Newcomers to the English catalogue, the Mirecourt Trio are artists-in-residence at Grinnell College, Iowa, as well as busy concert-givers, with 15 American LPs already to their credit. This new disc, recorded in Chicago in 1987, has the initial advantage of combining what many would consider the two greatest of Beethoven's piano trios; the mighty Archduke usually finds itself coupled with something slighter. I thought there was some deterioration in the recording towards the end—in quality of sound as also in balance, i.e. an over-dominant keyboard. All the way through I had the suspicion that the pianist, John Jensen, was very much the group's leader. I certainly would often have liked to hear bolder tone from the cellist, Terry King. But since he is also named as producer (as well as programme-note writer) he may not have been in quite the ideal position for assessing his own weight (or comparative lack of it) here.
All three players are lively musicians determined to make you listen with new ears. But some of their point-making struck me as myopic, drawing your attention to this or that tree rather than the splendour of the wood. In short, for me they made this far-seeing composer sound too episodic—and particularly in the first movement of the Ghost, with its constant fluctuations of tempo, and rather too calculated dynamic contrasts. The Largo is eerie enough, and they certainly ensure that you miss none of the finale's jokes.
The finale of the Archduke, like the Scherzo, is a little more deliberate than we often hear. The opening Allegro moderato and the slow movement are lovingly phrased, though I prefer the former played with a stronger and more continuously sustained sense of direction. With their rhythmic yieldings here (the pianist is particularly prone to this) I felt that the newcomers owed more to the Beaux Arts (Philips) than to the Perlman, Harrell, Ashkenazy team on EMI, who remain my own decided favourites in both these works, though their Ghost only comes as part of the complete set of piano trios.'