Beethoven: Complete Works for Piano Trio, Vol. 1 Schweizer Klaviertrio

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 1 No. 1
• 1I. Allegro09:42
• 2II. Adagio cantabile07:20
• 3III. Scherzo. Allegro assai04:43
• 4IV. Finale. Presto07:55
• Piano Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major
• 5I. Allegro moderato13:23
• 6II. Scherzo. Allegro11:01
• 7III. Andante cantabile ma però con moto - Poco più adagio12:30
• 8IV. Allegro moderato - Presto07:38
• Total Runtime01:14:12

Info for Beethoven: Complete Works for Piano Trio, Vol. 1

This recording launches the five-part audite series of the complete works for piano trio by Beethoven, including the Trios WoO 38, written in Bonn, as well as the Triple Concerto, Op. 56.

Beethoven's trios make up a significant portion of his instrumental music, not least due to the fact that the three so-called 'Lichnowsky' Trios of 1795 were his opus 1, representing the official beginning of his oeuvre. With them, Beethoven asserted a comprehensive and unmistakeable artistic aspiration, aiming at a consolidation of symphonic and concertante elements and a compression of the form by planned thematic, rhythmic and harmonic organisation. The juxtaposition of the first Trio, Op. 1,1, in E flat major, and the last Trio, the 'Archduke', Op. 97, premièred in 1814, on the one hand reveals the enormous degree in subjectivisation and creative might which Beethoven had gained during the course of the intervening two decades, and on the other hand brings to mind the numerous significant parallels showing the extent to which Beethoven detached the piano trio from its original function as courtly or bourgeois entertainment, awarding it the highest measure of artistic autonomy.

„Instruments are carefully balanced, sound is good. But this recording, originally in SACD format, would audibly have been a lot finer if it hadn't been downscaled to CD. Yet an elevated standard of musicianship shines through, revealing the Swiss Piano Trio to be a redoubtable team. Perhaps the opening Allegro of Op 1 No 1 might have benefited from a slightly slower tempo but that's soon forgotten as a considerate emphasis on modulations and changes in character emerge unobtrusively. Similarly the second movement, a touch quick for Adagio cantabile, is nonetheless yieldingly flexible, the melancholy implicit in the switch from A flat major to tonic minor (2'56') keenly felt. A wider range of expressive possibilities in interpretation arise in Op 97, the first movement teeming with intensity, an Allegro that pushes the envelope beyond the moderato also specified. But there is no sense of haste either here or in the Scherzo, fierily forward-looking yet sensitive to the tenebrous tone of the B flat minor Trio, the long repeat properly observed. Invidious though it may be to single him out, pianist Martin Lucas Staub's leadership tells everywhere and has also to be credited for the charged emotional motivation of the slow movement; while the directions Allegro moderato followed by Presto in the finale are judged, and contrasted, to a nicety. For a more contemplative Archduke turn to Martin Roscoe and Co. But there is no gainsaying that this new performance is, on its chosen terms, equally formidable.“ (Gramophone)

Schweizer Klaviertrio – Swiss Piano Trio

The Swiss Piano Trio
with Martin Lucas Staub (piano), Angela Golubeva (violin) and Sébastien Singer (cello) has won numerous prizes at international competitions, including the International Chamber Music Competition Caltanissetta in Italy and the Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria. Founded in 1998, the ensemble has a busy performing schedule and has played in over 35 countries worldwide. The Trio performs chamber music in great concert halls across the globe. As an ensemble of soloists, the three musicians regularly appear with renowned orchestras. Numerous recordings for radio, television and on disc document the artistic activities of the ensemble.

This album contains no booklet.