This entertaining disc offers piano trios by Beethoven and Johann Nepomuk Hummel; according to the informative liner notes, the chamber music of both composers was quite favorably compared in their day, even though history has chosen to smile more prominently on Beethoven. The notes also relate an interesting anecdote regarding Beethoven’s arrival in Vienna; a concert was held at the residence of Prince Karl von Lichnowsky, the dedicatee of the three early Piano Trios Opus 1. The soiree was attended by just about everyone in Vienna’s musical firmament, and included Franz Joseph Haydn. The elder Hadyn offered Beethoven his approval of the young maestro’s work – yet also suggested that he not publish the third trio. Beethoven was incensed by Haydn’s criticism – the third trio was his favorite of the three – and immediately removed the Opus 1 designation that he’d previously given to another work. He then presented the three trios for publication, freshly endowed with the demarcation Opus 1; all indications suggest that this was simply to spite Hadyn! This excellent new disc from Harmonia mundi offers that early Opus 1 No. 3 trio, along with an example of Beethoven’s more mature work, the Opus 70 No.1, a work dedicated to the Princess Anna-Marie Erdody – one of the handful of women long debated to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved.” Hummel’s Piano Trio No. 4 completes the selection, and presents a striking example of the overly neglected work of Beethoven’s youthful contemporary.
The performances here are given a bit of a twist from the usual with the substitution of a pianoforte for the more modern concert grand; this lends a sense of period authenticity to the recording. While I generally am not a huge fan of recordings that incorporate the pianoforte – it often comes across as quite thin-sounding, especially in sonata settings – the recording here is excellent, and the always-superb cello work of Jean-Guihen Queyras anchors the proceedings with a firm foundation. It’s interesting indeed to compare the youthful work of Beethoven with the much more artistically mature Opus 70; almost fifteen years separate the two trios. The Hummel trio is also magnificently played, even though Hummel could never really compete with Beethoven artistically. He was a virtuoso pianist of the first rank, and his compositions were designed to showcase his prowess at the keyboard, even though most modern scholars consider his work mostly derivative of Mozart and Haydn. Harmonia mundi has done an outstanding job with the recording; the acoustics of the Berlin Teldec studio are presented intact, and the recording offers a very realistic impression of the instruments in a very real space. Very highly recommended!
— Tom Gibbs
