Faure - Piano Trio [Beaux Arts Trio]
What an unashamedly little gem Faure's Piano Trio is!, i remember well the day i 'discovered' it, on a walk to Church [17th February 2013], there the first movement truly impressed me, Faure has an underrated way with Chamber music, makes me want to check out his String Quartet too.
The Beaux Arts Trio were active for 53 years, they split up in 2008, this disc was recorded in 1988, the front cover of the booklet shows a superb photograph [by Christian Steiner], a portrait of the trio showing all three instruments, the dark background adds to the highlighting of the faces, look at the lovely browns of that cello!.
So like i said, it was the first movement Allegro that really wowed me, the Piano Trio was a late work for Faure, composed in 1923, maybe a couple of years before he died, and that late Autumn of his life has a feel for the same in this work, Faure got more away from 'nice tunes', and more into the ethereal 'feel' of things, which can be witnessed in his solo piano music, that's not to say that there's a lack of tunes to this work, but i find it hard to whistle late Faure, it sticks in the memory, but i think Faure was mastering the use of rhythms and structure more, there's some great architecture in his music, the first movement is Allegro, but then added 'ma non troppo' = but not too [fast], and that's a key notation, it just wouldn't work if A Trio just zoomed through the piece, there needs to be poise too, i love the way the piano has this superb rippling effect throughout the beginning, while the violin / cello play the melody, and when the piano gets to play a tune itself, it's a stunning little number [1:01-1:21], there's some individual notes that are off the usual highway, and it's these singular notes that really make Faure what he is, there's one early on [1:03], now that's truly inspired, love the way the instruments weave and overlap each other, but basically it's a dialogue between piano and strings, as the movement progresses it has a tendency to get more louder and complex, and it end i guess on a sort of forte.
Here's the Beaux Arts Trio playing the first movement on YouTube.
The Beaux Arts Trio were active for 53 years, they split up in 2008, this disc was recorded in 1988, the front cover of the booklet shows a superb photograph [by Christian Steiner], a portrait of the trio showing all three instruments, the dark background adds to the highlighting of the faces, look at the lovely browns of that cello!.
So like i said, it was the first movement Allegro that really wowed me, the Piano Trio was a late work for Faure, composed in 1923, maybe a couple of years before he died, and that late Autumn of his life has a feel for the same in this work, Faure got more away from 'nice tunes', and more into the ethereal 'feel' of things, which can be witnessed in his solo piano music, that's not to say that there's a lack of tunes to this work, but i find it hard to whistle late Faure, it sticks in the memory, but i think Faure was mastering the use of rhythms and structure more, there's some great architecture in his music, the first movement is Allegro, but then added 'ma non troppo' = but not too [fast], and that's a key notation, it just wouldn't work if A Trio just zoomed through the piece, there needs to be poise too, i love the way the piano has this superb rippling effect throughout the beginning, while the violin / cello play the melody, and when the piano gets to play a tune itself, it's a stunning little number [1:01-1:21], there's some individual notes that are off the usual highway, and it's these singular notes that really make Faure what he is, there's one early on [1:03], now that's truly inspired, love the way the instruments weave and overlap each other, but basically it's a dialogue between piano and strings, as the movement progresses it has a tendency to get more louder and complex, and it end i guess on a sort of forte.
Here's the Beaux Arts Trio playing the first movement on YouTube.
