Haydn / Kuhlau / Weber: Three Trios For Flute, Piano And Cello – Anja Kreuzer

Trios for flute, cello and piano represent a fascinating ensemble, but also one whose perfect sound balance is difficult to find. The three works recorded in this Da Vinci Classics album demonstrate the composers’ struggle to find this perfect alchemy, and their eventual success in finding it. In Haydn’s trios, the flute is a clear protagonist, also due to the strategic role of this instrument in the promotion of these works, which had been conceived for the flute-loving British aristocrats. In Friedrich Kuhlau’s Grand Trio op. 119, the three instrument are treated as equals; this is partly due to the fact the originally this piece was written for two flutes, and the second flute’s virtuoso part does not lose its brilliancy when transferred to the cello. Weber’s Trio is quintessentially a Trio for flute, cello and piano, and we can appreciate the level of refinement with which Weber treated each instrument as well as the combination of the three. Together, these three trios are among the most beautiful in the literature for this relatively rare instrumental combination, and they allow us to explore, together with their composers, the unheard-of possibilities of this ensemble and of this genre.