Mozart: Piano Trios K496, 548 & 254

Universally acclaimed Mozartians The Florestan Trio bring their high interpretative standards, effortless lyricism and faultless execution to a second volume of Mozart’s piano trios. Volume 1 was described as ‘chamber music playing of the very highest order’, setting new standards for performances of these works.

Mozart more than any other composer took the piano trio out of its domestic setting and into the concert hall, bringing profound musical thought to what was previously a delightful diversion for amateur keyboardists and their friends. This disc traces that development. The violin and cello parts were elevated from accompanying instruments to positions of greater prominence. The piano parts were written for Mozart himself to play at the height of his Viennese fame and they are suitably virtuosic and adventurous. Susan Tomes’s Mozartian credentials are thoroughly established (not least by her wonderful Hyperion recordings of Mozart piano concertos, as well as chamber music) and these performances are a triumph of sensitivity and style.

CDA67609  60 minutes 1 seconds
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‘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 qu ...
‘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)
‘With their close and subtle rapport, the Florestan relish the music's badinage and dramatic imbroglios. They have a knack, too, for sensing opportunities for interplay in the simplest theme-plus-acco ...