Search - Schubert, Steylaerts, Vermeulen :: Complete Works for Fortepiano

Period Schubert with great allure and good sound

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 01/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an earlier version of the Florestan Trio, not the Englishmen currently making recordings of distinction -- Susan Tomes, piano, Anthony Marwood, violin, and Richard Lester, cello. This no-name group made these splendid recordings for Koch International's low-priced Discovery label in the early 1990s using period instruments.



Even though the cost is low, the players did not discount the distinguished performances of Schubert: Trio Nos. 1 & 2, the Notturno and Sonatansatz In B Flat Major. To the contrary, this is wonderful music-making on a broad scale with 19th century romance intact. There is nothing tiny, tinny or narrow in the players' instruments or in their interpretations of these glorious scores.



I bought this after an Amazon search, hoping I could locate a period set that sounded good and was at least equal to the reduced single disk period performances of the trios by Bylsma et al on Sony. I think these readings are more in keeping with the Romantic era; they are warm, expansive, retain the repeats and gently caress Schubert's contours while maintaining the expressive emotional devices. The two makeweightts -- in particular the Notturno -- are beautifully managed and add an element of surprise and loveliness to these otherwise fine performances.



Looks like this 2-CD set is out of print so test the sound bytes now and buy today if this sounds like it could be for you. I was very pleasantly surprised by this set after hearing Beaux Arts, Ashkenazy's trio and others do this music. This is definitely a keeper.

"