The Florestan Trio - Mozart - Piano Trios K254, K496 & K548 (2007)

Here's a piece you don't often hear performed in concert: Mozart's Divertimento in B flat major, K. 254 (aka, his Piano Trio No. 1). While the other five works in the same form are performed frequently by virtue of their later date of composition, the early Trio No. 1 is not only rarely performed in concert, it's usually recorded only in context of all the other trios. And so it is here: Trio No. 1 leads off this 2007 Hyperion disc by England's Florestan Trio, and, naturally, it is followed by two later trios -- No. 2 in G major, K. 496, and No. 5 in C major, K. 548. None of this is at all surprising: in 2006, Hyperion had issued the other three trios. Nor is it at all regrettable: the Florestan's previous Mozart recording -- as well as its recordings of trios by Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Saint-Saëns -- was extremely impressive. And so they are here: together, violinist Anthony Marwood, cellist Richard Lester, and pianist Susan Tomes turn in a light, alert, smooth, and balanced performance expertly poised between clear-eyed objectivity and tender-hearted sentimentality. Recorded in rich, clear, and colorful digital sound by Hyperion, these performances will delight any fan of Mozart's chamber music.