Schubert-Piano Trio In E Flat

Opis

Schubert-Piano Trio in E flatOpis:When Schubert wrote his Piano trio in E flat major, he had just emerged from Beethoven's creative shadow: at last he could speak in his own symphonic voice, and this chamber work is indeed quasi-symphonic. Its première earned him his biggest public success, but by the time it was published 12 months later he was dead. Moreover, at the instigation of his publisher he abridged its long final movement by two minutes. On this Hyperion disc, the Florestan Trio's solution is to play both versions, thus allowing us to see what was lost. As befits a work labelled "piano trio", the pianist is effectively the star, and here Susan Tomes discharges this function with exemplary incisiveness, providing a marvellously secure foundation from her forceful first entry. This trio plays with admirably clear articulation, and if the tempi are on the leisurely side in the first and third movements, that only serves to heighten the music's effect. The second movement--which has provided the haunting soundtrack to Kubrick's Barry Lyndon--comes over as unaffected lyricism without a trace of mawkishness, and when its main theme re-emerges in the last movement, it's as an affirmation of optimism. The excised portions turn out to be pure gold, proving that, contrary to popular wisdom, there are some good things you can't have too much of. --Michael ChurchProduct DescriptionThe Florestan Trio follow up their hugely successful release of Schubert's B flat trio (CDA67273) with this stunning performance of the E flat trio. In an article in The Guardian recently, pianist Susan Tomes talked of the recording sessions, during which there were many discussions about performing "the most monumental work in our repertoire". The result, according to Ms Tomes, is a portrait of the Florestans painting a portrait of Schubert. Schubert dedicated the work to 'nobody save those who find pleasure in it'. The first movement is strongly rhythmic, the second is infused with an emotive Swedish folksong melody. The tempo of this movement was determined some twenty years ago, when it occurred to Ms Tomes during a winter walk that her footsteps trudging through the snow were exactly the right tempo for the opening chords. The Scherzo incorporates a caressing waltz and a lusty peasant dance. The work's length proved challenging for publishers and so Schubert consented to cut 98 bars from the final movement. The Florestan Trio offer both versions on this disc, providing a rare chance to hear the original, much longer version in all its glory.

ReviewIn language which would probably have him expelled from a number of university faculties today, Robert Schumann described Schubert's E flat Piano Trio as "spirited, masculine and dramatic" in contrast to his other more "passive, lyrical and feminine" work in the piano, violin and cello genre, the B flat. You can just about see what he means in the first two movements. The first opens with an assertive gesture of Mozartian simplicity, which, although it subsequently gives way to more gentle material, sets the tone for much of the writing in the movement. The Florestan Trio certainly take their cue from this opening, in a reading which occasionally tends towards the martial in its vigour, regularity, and polish. The Andante second movement's main theme is a kind of proto-tango, a brooding melody first played by the cello with a wonderfully balletic accompaniment in the piano (the two instruments later swap roles as the piano takes the melody and the violin joins the accompaniment - a trick which often returns throughout the work). Here as in the first movement, the players' modesty is almost self-effacing. The strings take a particularly polite approach, and I found myself longing for the odd lapse of good taste to carry me out of the atmosphere of the Edwardian drawing room. However, the rigid control of tempo and phrasing pays off in the dramatic climax of the Andante, where a series of tremolos reach an enormous pasAutor:Franz SchubertNośnik:Audio CDPłyt:Język: English: Published; English: Original Language; EnglishData wydania: 2002-07-01Waga: 0.21 gramWysokość: 0.3 cmSzerokość: 5 cmDługość: 5.7 cmNew Store StockUWAGA: Kupując produkt na tej aukcji zgadzasz się na wydłużony termin realizacji wysyłki (10-14 dni roboczych). Podany towar pochodzi z zagranicznego magazynu, stąd wydłużony czas realizacji który podany jest obok.