of his greatest pieces, and for once the nickname of a piece has an apt suggestiveness as to the stature of the music. An important issue in the award-winning survey of piano trio repertoire by our old friends, the Florestan Trio.

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