Wednesday 4 February 2009

246.Franz Schubert - Piano Trio in B flat major (1827)


















Recording

Title: Historical Recordings 1926 and 1927
Performers: Alfred Cortot, Jacques Thibaud, Pablo Casals
Year: 1926
Length: 31 minutes

Review

Talk about old recordings, this one is from the 20s, only 99 years removed from Schubert's composition, that is quite impressive in itself. Also all the members of this trio are real mythical characters of their time, and the playing is pretty good even with the different standards we have today.

The music is again some great Schubert chamber music. Each instrument really has its own voice and with such stellar performers it comes out beautifully even in such a muffled recording. In fact the muffling gives the album a certain charm, and while the clarity of sound might suffer the brilliance of the composition is perfectly discernible.

The great highlight for me here is the Andante. Schubert always seems to be at his consistent best in the slow movements, where his romantic spirit can come to full fruition. Not only a great piece but also a very interesting recording.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The composer finished the work in 1828, in the last year of his life. It was published in 1836 as Opus 99, 8 years after the composer's death.

First five minutes:


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