Mozart, W A - Piano Trios, Vol. 2 - Florestan Trio (The)
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICEUniversally acclaimed Mozartians The Florestan Trio bring their high interpretative standards, effortless lyricism and
faultless execution to a second volume of Mozart’s piano trios. Volume 1 (see below) was described as ‘chamber music
playing of the very highest order’, setting new standards for performances of these works.
Mozart more than any other composer took the piano trio out of its domestic setting and into the concert hall, bringing
profound musical thought to what was previously a delightful diversion for amateur keyboardists and their friends.
This disc traces that development. The violin and cello parts were elevated from accompanying instruments to positions
of greater prominence. The piano parts were written for Mozart himself to play at the height of his Viennese fame and
they are suitably virtuosic and adventurous. Susan Tomes’s Mozartian credentials are thoroughly established (not least
by her wonderful Hyperion recordings of Mozart piano concertos, as well as chamber music) and these performances
are a triumph of sensitivity and style.
‘These are beautifully judged performances, generally fleeter of foot, airier of texture and more intimate in tone with an ideal balance between the instruments’
(Gramophone on Volume 1, CDA 67556)
The Florestan Trio:
Anthony Marwood, violin
Richard Lester, cello
Susan Tomes, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento in B flat major K254
1 Allegro assai
2 Adagio
3 Rondo: Tempo di menuetto
Piano Trio in G major K496
4 Allegro
5 Andante
6 Allegretto (Theme and Variations I–VI)
Piano Trio in C major K548
7 Allegro
8 Andante cantabile
9 Allegro