Brahms: The Complete Piano Trios

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Aided by an especially clear, vivid, yet spacious recording, the Florestan Trio and their two colleagues allow us to hear far more of this music than usual – the elaborate decoration of Op 114's... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Catalogue No: CDA672512
Label: Hyperion
Length: 2 hours 16 minutes

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November 2005

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Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8

Album only

The Florestan Trio

Brahms: Horn Trio in E flat major, Op. 40

Album only

with Stephen Stirling (horn)
The Florestan Trio

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87

Album only

The Florestan Trio

Brahms: Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101

Album only

The Florestan Trio

Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114

Album only

with Richard Hosford (clarinet)
The Florestan Trio

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Here are all of Brahms's Trios assembled on two CDs. The three Piano Trios date from the extremes of the composer's lifeOpus 8 from 1853/4 when he was about twenty years old (though here performed in its revised version of 1889), and Opus 101 from 1886, written when he was fifty-three. The Clarinet Trio was one of his very last works, written for the clarinettist who also inspired the Clarinet Quintet and the two Opus 120 Sonatas, Richard Mhlfeld. The marvellous Horn Trio is a middle-period work, composed when the composer was in his early thirties. The five works are presented chronologically on the two discs. All are immaculately played by this most exciting young British ensemble whose first two CDs for Hyperion have drawn superlatives from critics worldwide: 'This is a wonderful disc. Another jewel in the heavily-studded Hyperion crown. A richly rewarding treat' (Classic CD on Dvo?k Trios, CDA66895).

Reviews

2010

Aided by an especially clear, vivid, yet spacious recording, the Florestan Trio and their two colleagues allow us to hear far more of this music than usual – the elaborate decoration of Op 114's Adagio, or the sinister detail of the more delicate passages in Op 8's Scherzo. Much of the credit for this goes to Susan Tomes; her playing is an object-lesson in sensitivity and in matching the other voices. Balance and blend are a special feature of these performances. Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester match their sounds perfectly for the lovely duet passages in the slow movements of Opp 8 and 101. Less expected, and less usual, is the matching of violin and horn, cello and clarinet. But perhaps the single outstanding feature of all the performances is the way the music is shaped. It's not only that the phrases are projected clearly and expressively – the approach moves outwards to encompass the music's larger paragraphs and, indeed, whole movements.
These are very desirable recordings, then.

Enriching performances that make one aware of Brahms's stature first and the superb musicianship of the executants second - which is exactly as it should be!

Brahms: The Complete Piano Trios

2 CDs

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