Schubert: Piano Trio, Op. 99; Notturno

On this CD:

1. Piano Trio in B flat major, D. 898 (Op. 99)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Edward Court, Steven Lubin, Myron Lutzke, Mozartean Players, Stanley Ritchie

2. Piano Trio in E flat major ("Nocturne") (Adagio only), D. 897 (Op. posth. 148)
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Steven Lubin, Myron Lutzke, Mozartean Players, Stanley Ritchie

3. Piano Trio in B flat major ("Sonatensatz"), D. 28
Composed by Franz Schubert
Performed by Steven Lubin, Myron Lutzke, Mozartean Players, Stanley Ritchie

Customer Reviews:

Another winner from the Florestan.......2002-06-05

Having enjoyed their disc of the first two Schumann trios, I went out and bought their new Schubert release. It's excellent! The playing captures all the charm and wit of Schubert's outer movements, and the glorious slow movement is very well done. The tempi are well chosen, never too rushed (they are somewhat broader than the Beaux Arts Trio's first set, available on Philips Duo). I'm also grateful for their taking of the first-movement exposition repeat. When the music is this glorious, the repeat is surely worthwhile! The recording quality is superb. Now, the only decision is whether, for the price of a full-priced CD, you'd rather have the Beaux Art's Duo set of both trios (plus fillers) or this disc of just the B-flat Trio. I say get the Florestan disc and wait for their disc of the E-flat Trio, which is coming later this year.

Average customer rating:

Lovely music

Nightmoods: Night Wanderer

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001GZU
Release Date: 1997-06-10

Tracks:

Piano Trio No. 2 In E-Flat: Andante con moto
Ave Maria
Standchen (Serenade - Softly A Voice Is Calling)
Impromptu No. 3 In G-Flat
Piano Trio No. 1 In B-Flat: Andante un poco mosso
Piano Quintet In A ('The Trout')
Rosamunde, Princess Of Cyprus - Entr'acte
Quartet No. 14 In D Minor (Death And The Maiden): Andante con moto - Theme And Variations I, II (Excerpt)
String Quintet In C: Adagio

Customer Reviews:

Lovely music.......2001-08-12

Could've been even more powerful---okay recordings. Low sound quality and the music could've been done better. If you NEED to hear a song on this disc, this is a good quencher until you can find something better. I'm sorry to say!

Piano Trio in B-flat Op 99, Adagio e Rondo concertante, Notturno by Atlantis Ensemble

Average customer rating:

A great work and other delights performed with intelligence and musicality on period instruments

Piano Trio in B-flat Op 99, Adagio e Rondo concertante, Notturno by Atlantis Ensemble

Manufacturer: Wild Boar Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000BKFA
Release Date: 1998-10-13

Tracks:

Trio in B flat, Op. Posth. 99 (D.898): I. Allegro Moderato
Trio in B flat, Op. Posth. 99 (D.898): II. Andante Un Poco Mosso
Trio in B flat, Op. Posth. 99 (D.898): III. Scherzo: Allegro
Trio in B flat, Op. Posth. 99 (D.898): IV. Rondo: Allegro Vivace
Adagio E Rondo Conc in F (D.487): 'Qt'
Notturno in E flat, Op. Posth. I48 (D.897)

Customer Reviews:

A great work and other delights performed with intelligence and musicality on period instruments.......2006-02-11

This disk is a great treat. The Trio in B-flat Opus 99 is a later work (sometime in 1827 or 1828, depending on the timeline you want to believe) and has a great deal of sophistication to go along with its high spirits. Some seem to think that unless a work is full of tragedy and pain that it cannot also have profundity. In my book, it is joy that is the greatest human emotion. To be able to evoke it without first taking us into darkness is a testament to Schubert's genius and not evidence of shallowness in any way.

The opening movement opens with sharp lines and lets us know how Schubert intends the violin, cello, and piano will state and develop their musical roles in this work. The dotted rhythms and strings of sixteenth notes not only bring vitality to the work, but, since this is being performed on period instruments, they also emphasize the way these instruments speak. There is more character to the attacks on the notes (you might call it noise) that nicely contrast the more sonorous lyrical sections. The piano has a much lighter sonority and sustains less than a modern grand and it works so well for this music.

The second movement is, for me, the real treasure of the work. It a ternery (ABA) form that Schubert used so well. Lyrical outer portions and a turbulent middle sention. The first them is introduced by the cello with the piano accompanying, it is then passed to the violin and then shared by both strings. It is a gorgeous melody that eventually finds its way to the piano while the strings turn what was accompaniment into melodies for development. The stormy middle section contrasts in temperment, but still uses elements from the A section, as if it were part of a variation form. Schubert then combines the elements of both sections into the recapitulation and manages a fabulously sweet ending.

The scherzo is a perfect course to follow the feast of the first two movements. The opening theme almost tickles us. The way the accents and repeated notes make us want to lean to keep our balance as we laugh out loud is great skill that Schubert uses many times and to great delight here. The Atlantis Ensemble has to be praised for this whole disk, but their obvious sense of humor is a key to pulling this off. A too serious demeanor can make all the notes come out perfectly and yet we would never smile. And what would be the point of that. The middle section sings to us and keeps things down just enough to make the recapitulation all the more fun, but the melody is so much fun to sing, the spirits never sag.

The finale opens with such a light and simple melody that is stated so plainly we do not expect the strange things the Schubert pulls of with his very unique approach to what would be called, I suppose a Rondo-Sonata form (I purposefully don't call it a Sonata-Rondo form). It is more rondo in the broad strokes, but it does have the ideas of contrasting themes, developments, and a recapitulation. The boldness of Schubert's form in this movement has been noted by others and belies the seeming lack of sophistication in the basic sound of the work.

The second piece on this disk, the Adagio and Rondo (D. 487) adds a viola to the mix and is designed for fun amongst friends in a salon and is much different in scope, performance demands, and musical sophistication than the trio. Of course, this comes from 1816 instead of 1827 (an 18 year old versus the mature Schubert whose death in 1829 we still mourn). It is fun to listen to and won't strain anyone's ability to focus on what you are hearing. While more than a creampuff, it isn't the trio you just heard, either.

The posthumous Adagio is known popularly as the "Notturno" Op 148 (D. 897). But the work was one of the many unpublished manuscripts found after Schubert's death. Since the paper it was composed on dates the work to around 1827, some speculate that this was intended to be the slow movement for the trio Op 99 on this disk. While this is a nice piece, and very much worth hearing, we are much better off with the wonderful treasure Schubert gave us for the final version of the trio.

Again, this ensemble, performing on period instruments, plays this music with such intelligence, skill, and musical commitment that I recommend it to you with great enthusiasm. Yes, Sutherland and Crawford are from Ann Arbor and I have been able enjoy their musical abilities in person over the years (and once with Schroeder), but I promise you that I am NOT overselling the delights of this disk (and its companion for the Opus 100 trio) one bit.

Schubert: Trio Nos. 1 & 2/Notturno/Sonatansatz In B Flat Major

Average customer rating:

Period Schubert with great allure and good sound

Schubert: Trio Nos. 1 & 2/Notturno/Sonatansatz In B Flat Major

Manufacturer: Koch Discover Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000225Z
Release Date: 1997-03-18

Tracks:

Trio No. 1 in B flat Op. 99, D 898: Allegro moderato
Trio No. 1 in B flat Op. 99, D 898: Andante un poco mosso
Trio No. 1 in B flat Op. 99, D 898: Scherzo: Allegro
Trio No. 1 in B flat Op. 99, D 898: Rondo: Allegro Vivace
Notturno Op. posth. 148, D 987, in E flat

Tracks:

Trio No. 2 in E flat Op. 100, D 929: Allegro
Trio No. 2 in E flat Op. 100, D 929: Andante con moto
Trio No. 2 in E flat Op. 100, D 929: Scherzando: Allegro moderato
Trio No. 2 in E flat Op. 100, D 929: Allegro moderato
Sonatensatz in B flat, D 28: Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Period Schubert with great allure and good sound.......2007-01-11

This is an earlier version of the Florestan Trio, not the Englishmen currently making recordings of distinction -- Susan Tomes, piano, Anthony Marwood, violin, and Richard Lester, cello. This no-name group made these splendid recordings for Koch International's low-priced Discovery label in the early 1990s using period instruments.

Even though the cost is low, the players did not discount the distinguished performances of Schubert: Trio Nos. 1 & 2, the Notturno and Sonatansatz In B Flat Major. To the contrary, this is wonderful music-making on a broad scale with 19th century romance intact. There is nothing tiny, tinny or narrow in the players' instruments or in their interpretations of these glorious scores.

I bought this after an Amazon search, hoping I could locate a period set that sounded good and was at least equal to the reduced single disk period performances of the trios by Bylsma et al on Sony. I think these readings are more in keeping with the Romantic era; they are warm, expansive, retain the repeats and gently caress Schubert's contours while maintaining the expressive emotional devices. The two makeweightts -- in particular the Notturno -- are beautifully managed and add an element of surprise and loveliness to these otherwise fine performances.

Looks like this 2-CD set is out of print so test the sound bytes now and buy today if this sounds like it could be for you. I was very pleasantly surprised by this set after hearing Beaux Arts, Ashkenazy's trio and others do this music. This is definitely a keeper.

Schubert: Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 99 (D.898) / Adagio [Notturno] in E-flat, Op. posth. 148 (D.897) / Allegro in B-flat (D.28) - The Mozartean Players

Average customer rating:

an incredible recording of an incredible piece
MORE CURIOUS.... BUT NOT TOO SUBLIME SCHUBERT

Schubert: Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 99 (D.898) / Adagio [Notturno] in E-flat, Op. posth. 148 (D.897) / Allegro in B-flat (D.28) - The Mozartean Players

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000007DT
Release Date: 1993-12-07

Tracks:

Pno Trio in B-Flat, Op.99 (D.898): I. Allegro Moderato
Pno Trio in B-Flat, Op.99 (D.898): II. Andante Un Poco Mosso
Pno Trio in B-Flat, Op.99 (D.898): III. Scherzo: Allegro
Pno Trio in B-Flat, Op.99 (D.898): IV. Rondo: Allegro Vivace
Adagio (Notturno) in E-Flat, Op. Posth. 148 (D.897)
Allegro (Sonatensatz) in B-flat (D.28)

Customer Reviews:

an incredible recording of an incredible piece.......2003-04-23

I was shocked to read the previous, blatantly negative review posted here! I've spent most of my life in classical music, performing chamber music, and Schubert is one of my favorite composers of all time. Thus, I know his trios like the back of my hand, and I find myself listening to other artists' renditions often. I found this recording by the Mozartean Players (along with their recording of Opus 100) to be one of my favorites -- at turns bold and brilliant, refined and understated, playful and joyful, the way Schubert is meant to be.
The interplay between Lubin, Ritchie and Lutzke is marvelous. And when you hear those gorgeous melody lines soar, it'll make your heart ache. I couldn't recommend this CD more highly!

MORE CURIOUS.... BUT NOT TOO SUBLIME SCHUBERT.......2002-12-14

In my review of 23 October 2000, I found the Mozartean's performance of the Schubert Op. 100 wanting in nuance, depth and feeling, all enhanced by particularly poor sound quality and the use of historical instruments. If possible, the Op. 99, here, fares no better and, in many ways, seems even more superficial, routine and annoying. Not even the inclusion of the berceuse-like Adagio (Notturno) in E-flat, nor the exhilarating Allegro in B-flat, both shorn of their burnished warmth, improves matters in the least. A most disappointing issue on all counts.