Haydn: Complete Piano Trios, Vol. 2; Leonid Gorokhov: For Gaspard

by Trio Gaspard

Overview

Haydn's piano trios aren't terribly often played in comparison with his instrumental works in other genres, and the general line on them has been that they are simple Hausmusik with violin and cello lines that may be omitted if desired. The Gaspard Trio, which has embarked on a complete cycle of Haydn's trios (this is the second installment), strenuously disputes this idea, and the group's playing seems designed to bring out the independence of the stringed instruments where it occurs. Perhaps the best way to look at the question is that Haydn is the true creator of the keyboard trio, and his output in the genre offers a fascinating look into his mind as he realized its possibilities. Rather than plow through the trios chronologically, the Gaspard Trio, playing modern instruments, chooses to make each volume in the series an independent release, containing music from various phases of Haydn's career, and here the group lands on three works from the mid-1790s. In these works, which Beethoven certainly would have known, the trio is indeed made up of three equal instruments, and the Piano Trio in E flat major, Hob. 15/29, is one of those Haydn works that seem to look forward to Romanticism. The Gaspard Trio gives it a warm, relaxed performance that's quite appealing, and in general, the group's Haydn is sympathetic and alert to little turns of humor or unexpected formal detail, although they apply improvised, non-notated ornaments that will be to the taste of some listeners but not others. Despite the Gaspard's belief in the importance of these works, the group does not try to put them on the plane of Haydn's quartets, which is all to the good; there is a lightness in the performances that is just right. The early Piano Trio in G major, Hob. 15/41, only occasionally assigns primary material to the violin; by the middle-period Piano Trio in B flat major, Hob. 15/8, Haydn was experimenting all over the place with the emancipation of the violin and cello. Another intriguing feature of the Gaspard Trio's series is that each volume has (and apparently will have) a newly commissioned work that comments on Haydn in some way; the one here, by the cellist-composer, Leonid Gorokhov, is intriguing. There is plenty here to make listeners look forward to what is going to be a substantial series; Haydn composed 45 piano trios. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/03/2023
Label:	Chandos
UPC:	0095115227022
Rank:	172172

Tracks

1. Trio No. 35, Op. 71 No. 1 (Hob. XV:21) in C major~Adagio pastorale - Vivace assai
2. Trio No. 35, Op. 71 No. 1 (Hob. XV:21) in C major~Molto andante
3. Trio No. 35, Op. 71 No. 1 (Hob. XV:21) in C major~Finale. Presto
4. Trio No. 33, Op. 70 No. 2 (Hob. XV:19) in G minor~Andante ¿¿¿ Presto
5. Trio No. 33, Op. 70 No. 2 (Hob. XV:19) in G minor~Adagio ma non troppo
6. Trio No. 33, Op. 70 No. 2 (Hob. XV:19) in G minor~Presto
7. Trio No. 7 (Hob. XV:41) in G major (Divertimento)~Allegro
8. Trio No. 7 (Hob. XV:41) in G major (Divertimento)~Menuet ¿¿¿ Trio [Menuet da capo]
9. Trio No. 7 (Hob. XV:41) in G major (Divertimento)~Adagio
10. Trio No. 7 (Hob. XV:41) in G major (Divertimento)~Finale. Allegro
11. Trio No. 21, Op. 40 No. 3 (Hob. XV:8) in B flat major~Allegro moderato
12. Trio No. 21, Op. 40 No. 3 (Hob. XV:8) in B flat major~Tempo di Menuetto
13. Trio No. 45, Op. 86 No. 3 (Hob. XV:29) in E flat major~Poco Allegretto - [Minore] - [Maggiore]
14. Trio No. 45, Op. 86 No. 3 (Hob. XV:29) in E flat major~Andantino ed innocentemente -
15. Trio No. 45, Op. 86 No. 3 (Hob. XV:29) in E flat major~Finale in the German Style. Presto assai
16. For Gaspard for Violin, Cello and Piano~1. Hiding D. Quarter Note = 160
17. For Gaspard for Violin, Cello and Piano~2. Minuett. Quarter Note = 112

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Trio Gaspard   Primary Artist,Ensemble

Technical Credits

Marie-Francoise de Meeus   Liner Note Translation
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Nicholas Rimmer   Liner Notes
Leonid Gorokhov   Composer,Liner Notes
Cass Cassidy   Design,Typesetting
Andrej Grilc   Cover Photo,Photography
Franz Joseph Haydn   Composer
Jonathan Cooper   Editing,Engineer,Recording Producer
Stephanie Wollny   Liner Note Translation
Stephen Pettitt   Liner Note Translation
Marc Vignal   Liner Notes
Finn S. Gundersen   Booklet Editor
John Hoppner   Paintings
Bettina Reinke-Welsh   Liner Note Translation