Saturday, September 29, 2018

JOHN CHUCKMAN REVIEW: THE SET OF COMPLETE HAYDN PIANO TRIOS PERFORMED BY THE BEAUX ARTS TRIO

Haydn, while always enjoyable, in some forms - as in his string quartets, at least for me - does not quite make it into the Mozart-Beethoven-Bach Pantheon.

But he was an immensely gifted and prolific musician, and he sure does reach that level at times, and his set of piano trios is absolutely one of them.

These are delightful - joyful, uplifting, relaxing, lilting, and elegant in turn.

The quality of the playing by the Beaux Arts Trio is flawless to this music-loving but musically-inexpert ear.

The recording quality is fine.

I think I’ve played the entire set ten times since getting it.

It is among my most treasured sets.