Haydn - Complete Piano Trios

Beaux Arts Trio

Philips 454 098-2PB9 Buy now

(10h 34’ · DDD)

This is a remarkable and, indeed, invaluable box, which is unlikely to be challenged, let alone surpassed. Nowadays, it is not often possible to hail one set of records as a ‘classic’ of the gramophone in quite the same sense as, say, Schnabel’s Beethoven sonatas or the Busch late Beethoven quartets. Yet this set can surely be said to enjoy this status. The playing of the Beaux Arts Trio is of the highest musical distinction and Menahem Pressler’s contribution is little short of inspired. The set offers astonishingly lifelike recorded sound, and the repertoire is unfailingly fresh and inventive. The performances follow the critical edition prepared by HC Robbins Landon, whose tireless researches have increased the number of trios that we know in the standard edition from 31 to 43. These are records to which one returns with pleasure and profit, for this music is sane and intelligent, balm to the soul in a troubled world. Indeed, it is a set that will last a lifetime.