Beethoven: Piano Trio, Op. 97, «Archduke Trio» / Faust / Queyras / Melnikov

Beethoven: Piano Trio, Op. 97, «Archduke Trio»
Isabelle Faust, Violin
Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello
Alexander Melnikov, Piano
I. Allegro Moderato (0:13)
II. Scherzo Allegro (13:08)
III. Andante cantabile, ma però con moto (23:42)
IV. Allegro Moderato (34:36)
Recorded on 27th March 2021 at Musik- und Kulturzentrum Don Bosco Basel, Paul Sacher Saal
If you want to learn more about the background of the piece we recommend to check out the analysis video before enjoying the performance. Felix Lindenmaier, former professor of music theory at Musikakademie Basel, gives some background information by pointing out specific examples played by the musicians: • Analysis Beethoven: Pi...
Film: Johannes Bachmann
Sound: Joël Cormier
© HMF Productions 2021

[@staffanolofsson8201]

For me, this is the best of all Piano Trios ever written, this "Archduke Trio".

[@simonschermann6957]

excellent trio BRAVO LUDWIG Merci les 3 solistes!

[@transilvania8394]

Erstklassige Kunst!!!Bravo

[@kyleethekelt]

What a treat. The greatest composer who ever lived, performed by three outstanding and respectful musicians who are evidently enjoying themselves. Nga mihi nui from aotearoa.

[@phillipshearman5597]

Ibid.

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Ngā mihi nui!

[@koentjorosamali7373]

Heavenly music.... (Greetings from Indonesia)

[@AronEdidin]

I (Allegro moderato) 0:10 II (Scherzo. Allegro) 13:10 III (Andante cantabile, ma pero con moto) 23:40 IV (Allegro moderato) 34:36

[@EdiQ1985]

Thank you, Greetings from Ecuador :)

[@robertmarcus9653]

Isabelle. It is good to hear/see you in this music; everyone else too. 🎼🥀🌾💐🌱☘️🌻

[@AronEdidin]

The marvelous piano is by Christoph Kern, after an 1825 Graf.

[@lyngrove5741]

The piano looks absolutely beautiful! (And a nice change from the ubiquitous Steinways)

[@williamhuband7913]

Thank you so much for this information about the piano ! Astounding sound !

[@navrozelalkaka8457]

just brilliant!

[@transilvania8394]

Großartig!!!

[@aaronjorgefridman5662]

Preciosista versión de una obra naturalmente perfecta

[@steveegallo3384]

The Gold Standard for this, I believe!

[@emigdioluisgarciaaguilar2738]

Bella música, bellos músicos !!!

[@user-zw3eg3zi8n]

what beautiful playing!

[@CP-ly7ml]

Thank you!

[@user-pi2tl8iu6z]

참 좋습니다(very good)!

[@user-no5rg2vv5z]

Wow amazing bravo ~~!!!

[@phillipshearman5597]

Very much of this is first class: especially the performers. The audio engineers should try a few good ribbon mics or large diaphragm vacuum tube condensors. This will help tone back the harshness of the sound. Keep in mind that these improvements will do little good if you use poor audio cable or connect your equipment into the utility company's electrical grid. The piano is as spectacular as is the performer. It looks vintage yet I suspect a little cheating with modern wire, a die-cast harp and fine Australian wool hammers. Great instrument anyway! Thanks for this: Too bad there was no audience to be enriched by such a fine performance. I hope you did it again, and again, and again, etc.....

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Thanks! Now I understand why I also find this a little bit harsh. Listening with headphones Sennheiser Momentum.

[@marconicotri7721]

not just a piano, it is a fortepiano

[@SebastianBohrenViolin]

Fantastic‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[@soaressimoes]

Uma das peças mais lindas já compostas.

[@markdesaint-rat4905]

22:29 have the Fournier, Kempf, Szeryng vinyl disc, but blew out a speaker a couple of years ago so am listening on the phone

[@scheepalicious]

Lovely staging, I must say.

[@inorin5157]

wow.

[@atillaokan7688]

💐💐💐

[@transilvania8394]

Großaŕtig!

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗👏👏👏😍😍😍

[@HiltonBarlach]

maravilha!!!!!!

[@natalialemishka1291]

💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐

[@wertherland]

At the 11 min mark begins a passage that sounds a heck of a lot as one of the String Quartets he will compose on his late period, one of the Razumovskies... Listen carefully.. right?

[@palladin331]

The Razumovsky Quartets, op 59, were written in 1806. The Archduke, op 97, was written in 1811. The Razumovsky Quartets were right in the middle of Beethoven's middle period, while the Archduke Trio is right at the cusp of the late period. (You're probably referring to the opening of op 59, no 1. Yes there is a similarity to the 11 min mark in the trio).

[@thomasbanks7950]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm good

[@cyborg774]

The classical piano is in good taste. It is not loud and has little resonance, so the strings are clear. It must be the sound of Beethoven's time.

[@rarefied6820]

19:25 - 21:10, 36:58-41:34

[@pauljacobson2538]

Wonderful but what is the venue?

[@hochrheinmusikfestival]

the recording was made at the Musik- und Kulturzentrum Don Bosco Basel, Paul Sacher Saal: www.donboscobasel.ch

[@Tariq-Hassaan]

عاشق لموسيقياك من مصر جميلة 💕💕💕💕

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Interesting with this old Grand Piano, "Christoph Kern", I wonder how old it is? And of course, great playing from all.

[@AronEdidin]

When I checked, Kern is active now. But it's a copy of a Graf from Beethoven's time. (There are pianomakers now who specialize in copying older instruments, or following the general design of those, or both. There was a fair lot of variety among early pianos, so a Graf from late in Beethoven's life will be different from a Broadwood or an Erard from the same time. As I recall, Beethoven owned all three kinds.)

[@staffanolofsson8201]

@@AronEdidin Thank you so much for this answer! You seem to know a lot of old pianos. I have learned that this piano is a new copy of a Graf from Beethoven´s time. I wonder if Graf pianos at Beethoven´s time sounded as good as this? A hypothetical question, of course. As I understand Beethoven was perhaps in contact with Graf, Broadwood and Erard. And perhaps when he already was completely deaf.

[@AronEdidin]

@@staffanolofsson8201 I think the goal of constructors who make copies of old pianos is to match the sounds of the original when they were new. There are a fair number of original Grafs around. Their frames are wooden, and the tension of the strings over the intervening couple of centuries seems usually to have produced a degree of warping (called "cheek-cock" if I"m remembering correctly) that distorts the sound (in unpleasant ways), so it's likely that new copies sound more like a new Graf would have done. The Graf pianos had a kind of key mechanism called Viennese Action which was carried over from the smaller pianos that Mozart the younger Beethoven used. The Broadwood and Erard ones had a different kind of key-mechanism, from which the mechanism of the modern piano evolved but in a much earlier stage of development. What I know about Beethoven's thinking about all this comes mostly from an article by William S. Newman called "Beethoven's Pianos Versus His Piano Ideals", which argues that Beethoven always favored the Viennese-action instruments. Meanwhile, there haven't been many copies made of Broadwood pianos from Beethoven's time and the originals I've heard on recordings sound pretty awful to me (though maybe no worse than some of the original Grafs). But I recently came across a video on KZbin with a really lovely-sounding Broadwood copy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX2Yipyjjrdjebs

[@AronEdidin]

For the record (credit where due!) the Broadwood copy in that performance is by Chris Maene. The same instrument features in some of the other videos in the Beethoven Pianoforte Sessions series, along with copies by Maene of a Walter and a Graf.

[@staffanolofsson8201]

@@AronEdidin Again, thank you Aron. As you can see I am still 8 mounths later listening to this. Greetings from Sweden.

[@genesbeans]

BEETHOVEN!

[@Rosenberg1935]

Jeu sans pareil.

[@chuckardenstrike6809]

0:13

[@eviefieseler1093]

0:42

[@dolorsmassaguer2482]

Mire yo no quiero suscribirme,he apretado para decir que me gustaba,i he visto que salia que queria suscribirme ,no es asi ,me gusta bariar .lo siento.Gracias...

[@palladin331]

Putting aside the 'historicity' of this performance by three stellar players (with three stellar instruments), the balance of the violin is woefully weak. Either the engineer should have balanced the mics to favor her or Ms. Faust's intentional underplaying is excessive. (The resonance of the cello and piano is what it is: glorious. The violin is simply not properly matched to them).

[@ancaratiu9484]

Who is this pianist?

[@shupingwang3392]

The violinist underplays her part significantly. I can only speculate why that is. The pianist gets all sort of interesting colours out of his instrument, but it remains unclear what the direction of his musical vector is. The cellist is simply his usual self and gets it right.

[@hi-ur4qd]

What do you mean by this? Can you elaborate? Genuinely curious :)

[@staffanolofsson8201]

Isabelle Faust is one of this worlds finest violinist, and the comment that she "underplays her part signficantly" is for me incomprehensible. So I agree with @hi-ur4qd: "Can you elaborate?"

[@ursfriedrichbohren5164]

Mit allem Respekt, diese Interpretation erreicht nicht das Niveau von Amy Schwartz Moretti, Michael Stephen Brown und Jonathan Swensen

[@renato45222]

Orribile il timbro del fortepiano, Beethoven si rivolta...........................

[@docmichaelkru3377]

The opposite ist true! 😉 It was the sound that Beethoven heart, and had in mind, i f he could hear, because he was halfway deaph at that time.