Favorite Piano Trios?

[Bunny]

This recording of Dvořák's the Piano trios 3 and 4 (Dumky) by the Smetana Trio is really excellent:



I also love this HIP recording of the Schubert Piano Trios:

[BachQ]

Schubert Trios (Beaux Arts Trio) (original)

[BachQ]

PS.  Although Schubert is technically "Classico-Romantic," the romantic sound of these trios allows for inclusion within this thread .........

[Florestan]

ARENSKY - Trio for piano and strings in A minor op. 32
GLINKA - Trio for piano, violin and cello in D minor


Borodin Trio

[Bunny]

PS.  Although Schubert is technically "Classico-Romantic," the romantic sound of these trios allows for inclusion within this thread .........

I think Schubert is technically Early Romantic.   There's no way I could even think of him as Late Classical.   

[Guido]

Thought I would resurrect this thread as I fancy getting to know some more trios.

The ones I know currently are Ives, Faure, Ravel, Shostakovich no.2, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvorak no.3 and 4, Bridge no.1 and 2, Debussy, Greif, Twardowski, Skalkottas and the two by Zimmerli. These have been mentioned already, apart from the last four - The Zimmerli trios are a wonderful mix of romantic and jazz sensiblities, especially the first; The Grief is also a fantastic work, grief stricken would be my words of choice to describe it - the composer appears to be the embodiment of his namesake.

So where do I go from here? I have loved pretty much everything I have heard. Schumann and Schubert seem the obvious choices, but are the other two extant Dvorak trios worth hearing? What about Alkan's? (Must hear his cello sonata...) I am interested in obscure works too, and more modern works as well.

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, it wouldn't do to miss Rachmaninov. Probably his best chamber work. And you would be very pleasantly surprised to pick up a copy of St Saens' on Naxos. Very nice works, and very well played. IMO, one of Naxos' top disks ever. And I didn't see Mendelssohn's pair on your list either. There again, these are among his very best chamber works. Schumann and Schubert go without saying. A bit more obscure, and I can't tell by your Grief comment if you liked that style or not, but heavily Romantic, and beautifully low-key, is the Trio of Guilliaume Lekeu. A unique voice, IMO. Finally, your Dvorak question. If you liked the last 2 (could you not?), you can hardly help liking the first 2. I've always though #3 was the top of the line, but that doesn't make 1, 2 & 4 any less appealing.



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Listening to:
Bia 062 #1 Op 1 #1 Trio in Eb for Fortepiano, Violin & Cello - The Castle Trio - Bia 062 #1 Op 1 #1 Trio in Eb for Fortepiano, Violin & Cello 3rd mvmt - Allegro assai

[Guido]

Cheers for the recommendations Gurn!

Yes I adore the two by Dvorak that I have heard (and I agree no.3 is the mutt's nuts). I guess I should hear the other two... How about the handily coupled Joachim trio on Naxos for nos.1 and 2?

I don't know what better recommendation to give the Greif than "fantastic", maybe "sublime"?  Anyway, yes I do love that work, so I will definitely look into the Lekeu trio, and all the others that you mention.

[Gurn Blanston]

Cheers for the recommendations Gurn!

Yes I adore the two by Dvorak that I have heard (and I agree no.3 is the mutt's nuts). I guess I should hear the other two... How about the handily coupled Joachim trio on Naxos for nos.1 and 2?

I don't know what better recommendation to give the Grief than "fantastic", maybe "sublime"?  Anyway, yes I do love that work, so I will definitely look into the Lekeu trio, and all the others that you mention.

You're welcome. For reasons unknown for sure (but obvious to me simply in the potential of the genre to be great), the piano trio became the second to top genre in chamber music in that era. Much like the string quartet, composers seemed to do their very best work with it. Mendelssohn and St Saëns are just 2 examples. Even though I am not heavily into Romantic Era music, I still avidly scoop up piano trios whenever they present themselves.

I haven't heard that particular Dvorak disk, but I would willingly take a chance on it. I have the Beaux Arts 2 disk set with the 4 of them on it and like that a lot. My favorite #3 is the Borodins on Chandos. The most frequently recommended set I have seen is the Suk Trio on Supraphon. Arkiv have it here:  http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=52336  but you might find it elsewhere for a better price. I will look forward to your impressions.



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Listening to:
The Castle Trio - Bia 062 #2 Op 1 #2 Trio in G for Fortepiano, Violin & Cello 1st mvmt - Adagio - Allegro vivace

[Guido]

I also haven't heard any of the Beethoven piano trios apart from the Archduke. Obviously the Ghost is also famous but are the others?

[jwinter]

I've been spending a pleasant day listening to piano trios, one of my favorite forms of chamber music.  What are your favorite works &/or recordings in this genre?

I'm hoping to expand my listening a bit.  So far on my shelves I have the Beaux Arts Trio doing the Piano Trios of Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Schubert, & Schumann, plus the Suk Trio in Dvorak and somebody whose name eludes me at the moment in Mendelssohn.  What great piano trios am I missing?

[Drasko]

Ravel

[Karl Henning]

You expected this from me, friend:

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The Tchaikovsky a minor trio, and the Shostakovich e minor trio.

[Que]

Fauré, Saint-Saëns, and definitely Tchaikovsky.

Q

[bwv 1080]

second Ravel

[mc ukrneal]

A number of French - Ravel (mentioned), Faure, Debussy, and Saint-Saens...

For Russian - Glinka, Tchaikovsky (mentioned), Shostakovich, and Arensky come to mind.

And there are others like Smetana, Martinu, etc.

[DieNacht]

Some interesting, often attractive ones on top of my head are
- Nicolai Roslavets (dark, updated works)
- Joseph Bohuslav Foerster (rather folksy and "easy")
- Smetana (in the canon of Romantic piano trios)
- Chausson (a fine work)
- Franck (quite good, if early works)
- Alkan

Many more composers wrote them - Novak, Shebalin, Fibich, Hummel, Sibelius, Schnittke,
Arensky, Taneyev, R.Strauss, Petr Eben, Bax, Nielsen + Debussy (early works), Martinu,
Frank Martin (Irish, folksy and divertimento-like), Reger, Lajtha, Granados, Kuhlau, Bridge,
Mikhail Gnesin, Thalberg, Henselt, Granados, Valen ... to name a few.


Would recommend the clarinet trios of Nørgård (the 1st, with an opus no., a splendid almost late-romantic work) and Zemlinsky also,
as well as Webers trio with flute, and Ligeti´s Horn Trio ...

[mc ukrneal]

Some interesting, often attractive ones on top of my head are
- Nicolai Roslavets (dark, updated works)
- Joseph Bohuslav Foerster (rather folksy and "easy")
- Smetana (in the canon of Romantic piano trios)
- Chausson (a fine work)
- Franck (quite good, if early works)
- Alkan

Many more composers wrote them - Novak, Shebalin, Fibich, Hummel, Sibelius, Schnittke,
Arensky, Taneyev, R.Strauss, Petr Eben, Bax, Nielsen + Debussy (early works), Martinu,
Frank Martin (Irish, folksy and divertimento-like), Reger, Lajtha, Granados, Kuhlau, Bridge,
Mikhail Gnesin, Thalberg, Henselt, Granados, Valen ... to name a few.


Would recommend the clarinet trios of Nørgård (the 1st, with an opus no., a splendid almost late-romantic work) and Zemlinsky also,
as well as Webers trio with flute, and Ligeti´s Horn Trio ...

Good list!

[Brahmsian]

My absolute favourite piano trios right now are Robert Schumann's. 

[Daverz]

I'll add the fabulous Taneyev Piano Trio to those already mentioned.