Trio Con Brio

At the heart of Trio Origo's repertoire are the earliest trios composed for clarinet, cello and piano. The origins of the repertoire lie in the Gassenhauer Trio composed by Beethoven in 1797 for a clarinetist, probably Joseph Bähr, who also suggested to the composer that he use a hit tune known as a Gassenhauer from a recent opera by Joseph Weigl. Beethoven (uncharacteristically, but with perhaps an eye on the works future commercial success) duly obliged, and made Weigls tune the basis for his theme-and-variations finale but he also produced a version of the trio substituting the clarinet for the violin to ensure its popularity.

The Seraphim Trio makes a welcome return to ABC Classics with an album of Beethoven's piano trios. Beethoven's trios are amongst the finest works in the chamber canon, taking the form spawned by Mozart and Haydn and developing it into a musical genre which reached symphonic proportions in its musical language and virtuosity.

The Suk Trio is one of the most historically present and enduring piano trios from Czechoslovakia. Although the piano and cello chairs have been filled by several different musicians since the group's formation in 1951, the most historically and musically notable member has always been violinist Josef Suk, grandson of composer Josef Suk and great-grandson of the venerable Antonin Dvorák. This album, featuring the greatest hits of Beethoven's piano trios (numbers 3, 5, and 7) and Schubert's First Piano Trio, was originally recorded in the mid-'60s. The disc's remastered sound is pleasingly clear and clean. Each of the trio's members is exceptionally skilled. Technical execution cannot be faulted; articulation between the strings is abundantly crisp and refined.

Named after the legendary violinist Adolf Busch (1891-1952), this young trio has already established itself on the international scene as one of the most talented of the new generation. Under the aegis of Alpha Classics and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, the group set itself a challenge: to record the complete chamber music with keyboard of Antonín Dvorák. They managed to complete this project in four years and four albums: two albums of the piano trios, one of the piano quartets and one of the quintets. They were joined where necessary by the violist Miguel da Silva (founder of the famous Quatuor Ysaÿe) and the violinist Maria Milstein.

The Rautio Piano Trio returns to Resonus with this second volume of Beethoven’s Piano Trios, recorded on period instruments. The album features his Op. 11 trio – ‘Gassenhauer' – together with his Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 3, showcasing the young composer’s early mastery of the genre; and his virtuosic Variations for Piano Trio Op. 44.