MARBECKS CCLLECTABLE: Mozart: Piano Trios Vol 2: K254, K496, K548

EDITOR'S CHOICE (GRAMOPHONE)
SIMON BATES' CD OF THE WEEK (CLASSIC FM)

"The Florestan Trio are no strangers to the recording stage, and are collecting an enviable amount of excellent reviews. This is another one to add to the treasury. Bravo!"
(MusicWeb May 2007)

'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 quasi-operatic protagonists runs through the whole movement, abetted by touches of sly, subtle timing, from Marwood especially. No performance of this piece has ever made me smile as much … Talk of an outright winner is always dangerous. For my taste, though, the Florestan's sparkling, inventive performances, on this disc and its companion, make them a top recommendation for the complete Mozart trios, their claims enhanced by the warm, ideally balanced recording' (Gramophone)

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 (see below) 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.