Track Listing

1. Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major, K. 254: Allegro assai
2. Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major, K. 254: Adagio
3. Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major, K. 254: Rondeaux, Tempo di Menuetto
4. Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, K. 496: Allegro
5. Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, K. 496: Andante
6. Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, K. 496: Allegretto
7. Piano Trio No. 3 in B flat major, K. 502: Allegro
8. Piano Trio No. 3 in B flat major, K. 502: Larghetto
9. Piano Trio No. 3 in B flat major, K. 502: Allegretto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250797 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued

Amazon.com
File this under "civilized discourse." Mozart didn't attempt to reach his highest level of profundity in his Trios, but they are calm delights. These performances are exactly what you want to hear in the music. Flawlessly played on period instruments, they are full of subtleties to match Mozart's music. Only when you listen carefully can you hear the little adjustments of tempo and dynamics the players make to make Mozart's musical points clearly; these emphases work, but they don't call attention to themselves. The balance is also uncommonly fine, with the often submerged cello lines standing out clearly here. There is one complaint about this reissue, though. Considering that nearly everyone who hears this disc will want Vol. 2 also, and that at this price the CDs cost less than half the price of the originals, Classical Express could have saved us all some shelf space by issuing the two discs together as a set. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how this issue could be improved. Even the analog sound holds up beautifully. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Radiant Music
The quality of the recorded sound is so perfectly clear on this CD, like finely etched crystal, while at the same time it is so robust and resonant, that it is difficult to believe that this is an analog recording (as stated by the Amazon reviewer) or that the piano played by Steve Lubin on this marvelous CD is a replica of a 1785 Walter fortepiano, a smaller and much more fragile instrument than today's modern concert grand pianos.

In fact, given that this recording was made in May 1990, well into the digital era, I wonder if the Amazon reviewer may be mistaken in stating that this was an analog recording. As for Steve Lubin's heavenly playing, this period instrument fortepiano conveys a sound of precision and refinement in these Mozart compositions that might not be as readily attainable if these compositions were performed on a modern Steinway Grand Concert piano. What is also conveyed by all three musicians is the sheer effervescent joy of this music, filled with bouyant enthusiasm.

Not only the piano, but the cello and violin are also superbly played by the musicians, who are perfectly in synch with each other, performing every note in seamless unity. Although Mozart's piano trios have been considered as being among his lighter works, this evaluation should perhaps be revised and take into account that five of Mozart's six complete piano trios were composed in the last ten years of his life, during the period of his full musical maturity, after he had left Salzburg for Vienna. As Steve Lubin writes in the informative CD-insert essay "three of the Vienna trios, in fact, are masterworks."

I would add that even the less fully developed "Divertimento in B-flat major," which begins this CD, composed when Mozart was 20 years old, is very much worth listening to. This CD and its companion Vol. 2 are pristine examples of exquisitely performed chamber music. I would have gladly paid twice the price for these radiant musical gems.

"Their performances are delightful. Steven Lubin's fortepiano delivers cool, glittering streams of tone set perfectly against the lithe, crystalline quality of Stanley Ritchie's violin and Myron Lutzke's lean, resinous cello. ...the music itself really does gleam with freshness and vitality..." -- Classic CD

"These musicians play with dedication, affection, and impeccable taste." -- American Record Guide

Time = 76:45. Very highly recommended.

Ideal
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791): Piano Trios Vol. 1 (Divertimento K. 254; Trio K. 496; Trio K. 502). Performed by The Mozartean Players (Steven Lubin, fortepiano; Stanley Ritchie, classical violin; Myron Lutzke, classical cello).
Recorded in May, 1990, at the State University of New York at Purchase
Harmonia Mundi. Re-released in 2002 as HCX 3957033.

At the Classical Express price, this CD is something of a gift to mankind! Mozart’s six piano trios (three of them on this disc and the other three on Vol. 2) are not among his most popular works, and I heard them here for the first time – but certainly not for the last! This beautiful, sometimes ornate, sometimes almost folksy music is here performed and presented in a form that, as far as I can judge, is practically ideal. The three musicians seem to blend in with each other so well on their historical instruments, and their playing is so sovereign, that I find it well-nigh impossible to imagine a better recording of these works. In addition, the recorded audio sound is impeccable, making for an eye- and ear-opening listening experience. In particular, a word of praise for Steven Lubin’s fortepiano. Other fortepiano recordings have often left me sceptical with their wooden, slightly off-tune sound and their mechanical noises, but there is none of this with Lubin, just a delicacy and subtlety that leaves one wondering why the fortepiano needed to be improved upon at all.

HOW SWEET IT IS
Hope you'll pardon me for lifting a line from the Great One: Jackie Gleason, and using it as the title of this review. But it fits. Because this c.d. MOZART PIANO TRIOS Vol. 1, performed by The Mozartean Players (Steven Lubin (fortepiano), Stanley Ritchie (classical violin),and Myron Lutzke (classical cello) is, yes, you guessed it - HOW SWEET IT IS. This trio has a gorgeous sound, subtle and rich, and they interact beautifully with one another at every moment, on every selection. I purscased it on-line from Amazon at an excellent bargain price. The album has a soothing and quiet, yet enriching to the spirit quality. Its Mozart, some of his piano trio music. What could be better? Highly recommended.