Ludwig van Beethoven - Beethoven Klaviertrios 2 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

We awaited the third and fourth installments of Beethoven's Piano Trios by the Abegg Trio with eager anticipation. Now that they have been released, we can sum up as follows our first impressions were right and our high expectations were confirmed; this trio, founded in Hanover in 1976, can rightly be called one of the great German piano trios. (Fono Forum)

Beethoven composed his Op. 1 piano trios under the shadow of Haydn. The younger composer's personality, though, was squarely intact. You already get those sudden dynamic surges, unsettling accentuations, and slow movements filled with sustained, lyrical tension that count among the hallmarks of Beethoven's quintessential style. The Abegg Trio's masterful performances of Beethoven's first two trios go straight to the heart of the music. Faster movements sing out with headlong brio, abetted by rock-steady tempos that benefit from tasteful inflection. Notable, too, is the ensemble's sly transition from the G major trio's introductory adagio into an effortlessly sustained Vivace, plus the rollicking give and take in the opera-buff-like finale. It's good to have these excellent-sounding 1987 recordings available again. Strongly recommended. (Classics Today)

The results are fascinating at every turn - these are braking renditions, and the entire set of four CDs is highly recommended, even to those who are already intimately familiar with these scores (Fanfare)