Piano Trios, Vol. 1

'What comes through vividly here is Haydn's capacity to surprise; and the discovery of the music is in listening to them. Suffice it to say that the music's essential grace, lightness and sparkle is affectionately captured by the members of The Florestan Trio, who are also alive to the musical and emotional diversions that Haydn imaginatively and wittily incorporates … With excellent recorded sound and an illuminating booklet note by Robert Philip, this release offers much joy' (ClassicalSource.com)

'Tomes and her partners identify themselves fully with the emotional scale of the works … There is so much from the Florestan to stop us in our tracks … a very special disc, recorded in detailed, front-row sound' (Gramophone) 'These are altogether lively and alert performances, with repeats imaginatively varied, and a real feel for the subtle balance of the music' (BBC Music Magazine)

'It is a pleasure to hear the Florestans strike their expected and convincing balance. They are a Haydnesque ensemble in the very best sense' (Positive Feedback, USA)

"The Florestan Trio have obviously been biding their time to investigate Haydn, having delved into much of the other trio repertoire on disc already. It could be because it's the bicentenary, or maybe they just wanted to live with the music longer before committing it to disc. Either way, it's been worth the wait. The playing here, as you would expect, is beautifully poised, highly polished but has a rhythmic vitality and energy that do full justice to the music. Yes, these are modern instruments, but one feels they have taken a hint or two for period practice in terms of tempos, phrasing and overall shape. The tone of the two string instruments is quite strident at times - though never uncomfortable so - and pianist Susan Tomes' articulation and dexterity are brilliant in every sense of the word, with a Steinway that sounds bright and clear voiced."
(MusicWeb March 2009)

Chamber music devotees will welcome with enthusiasm this first volume of a new series by one of the world's greatest piano trios. Every recording by the award-winning Florestan Trio receives extravagant plaudits from the critical world and the public alike. Haydn's piano trios are a uniquely important body of work in the classical spectrum and a detailed survey by this group is welcome indeed-especially in 2009, when the musical world will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer's death.

The piano trio form (where the piano took centre stage and was accompanied by a violin and a cello) was popular in domestic circles and many composers supplied the market. Haydn took the form beyond the domestic arena, and indeed poured into his accompanied sonatas as much inventiveness and range of musical expression as he did into his mature piano sonatas and string quartets. But the music requires a very different approach from the great piano trios of later composers. It requires a particular sensitivity to the shifting relationships between strings and piano, which Haydn exploits so subtly. When it receives it, these trios are revealed as works with a very special sense of unified, co-operative music-making, unlike anything else in the history of music.

Four such works from Haydn's career are recorded here. Among them the Piano Trio in C major Hob XV:27 was written for one of Clementi's finest pupils and the piano writing is suitably virtuosic. The delightful Piano Trio in G major was written while Haydn was at Eszterháza and revels in the Hungarian gyspy music which the composer heard at this time