Haydn Piano Trios

Haydn Piano Trios, performed by the Beaux Arts Trio ★★★★★
I’ll be reviewing the Haydn piano trios here, and the following two reviews will go over the Schubert and Shostakovich trios by the same group. All of the performances are superbly done, with a delicacy and interpretive style that conveys a richness to the pieces that are hard to not notice. The Haydn piano trios are a “must hear” set. This is a lengthy set as one would expect with Haydn, but gives an opportunity to see the progression of the composition style of Haydn. The first trios of a young Haydn are attractive but slightly pedantic, with a sense of predictability, but the later trios truly reflect the genius of Haydn. It is possible that the interaction with Mozart, especially with the novel compositional style of the Mozart Haydn quartets, triggered the most delightful and mature Haydn to compose as he did. With the superlative performances of the Beaux Arts Trio, this is a set that should be in every classical collection.