The E flat Trio, Op. 3, which resembles Mozart's Divertimento, K563 in the number and arrangements of its movements, is a bold work in which impudent syncopations show the young Beethoven's uninhibited freedom of expression. In the present issue, the opening movement is characterized by a genial detachment, the Adagios are elegant and never overstated and the finale is played with an engaging vitality. The sound is bathed in the spacious acoustic of the Alte Reitschule of the Schloss Grafenegg. Thus, to my taste, the Archibudelli's relatively cool approach (on period instruments) sounds a little over-civilized. By comparison, the version offered by Perlman/Zukerman/Harrell, though admittedly enhanced by the occasion of a live performance and the immediacy of the recorded sound, is stronger and more dynamic.
Where the Op. 3 Trio was designed to shock, the well-contrasted sections of the Serenade, Op. 8 were clearly intended to entertain. Here, L'Archibudelli's performance style, which allows the music's various changes of character to speak for themselves, seems much more appropriate. The first movement has an amiably jaunty spirit and the swaggering Polacca adds an appealing, ethnic flavour. However, the affecting tenderness of the Adagio and well-balanced control in the variations also give the work a seriousness which belies its serenade character. Once again, Perlman/Zukerman/Harrell have more drive and energy but, whatever L'Archibudelli may lack in sheer excitement, they make up for in the clear logic and thematic coherence of their account.'