Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Trios - Volume 2
Piano Trio No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 1 No. 1 [30:23]
Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 1 No. 3 [29:23]
Piano Trio No. 7 in B flat Major, Op. 97 'Archduke' [42:03]
ATOS Trio
rec. live, 6 March 2016, Wigmore Hall, London
WIGMORE HALL LIVE WHLIVE0095/2 [2 CDs: 101:58]
The ATOS Trio here add the second and final volume in their Beethoven series, again taken from a single concert at London’s Wigmore Hall, three months after the first one
(review
of Volume 1). Taken together these issues make a fine contribution to the composer’s anniversary year, for the quality of this occasion matches that in December 2015. This time we have the first and last publications only, with the Op.1/2 & 3, and Op.97 “The Archduke”.
Op.1 opens with a nod to the 18th century that is about to end, a “Mannheim rocket”, which always seemed a rather fancy name for a rapid rising scale, for it is what Beethoven does with it that matters. The Atos Trio keep it in the (late) 18th century in the classical manners of their playing, with a steady, but not staid, tempo and a sense of forward momentum – they take 09:54 against the Beaux Arts Trio’s 10:08. But in the Adagio cantabile they are much more flowing (07:28 against the 09:26 of the Beaux Arts, a difference often seen in the slow movement tempi of these two groups). But the Atos trio still feels quite expressive enough without reaching for emotion that is not there. The Allegro assai scherzo is very light on its feet as is the helter-skelter finale, played with an abundance of high spirits.
The anxious uncertainty of the opening of Op.1/3 announces Beethoven in C minor mood, as does the tension of the main Allegro con brio whose driving rhythms are strongly conveyed in a very ‘live’ live performance. Indeed, Annette von Hehn’s violin, often played with little vibrato, misses the dead centre of one or two notes, but nothing that imperils the listener’s engagement with the dramatic tale the group unfolds here. The Andante cantabile offers respite from all this C minor turbulence, and again the Atos find a gracious, even rococo, tempo and manner. Beethoven’s Menuetto has little of that graciousness, echoing something of the first movement’s obsessiveness in its emphasis on short figures with small intervals. Cellist Stefan Heinemeyer makes a most plangent sound when his instrument soars above the violin in the trio. Obsessiveness continues in the Prestissimo finale, although the trio make much of the long lyrical second subject, and of the enigmatic, because unexpectedly quiet, ending. The audience’s applause, slightly delayed by that quiet close, is a bit muted, but they must have needed the ensuing interval after an hour of keeping up with Beethoven’s invention in these two works.
The “Archduke” is launched by pianist Thomas Hoppe with the odd hesitation, and although rubato is usually best left until we have the main tempo in our ears, it is no more than a sense of easing us into a large-scale movement. This sort of flexibility is a feature of the Atos in this movement, and generally subtle and effective, right through to the ritardando they make at the climactic restatement of the main theme at the start of the coda. It is the point of a live performance, especially of such a familiar work, to make it sound spontaneous again, which the Atos manages to do. But if you like to try before you buy, this is the movement to sample. The scherzo is more straightforward in interpretation than that, as is the Andante cantabile, the noble theme of which is played quite beautifully by Hoppe and colleagues – piano and semplice as marked. The variations are each neatly characterised, and feature some fine string playing. The piano-dominated Presto conclusion to the finale sets the seal on a fine concert, displaying all the musical skill and understanding heard in volume 1.
Note that the two issues do not boast of the “complete piano trios”, although they contain the essential core of that repertoire in Op.1/1-3, 11, Op.70/1 & 2, and Op.97. One long-term benchmark collection, that which the Beaux Arts Trio recorded for Philips from 1979-83, adds two trios published posthumously (WoO 38 and 39), trio versions of the Septet and of the Second Symphony, and more importantly the “Kakadu” Variations, op.121a. That all requires a fifth CD, so is still perhaps the one for the completist. But if you seek the spontaneity of live performance to go alongside an existing favourite studio set, and can live with just the core multi-movement piano trios Beethoven published in his lifetime, this completes an outstanding pair of concerts from a very accomplished group indeed.
Roy Westbrook
