Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Mikhail Glinka, Trio d'Amsterdam :: Piano Trios

Even though more than two-thirds of this disc is by Beethoven, none of the music is very important. Glinka's Trio is a derivative, early Romantic work without the fascinating individuality of his Russian-flavored music. The Beethoven Trio is simply an arrangement, although done by the composer, of his extremely popular Septet, Op. 20, a piece Beethoven apparently got thoroughly tired of hearing. It's still delightful music, and it's still Beethoven, but it's less colorful in this arrangement than in its original scoring. The performances, however, are simply wonderful. The Trio d'Amsterdam plays period instruments, and their transparent sound combined with the players' expert musicianship presents the music with great conviction. --Leslie Gerber