On Trio Op. 97 'Archduke' - These musicians have been playing together for a while now, since they met at the Pablo Casals Prades Festival in 2009. In the 'Archduke' Trio there is well-padded playing, lush, warm-toned and full of delicacy: some of the interplay between the strings in the first movement is delightfully light and playful, particularly in the pizzicato passage. The opening of the scherzo has a similar dry delicacy and humour. The worming chromatic passage slithers inexorably into the joyful piano outburst. The opening of the Andante cantabile is a study in note placing, with the slightest touches of rubato and emphases: the two-note string lead into their first melody is itself a small joy. The movement floats along, light, airy and sublime. The finale is earthy, dramatic and elegant. Tim Homfray, The Strad
2 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 1 No. 1~I. Allegro
3 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 1 No. 1~II. Adagio cantabile
4 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 1 No. 1~III. Scherzo. Allegro assai
5 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 1 No. 1~IV. Finale. Presto
6 Piano Trio in D major Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost"~I. Allegro vivace e con brio
7 Piano Trio in D major Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost"~II. Largo assai ed espressivo
8 Piano Trio in D major Op. 70 No. 1 "Ghost"~III. Presto
- Disc 2 -
1 Piano Trio in G major Op. 1 No. 2~I. Adagio-Allegro vivace
2 Piano Trio in G major Op. 1 No. 2~II. Largo con espressione
3 Piano Trio in G major Op. 1 No. 2~III. Scherzo. Allegro
4 Piano Trio in G major Op. 1 No. 2~IV. Finale. Presto
5 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 11 "Clarinet Trio"~I. Allegro con brio
6 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 11 "Clarinet Trio"~II. Adagio
7 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 11 "Clarinet Trio"~III. Tema. Pria ch'io l'impegno. Allegretto
8 Ten Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu Op. 121a~Introduction. Adagio assai
9 Ten Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu Op. 121a~Variations 1 - 8 Allegretto
10 Ten Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu Op. 121a~Variation 9. Adagio espressivo & Variation 10. Presto - Allegretto
- Disc 3 -
1 Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3~I. Allegro con brio
2 Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3~II. Andante cantabile con Variazioni
3 Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3~III. Menuetto. Quasi allegro
4 Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1 No. 3~IV. Finale. Prestissimo
5 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 70 No. 2~I. Poco sostenuto-Allegro ma non troppo
6 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 70 No. 2~II. Allegretto
7 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 70 No. 2~III. Allegretto ma non troppo
8 Piano Trio in E-flat major Op. 70 No. 2~IV. Finale. Allegro
- Disc 4 -
1 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 97 "Archduke"~I. Allegro moderato
2 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 97 "Archduke"~II. Scherzo. Allegro
3 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 97 "Archduke"~III. Andante cantabile ma però con moto
4 Piano Trio in B-flat major Op. 97 "Archduke"~IV. Allegro moderato
5 Trio Concerto Op. 56~I. Allegro
6 Trio Concerto Op. 56~II. Largo
7 Trio Concerto Op. 56~III. Rondo alla Polacca
On Trio Op. 97 'Archduke' - These musicians have been playing together for a while now, since they met at the Pablo Casals Prades Festival in 2009. In the 'Archduke' Trio there is well-padded playing, lush, warm-toned and full of delicacy: some of the interplay between the strings in the first movement is delightfully light and playful, particularly in the pizzicato passage. The opening of the scherzo has a similar dry delicacy and humour. The worming chromatic passage slithers inexorably into the joyful piano outburst. The opening of the Andante cantabile is a study in note placing, with the slightest touches of rubato and emphases: the two-note string lead into their first melody is itself a small joy. The movement floats along, light, airy and sublime. The finale is earthy, dramatic and elegant. Tim Homfray, The Strad
