Superb modern rendition
Alan Lekan | Boulder, CO | 06/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Florestan Trio has created a fertile niche in the 19th-century romantic repertoire. Many of their recordings of the piano trios of Mendelssohn, Faure, Dvorak, Ravel, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Shubert and Schumann have received notable awards for excellence. Now more recently, they turned their attention to these bright, easily-likable pieces by Mozart and bring the same measure of quality and achievement they brought to these earlier recordings.
Grounded by pianist Susan Tomes, the Florestans recreate the light-hearted magic that is in so many of Mozart's compositions as these. The music here is innocent yet musically mature ... delicate yet intellectually rewarding.
Many would agree that The Florestan Trio is one of the finest piano trios performing today. One may be hard pressed to find minor quivers with any of the works here in an otherwise pristine performance and recording. Tomes runs-off the galloping semiquavers of the score with a galante ease while Marwood and Lester bring a superb command from the strings side that combine with such sensitivity and ease into a marvelous performance. It all sounds quintessential Mozart.
While The Beaux Arts Trio's recording on Philips is a standard reference work for piano trios, the Florestans bring a warmer tone and better sounding recording along with a more precise intonation (from especially the violin part) which gives it an edge over the earlier legendary trio mentioned. To me at least, the Florestans take up the mantle from the BAT for much of the great piano trio repertoire. This is a worthy and high-quality addition to the catalog of choices. Compositions - 4.5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound quality - 4.5 stars.
If your ears gravitate towards the crisp, drier sound of a period fortepiano, then the recordings from Steven Lubin and The Mozartian Players is a clear recommendation at a bargin price."
Track Listings (9) - Disc #1
