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Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 / Sitkovetsky Trio
BIS

Beethoven: Piano Trios, Vol. 2 / Sitkovetsky Trio

$21.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
Artist
Sitkovetsky Trio
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Aug 04, 2023
Catalog #
BIS-2539
UPC
7318599925394

About

With the three piano trios, Op. 1, Ludwig van Beethoven took a genre still largely associated with salon music and raised it up to rival the string quartet. The works are innovative in form as well as in content. From this collection, the Trio in G major, Op. 1 No. 2, appears as a cheerful and engaging work. While it has been said that one could discern ‘the master’s happy youth […] still unclouded, light and frivolous’, hints of ‘the deep seriousness and tender intimacy that would follow’ can also be found. Knowing very well that well-placed dedications could result in princely rewards, Beethoven dedicated his Piano Trio in B flat major, Op. 97, to the Archduke Rudolph of Austria, hence its nickname, ‘Archduke’ Trio. With this work, Beethoven bade farewell to the genre with arguably his most important contribution, a trio of which a critic wrote that in it ‘genius, art, nature, truth, spirit, originality, invention, execution, taste, power, fire, imagination, loveliness, deep feeling and lively jesting entwine in sisterly harmony’.

After the success of its Ravel and Saint-Saëns trios recording [BIS-2219], the Sitkovetsky Trio presents the eagerly awaited second installment of its series devoted to Beethoven’s piano trios.

REVIEW:

This is a delight: sprightly, well-articulated playing which bounds with vitality. The energy of the performance is driven by the pianist Wu Qian, absolutely attentive to all of Beethoven’s quirky markings and sudden sforzandos; the touches of rhythmic subtlety also come from the piano, just momentary holdings-back to shape a phrase or clarify a structure.

The much earlier Trio Op 1 No 2 in G is more firmly in the Haydn tradition, and has a cheery, rather rustic style; Alexander Sitkovetsky’s violin sings in the Largo, then Beethoven adds a Scherzo, before the uproariously funny repeated-note finale – not rushed here, but delivered with just the right manic wit.

-- BBC Music Magazine

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 I. Adagio - Allegro vivace 12:09
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Adagio - Allegro vivace
    Duration
    12:09
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  2. 2 II. Largo con espressione 10:31
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Largo con espressione
    Duration
    10:31
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  3. 3 III. Scherzo: Allegro - Trio 03:44
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo: Allegro - Trio
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  4. 4 IV. Finale: Presto 08:02
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Finale: Presto
    Duration
    08:02
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  5. 5 I. Allegro moderato 13:41
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    13:41
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  6. 6 II. Scherzo: Allegro 11:03
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Scherzo: Allegro
    Duration
    11:03
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  7. 7 III. Andante cantabile, ma però con moto - 12:55
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Andante cantabile, ma però con moto -
    Duration
    12:55
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio
  8. 8 IV. Allegro moderato - Presto 06:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Allegro moderato - Presto
    Duration
    06:55
    Composer
    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ensemble
    Sitkovetsky Trio