Complete Piano Trios Vol. 2

It's rare that one gets to experience a true tour de force, but that is what I've enjoyed the past several months with the Van Baerle Trio's traversal of Beethoven's complete works for piano trio—a marvellous journey through some of the greatest music ever written. (...) What I can say is that, overall, these are freshly vigorous performances. I love them for their clarity, intelligence, precise ensemble, and joie de vivre. They are not played as historically informed performances (HIP), but the performances certainly have been informed by the HIP movement in their lightness, their direct statement, their lack of over-indulgence. These are largely quick, lithe performances but with a great delicacy of touch. They don't dawdle, but they linger where the music benefits from attention to that space and quiet between the notes that so greatly adds meaning in the right hands. And these are the right hands, indeed.

(...) the closer recording of the Van Baerle players heightens the impact of Beethoven’s accents and dynamic extremes. Once again, they are prepared to let the music breathe just a little bit more, by no means slacking in tempo, but paying attention to the space between the notes as well as shaping phrases with greater consideration. Without forcing, they manage to create an orchestral impression – or at least some illusion that we’re not missing out so very much in not having the full orchestra, and as ever there are always things to be learned from hearing familiar music in an entirely different context.

The final Allegretto in E-flat major is perhaps one of Beethoven’s first works for piano trio, but it was only discovered in the mid-20th century amongst some early sketches. In his booklet note, Marten Noorduin appropriately sums it up as a “short but humorous conversation”, with the piano setting up a bouncy little rhythmic motief that the other instruments happily take on to an understated conclusion.

As often the case with Beethoven, there are too many alternatives for there to be an easy way to be definitive when it comes to collecting the piano trios. The Van Baerle Trio has been quite daring in dedicating a large portion of their second volume to the Second Symphony, but to my mind this bodes well for the later works. With excellent SACD sound and playing that is superbly musical and that can stand up to the microscopic scrutiny of the microphone placements, this in my opinion is very much a series to look out for.