Album

Almost without exception, these performances by pianist Wilhelm Kempff, violinist Henryk Szeryng, and cellist Pierre Fournier are the most magnificent, the most magisterial, the most monumental, and the most fun of any ever recorded of Beethoven's piano trios. Separately, Kempff, Szeryng, and Fournier were among the best Beethoven players of the middle years of the twentieth century, and together they play like old friends whose affection for each other and the music has only grown deeper over the years. And, of course, the amazing thing is that these were, for the most part, ad hoc performances, performances done in the studio for Deutsche Grammophon's 1970 Beethoven edition but performances that have withstood the test of time so well that DG reissued them for its 1997 Beethoven edition. From their emotionally extravagant Op. 1 trios through the superlatively balanced Op. 70 trios to their final grand and sublime Op. 97 trio, Kempff, Szeryng, and Fournier's performances are superb. And while one might quibble with the inclusion of the Beaux Arts Trio's stolid performance of Beethoven's arrangement of his septet, no one would quibble with the exquisite performance of Beethoven's arrangement of his Symphony No. 2 by Besch, Brandis, and Boettcher. And the inclusion of every work Beethoven wrote for piano trio only increases the set's value.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in Eb, Op.1, No.1 Work Recorded 1969-1970 31:35 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
1	1.Allegro	10:50			$1.99
2	2.Adagio cantabile	7:35			$1.49
3	3.Scherzo: Allegro assai	5:10			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Presto	8:00			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in G, Op.1, No.2 Work Recorded 1969-1970 36:02 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
5	1.Adagio. Allegro vivace	12:35			$1.99
6	2.Largo con espressione	10:36			$1.99
7	3.Scherzo: Allegro	4:22			$0.99
8	4.Finale: Presto	8:29			$1.49
CD 2 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in C-, Op.1, No.3 Work Recorded 1969-1970 33:01 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
1	1.Allegro con brio	10:44			$1.99
2	2.Andante cantabile con variazioni	9:02			$1.49
3	3.Menuetto: Quasi allegro	4:00			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Prestissimo	9:15			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in D, Op.70, No.1 ('Ghost') Work Recorded 1969-1970 25:34 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
5	1.Allegro vivace con brio	7:26			$1.49
6	2.Largo assai ed espressivo	9:09			$1.49
7	3.Presto	8:59			$1.49
CD 3 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in Eb, Op.70, No.2 Work Recorded 1969-1970 31:49 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
1	1.Poco sostenuto. Allegro ma non troppo	11:13			$1.99
2	2.Allegretto	5:22			$0.99
3	3.Allegretto ma non troppo	7:06			$1.49
4	4.Finale: Allegro	8:08			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in Bb, Op.97 ('Archduke') Work Recorded 1969-1970 45:21 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
5	1.Allegro moderato	13:20			$2.49
6	2.Scherzo: Allegro	12:00			$1.99
7	3.Andante cantabile, ma però con moto	11:56			$1.99
8	4.Allegro moderato. Presto	8:05			$1.49
CD 4 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in Eb, WoO38 Work Recorded 1969-1970 16:42 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
1	1.Allegro moderato	5:26			$0.99
2	2.Scherzo: Allegro ma non troppo	5:26			$0.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegretto	5:50			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Allegretto in Eb for Piano Trio, Hess48 Work Recorded 1982 Beaux Arts Trio Ensemble
4	Allegretto in Eb for Piano Trio, Hess48	4:00			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 7 Variations in Eb on a Theme from the Magic Flute, for cello and piano, WoO46 Work Recorded 1969-1970 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
5	7 Variations in Eb on a Theme from the Magic Flute, for cello and piano, WoO46	13:57			$2.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Allegretto in Bb for Piano Trio, WoO39 Work Recorded 1969-1970 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
6	Allegretto in Bb for Piano Trio, WoO39	5:58			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Variations in G on Müller’s Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu, for piano trio, Op.121a Work Recorded 1969-1970 Henryk Szeryng Violin, Wilhelm Kempff Piano, Pierre Fournier Cello
7	Variations in G on Müller’s Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu, for piano trio, Op.121a	17:54			$2.99
CD 5 of 5
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op.38 (based on Septet, Op.20) Work Recorded 1982 43:02 Beaux Arts Trio Ensemble
1	1.Adagio. Allegro con brio	10:26			$1.99
2	2.Adagio cantabile	10:10			$1.99
3	3.Tempo di menuetto	3:26			$0.99
4	4.Andante con variazioni	7:55			$1.49
5	5.Scherzo: Allegro molto vivace	3:14			$0.99
6	6.Andante con moto alla marcia. Presto	7:51			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Trio in D (transcr. of Symphony No.2, Op.36, by composer) Work Recorded 1973 31:42 Wolfgang Boettcher Cello, Thomas Brandis Violin, Eckart Besch Piano
7	1.Adagio. Allegro con brio	10:40			$1.99
8	2.Larghetto quasi andante	10:52			$1.99
9	3.Scherzo: Allegro	3:32			$0.99
10	4.Allegro molto	6:38			$0.99