The initial impact of these new recordings was to set me wondering at the breadth of Brahms’s imagination in the ambitious, idiomatic way he writes for all the instruments involved here. Aided by an especially clear, vivid, yet spacious recording, the Florestan Trio and their two colleagues allow us to hear far more of the music than usual – the elaborate decoration of Op. 114’s Adagio, or the sinister detail of the more delicate passages in Op. 8’s Scherzo. Much of the credit for this goes to Susan Tomes; her playing is an object-lesson in sensitivity and in matching the other voices. I did, indeed, wish for a more solid touch in some of the rich lyrical passages – the Trio in the Scherzo of the Horn Trio, for instance. On the other hand, the big dramatic pieces are given with wonderful force and panache – I was especially taken with the first Allegro of Op. 101, where the splendidly energetic articulation used by all three players lifts the music on to a heroic plane.
Balance and blend are a special feature of these performances. Anthony Marwood and Richard Lester match their sounds perfectly for the lovely duet passages in the slow movements of Op. 8 and Op. 101. What is less expected, and less usual, is the matching of violin and horn, cello and clarinet. Both Marwood and Lester are prepared to modify their vibrato so as to come closer to the ‘straighter’ wind sonorities. But perhaps the single outstanding feature of all the performances is the way the music is shaped. It’s not only that the phrases are projected clearly and expressively – the approach moves outwards to encompass the music’s larger paragraphs and, indeed, whole movements. The fine way the finale of Op. 114 is paced is a typical example, the forceful agitation of the opening and closing pages giving way to the tranquillity at the movement’s heart in an entirely organic fashion.
These are very desirable recordings, then, and an impressive follow-up to the excellent Florestan Dvorak disc (Hyperion, 1/97). But what of the competition? The Beaux Arts are a similarly finely integrated group, with a very strong emotional commitment to the music. There’s less tonal variety in their versions, though, and the sound quality can’t compare with the Florestan recording. Pires, Dumay and Wang offer big-toned performances on the grand scale of Opp. 8 and 87, splendidly recorded. I’d find it very difficult to choose between them and the wholehearted, but more intimate approach of the Florestan. For Op. 114, I’d marginally prefer this to the earlier Hyperion issue with King, Georgian and Benson. Fine though that is, the new version offers even better sound and an exceptionally communicative performance. For Op. 40 I have to confess I’m unable to forget the 1933 HMV recording with vintage Serkin and Busch and the poetical strains of Aubrey Brain’s narrow-bore horn. Tomes, Marwood and Stirling, however, do manage to match many of the qualities of this classic version, and if their Adagio doesn’t quite achieve the deep sadness of Busch and his colleagues, it has its own, highly persuasive atmosphere of mystery.'