On track: Classic threesome demonstrate a visionary touch

By WILLIAM DART

The Florestan Trio is one of the most stylish ensembles on the world chamber music circuit and the first volume of their projected complete Beethoven works for piano trio makes one positively hanker for the remaining instalments.

But then how could one have thought it might have been otherwise after the superb Schumann, Schubert and Mendelssohn the English musicians have already given us? There are legendary recordings of the Beethoven works by various trios, with Pinchas Zukerman, Jacqueline du Pre and Daniel Barenboim as the ultimate powerhouse.

Energy this classic threesome did deliver, but I have always found it dominated by pianist Barenboim. Not so with the Florestans, and this is apparent from the opening movement of the Ghost Trio of Opus 70 No 1 where one can revel in the subtle instrumental mixes, caught to perfection in another superlative Hyperion recording. It is impossible to list all the high points. One is certainly the measured Largo assai ed espressivo of the same work, with Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester's spectral violin and cello and "haunting" Susan Tomes' piano. Add to this the feathery Allegretto and crisply rhythmic Finale of Opus 70 no 2.

Writing for the Guardian last year, Tomes commented how much easier it was for chamber musicians to have the visionary quality she felt necessary for music-making at the highest level. This CD provides ample evidence.

One final word. Beethoven's piano trios do have their detractors. There are even some high-minded folk who would write off the three trios of Opus 1 as the flawed works of youth, although the Florestans did put forward a convincing argument for the third work of the set when they toured New Zealand in 1998. And what about the occasional pieces, such as the short Andante which rounds off this CD, a sunny trifle written for the daughter of Antonie Brentano? It's trite, to be sure, but the Florestans play it without any condescension, and it's good to be reminded that the great Beethoven did occasionally come down from Parnassus.

*The Florestan Trio: Beethoven, The Complete Music for Piano Trio I (Hyperion CDA 67327)