Gabriel Fauré
(1845-1924)
Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120 (1923)
Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
Piano Trio in G Major (1879)
Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937)
Piano Trio in A minor (1914)
The Florestan Trio
Hyperion SACDA67114 Multichannel Hybrid SACD
The Fauré piano trio was written when the composer was 77, and it was his penultimate composition. The Debussy trio was written when the composer was still a teenager, and the Ravel trio was written in middle-age. As I listen to these works, however, I feel that their common musical language transcends time and space. The music is sweet, immediately accessible, and memorable. The three works also share a wistful mood in each of their slower movements.
The Debussy trio, rarely heard, is a special treat, and it was this piece that prompted the purchase of this disc. Although I have other performances of the Ravel and Fauré trios, I am very happy to have this disc, too, because the Florestan Trio (Anthony Marwood, violin; Richard Lester, cello; Susan Tomes, piano) perform all of these works with great intensity, verve, and delicacy.
