Beethoven Beethoven 7

Beethoven reputedly wasn't Beecham's favorite composer, but you wouldn't know it from this performance; it's exceedingly well conceived, highly energetic, and has that unique Beecham sparkle to it. The fillers also are delightful. All recorded in Ascona, Switzerland in 1957.

The Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97, by Ludwig van Beethoven is a piano trio completed in 1811. It is commonly referred to as the Archduke Trio, because it was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, the youngest of twelve children of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Rudolf was an amateur pianist and a patron, friend, and composition student of Beethoven. Beethoven dedicated about a dozen compositions to him. The Archduke Trio was written late in Beethoven's so-called "middle period". He sketched out the draft for it in the summer of 1810 and completed the composition in March 1811. It follows the traditional four movement structure with sonata form in the first and rondo sonata form in the last movement. It also allows for a more prominent part for the piano than previous compositions.

Superior historical music making by three masters of the genre. The sound is clear but typical of its period. The transfers (from 78RPM recordings) are really amazing.

Only a favored number of very old conductors manage the secret of getting more fascinating as the years progress. Like Pablo Casals, Stokowski belonged to that tiny elite. for that reason I've collected all the BBC Legends issues devoted to him, which date from his frequent sojourns to England in his eighties and nineties. Britten's Young Person's Guide from a Proms concert in royal Albert Hall in 1963 with the BBC Sym. features more vivid, up-close sound. This reading has been reissued quite a lot and is marked by Stokowski's rather grave, measured interpretation. He takes this work more seriously than anyone else I've heard; the results are impressive, and more than once you think you're hearing him revisit one of his famous grandiose Bach transcriptions. As an earlier reviewer notes, each variation is turned into a set piece.

Cellist Sung-Won Yang’s debut album entirely devoted to Kodály was “the editor’s choice of the month” Gramophone Magazine and “critic’s choice of the year” Gramophone Magazine in the UK (2003). Since then, intelligence and originality of his interpretation and play have been world-widely praised by both the critics and the music fans, and have led him to appear on such prestigious venues as the Lincoln Center, the Salle Pleyel, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Royal Concertgebouw. Especially, his complete recording series of Kodály, Beethoven Sonatas/Variations, Brahms/Schumann for cello and piano, Bach’s 6 suites for solo cello, Beethoven trios (either for EMI or Decca/Universal) received international recognition.