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Haydn: 9 Piano Trios - Beaux Arts Trio

Haydn: 9 Piano Trios - Beaux Arts Trio

PentaTone RQR  PTC 5186 179 (2 discs)

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Chamber


Haydn: 9 Piano Trios

Beaux Arts Trio

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Review by Graham Williams - June 7, 2009

The Beaux Arts complete recordings of the Haydn Piano Trios have been one of the great glories of the gramophone for the past thirty years; so to have a selection of them on SACD is an unexpected pleasure. PentaTone’s RQR double album (generously priced as a single disc) gives us just nine of these splendid works, presumably because these were the only ones recorded by Philips in quadraphonic sound in 1976.

Throughout the course of auditioning these two SACDs, one does not only marvel at the fecundity of Haydn’s endless imaginative invention and variety, but also at the marvellous polished playing and supreme musicianship of the Beaux Arts Trio. Menahem Pressler and Isidore Cohen share the weight of most of the musical argument in all nine works, but that is not to undervalue the fine, if modest, contribution of cellist Bernard Greenhouse. The nine trios on this disc date from between1767 and 1788 when the cello was regarded as a continuo instrument.

The recording of all three instruments, taped in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam is astonishingly vivid and immediate with a lovely sheen to the sound that puts many more recent chamber recordings to shame.
In the 4.0 multi-channel version, the surround channels add just a little extra ambient bloom, but those listening in 2-channel stereo will, I am sure, be delighted by the SACD sound quality.

The original recordings were spread over ten years from 1970 to 1979 and one’s only regrets are that none of the later, more mature works from the 1790s are represented and that more of these trios were not recorded quadraphonically in order to benefit from PentaTone’s amazing re-mastering.

Wonderful music brilliantly performed and recorded, what more could you ask?

Copyright © 2009 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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Review by John Broggio - August 29, 2010

A marvellous set taken from one of the true classics of recorded musical history.

As will be immediately noted by any listener that pays more than passing attention, these trios are such in name only, for the cello offers little other than (needlessly when played on modern instruments like those of the BAT) reinforcement to the bass line of the piano in these works that might more realistically be called violin & piano sonatas. For all that, Bernard Greenhouse plays with a musicality and sensitivity that goes far beyond the call of Haydn's score.

Now to the main protagonists, Isidore Cohen and Menahem Pressler, they too play in a manner that is beyond criticism - even in light of the growing to perform in a HIP style. With a restrained use of the sustaining pedal, crisp articulation and a light vibrato both make the most of the music and add tremendously to the listening pleasure. No wonder that this set has been a mainstay of the recorded repertoire for since its original issuing.

The sound is one of the best examples that Pentatone have resurrected from the Philips archive. Recorded in the Concertgebouw, it shows what a marvellous hall it is for chamber music (not at all common for halls of that era to adapt well from large to small scale) and there is no detectable distortion or hiss from the quad tapes. On a blind listening session, one would quite easily mistake these for being modern state-of-the-art releases.

A great pity that the more mature and musically stimulating trios were not recorded in quad as well...

Copyright © 2010 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Multichannel):

stars stars