The 11 works Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) created for piano trio make up a group of pieces equally remarkable as his 16 string quartets. With...

The 11 works Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) created for piano trio make up a group of pieces equally remarkable as his 16 string quartets. With over half of them written before 1800, prior to the composer’s turning 30, they clearly reveal his creative flights and struggles, first and foremost serving to attest to the grand formation of Beethoven’s compositional principles and the attainment of his apex.

The present 4-album set features the Suk Trio, who soon after their establishment in 1951 gained international renown and recognition. The recordings of Beethoven’s piano trios for Japan’s Nippon Columbia, completed within a short timeframe, from June 1983 to April 1984, were made by the mature ensemble when it included the violinist Josef Suk, the cellist Josef Chuchro and the pianist Josef Hála, who in 1980 had replaced Jan Panenka. Their sound was predominated by the strings, primarily the violin of Suk, who defined the interpretation principles. The singularity of the trio and their recordings alike rests in infallible technique, sonic refinement, admirable interplay and profound musicality devoid of any showboating.

REVIEWS:

The Suk Trio had a very long run of 39 years, beginning in 1951 and ending in 1990. The ensemble underwent some personnel changes in its early years, but from 1960 to 1979, the group remained quite stable with members Josef Suk, violin; Josef Chuchro, cello; and Jan Panenka, piano. In 1979, Panenka withdrew from the ensemble and suspended his career due to hand problems. His replacement was Josef Hála, the pianist heard in the present recordings.

The sound and style of the Suk Trio didn’t change much with the arrival of Hála. The ensemble doesn’t sound particularly tired in its third decade of a busy concert and recording schedule, but there is a certain relaxed or laid-back quality to the playing. I wouldn’t describe it as slackness but more like a kind of homogenized smoothness, not much different really from the way the group sounded in the 1960s and again in the 1970s. Tempos may be a wee bit on the slow side compared to what we’ve become accustomed to, and some of the more energetic movements, such as the finale to the Trio in E♭, op. 70/2, a wee bit underplayed. But overall, I have to say that I like these performances, quite a lot actually. There’s no attempt on the part of the players to call attention to themselves or stamp their readings with some high-profile statement. They play the scores as written, repeats included, and what comes across are feelings of warmth and wisdom, which, together, project a sense of humaneness.

-- Fanfare

The combination of the Czech engineers' expertise in the Rudolfinum recording venue and the Suk Trio's cultivated dynamics, tonal congruity, and sense of intimacy gives this set a profound sense of selflessness and radiates a sheer love of the music.

-- MusicWeb International