Except for the B flat movement of 1812, Schubert composed all his music for piano trio towards the end of his life in late 1827 or early 1828. In this new period-instrument issue, the Florestan Fortepiano Trio present a robust sound that emphasizes the music’s rich emotional fabric. Muscular playing in the first movement of the B flat Trio contrasts effectively with lovingly shaped phrases in the lyrical second theme. The Florestan’s sensitivity to harmonic colour in the development section is enhanced by the distinctive tonal quality of their period instruments to generate increased expressive intensity. A relatively lively pace and agogic stress on the accented quavers in the Andante create a quaint lilt that, to my ears, lacks the sustained serenity of the Beaux Arts’ version; while the Scherzo, though stylish, is surely too leisurely for Allegro. However, the Florestan reveal some delightfully shaded textural contrasts in the finale.
The Castle Trio produce a finer-grained sound in their recording of the E flat Trio than the group under review here. Compare Orkis’s limpid tone in the opening Allegro and gossamer delicacy in the finale’s repeated notes with Vermeulen, whose keyboard attack sounds more laboured. Moreover, the Florestan’s rather plodding tempo in the Scherzo and heavy accents in its Trio makes the phrasing sound disturbingly stodgy. Their forthright approach is more successful in the slow movement, with the volcanic rumblings at its heart erupting with potent force at the shift to B minor.
The Florestan play the B flat Trio movement (D28) well, infectiously conveying this youthful score’s abounding exuberance. In the E flat Notturno they deftly oppose the darker E flat passages with the triumphant radiance of those in E major, creating a wonderfully evocative atmosphere. There are certainly more consistent accounts of Schubert’s piano trios (on both modern and period instruments); none the less these budget versions by the Florestan Trio – whose strongly profiled readings do possess striking dramatic character – have much to commend them.'