Beaux Arts Trio – Philips Recordings 1967-1974 (4 CD, FLAC)

Performer: Beaux Arts Trio
Composer: Frederic Chopin, Charles Ives, Felix Mendelssohn, Clara Wieck Schumann, Robert Schumann, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 4 CD boxset
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Philips
Size: 1.41 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

Disc 1
01. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.49 – 1. Molto allegro ed agitato
02. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.49 – 2. Andante con moto tranquillo
03. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.49 – 3. Scherzo (Leggiero e vivace)
04. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.49 – 4. Finale (Allegro assai appassionato)
05. Piano Trio No.2 in C minor, Op.66 – 1. Allegro energico e con fuoco
06. Piano Trio No.2 in C minor, Op.66 – 2. Andante espressivo
07. Piano Trio No.2 in C minor, Op.66 – 3. Scherzo (Molto allegro quasi presto)
08. Piano Trio No.2 in C minor, Op.66 – 4. Finale (Allegro appasionato)
09. Piano Trio No.3 in G minor, Op.110 – 1. Bewegt, doch nicht zu rasch
10. Piano Trio No.3 in G minor, Op.110 – 2. Ziemlich langsam
11. Piano Trio No.3 in G minor, Op.110 – 3. Rasch
12. Piano Trio No.3 in G minor, Op.110 – 4. Kräftig, mit Humor

Disc 2
01. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.63 – 1. Mit Energie und Leidenschaft
02. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.63 – 2. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu rasch
03. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.63 – 3. Langsam, mit inniger Empfindung
04. Piano Trio No.1 in D minor, Op.63 – 4. Mit Feuer
05. Piano Trio No.2 in F, Op.80 – 1. Sehr lebhaft
06. Piano Trio No.2 in F, Op.80 – 2. Mit innigem Ausdruck
07. Piano Trio No.2 in F, Op.80 – 3. In mässiger Bewegung
08. Piano Trio No.2 in F, Op.80 – 4. Nicht zu rasch
09. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.17 – 1. Allegro moderato
10. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.17 – 2. Scherzo (Tempo di Menuetto)
11. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.17 – 3. Andante
12. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.17 – 4. Allegretto

Disc 3
01. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.8 – 1. Allegro con fuoco
02. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.8 – 2. Scherzo (Con moto ma non troppo)
03. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.8 – 3. Adagio sostenuto
04. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.8 – 4. Finale (Allegretto)
05. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – 1a. Pezzo elegiaco (Moderato assai – Allegro giusto
06. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – 1b. – Adagio con duolo e ben sostenuto – Allegro giusto)
07. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – 2. (A) Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto
08. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. I: L’istesso tempo
09. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. II: Più mosso
10. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. III: Allegro moderato
11. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. IV: L’istesso tempo
12. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. V: L’istesso tempo
13. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. VI: Tempo di valse
14. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. VII: Allegro moderato
15. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. IX: Andante flebile, ma non tanto
16. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. X: Tempo di mazurka
17. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – Var. XI: Moderato
18. Piano Trio in A minor, Op.50 – 2. (B) Variazione finale e Coda (Allegretto risoluto e con fuoco

Disc 4
01. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15 – 1. Moderato assai
02. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15 – 2. Allegro, ma non agitato – Alternativo I (Andante) – Tempo I – Alternativo II (Maestoso) – Tempo I
03. Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15 – 3. Finale (Presto – Meno presto, tranquillo assai – Grave, quasi marcia – Tempo I)
04. Trio for Violin, Cello & Piano – 1. Trio – Andante moderato
05. Trio for Violin, Cello & Piano – 2. Tsiaj – Presto
06. Trio for Violin, Cello & Piano – 3. Moderato con moto
07. Piano Trio No.2, Op.67 – 1. Andante – Moderato – Poco più mosso
08. Piano Trio No.2, Op.67 – 2. Allegro con brio
09. Piano Trio No.2, Op.67 – 3. Largo
10. Piano Trio No.2, Op.67 – 4. Allegretto – Adagio

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
Composed by Felix Mendelssohn
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 63
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Beaux Arts Trio

Trio for piano, violin & cello in G minor, Op. 17
Composed by Clara Wieck Schumann
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 8, CT. 206
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio in A minor (“In Memory of a Great Artist”), Op. 50
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
with Beaux Arts Trio

Piano Trio in G minor, JB 1:64 (Op. 15)
Composed by Bedrich Smetana
with Beaux Arts Trio

Trio, for violin, violoncello & piano, S. 86 (K. 2B17)
Composed by Charles Ives
with Beaux Arts Trio

Trio for piano & strings No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
with Beaux Arts Trio

OPENING UP A HEW WORLD TO ME

I’m ashamed to admit that after 50 years of listening to classical music, I encountered the Beaux Arts Trio by accident recently on the NPR website. I listened to their farewell conert last August, and was thunderstruck. This is beautiful music that resonates deeply. The playing of all three members (whomever they might be at any given time) is exemplary. I don’t want to sound goofy, but the piano playing, especially, brings to mind that old Shakespearean quote we had to memorize in high school, …”it dropeth like the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath”. But more amazing to me is the cello, which is more sensed that heard often in these recordings. It must take an extroadinary love for the music and high regard for one’s felow musicians to subordinate one’s sound to theirs in order to produce such incredible music. Surely this is the foundation which allows the trio to create music of such high quality. Others wil provide the more professonal review. I can only say that these cds have become among my very favorites. An absolute must for any collection. Highly recommended.

Finally, a small note referencing a previous reviewer who cites the missing variation in the Tchaikovsky teio. Such a flaw, while real, is irrelevant to loving these recordings.

Another “Original Masters” Gem

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my love for Universal’s “Original Masters” box set series, but at first I passed on purchasing this title. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the Beaux Arts Trio, for I do, and I own their recordings of the Piano Trios of Beethoven, Haydn, Dvorak, and Mozart among others. Mainly it had to the with the fact that I don’t collect chamber performances the way I do concertos and symphonies, and I already had other renditions of many of the works collected here — Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, etc. However, after stumbling upon this set at my local library, it took only one listen to know that I had to add this limited edition box to my shelves. These recordings, made between 1967 and 1974, capture Beaux Arts in their prime in glorious, crisp analog stereo sound. Many of their accounts, particularly of the Chopin, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, are superior to the other versions I own (in this case trios featuring Ma and Argerich respectively). Also, there are several compositions I had never heard before, including trios by Smetana, Ives and Clara Schumann, which are all delightful. Overall, this is a wonderful box set and another gem in the “Original Masters” series.