Josef Bohuslav Foerster
(1859-1951)
Piano Trio #1 in F minor, Op. 8 (26:33)
Piano Trio #2 in B Flat Major, Op. 38 (25:30)
Piano Trio #3 in A minor, Op. 105 (24:11)
Foerster Trio
Supraphon SU3603-2
If you are interested in hearing how a Romantic composer develops his "voice" over a period of almost forty years, this is the CD for you. The early trios (1882 & 1894) are very much in the tradition of Antonín Dvořák's chamber music, and the last movement of Op.38 has the emotional tension and lyrical beauty of Dvořák's own Piano Quartet Op. 23, second movement. The first two Foerster trios also make fine use of the folk-like rhythms and melodies that many other Czech composers of the period explored.
But the third piano trio (1919/21) is a subtle leap into the later Romantic period. It is still very melodious, it is still very tonal, and it is still beautiful, but there is an added depth of emotion. This is the finest of the three trios, and it can be all the more appreciated when heard after the other two.
