J. P. Pixis Piano Trios (Hyperion)

[Lance]

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... SY355_.jpg
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... SX355_.jpg
Hyperion 68207, 64:54

JOHANN PETER PIXIS (1788-1874)
•Grand Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 75
•Piano Trio No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 95
•Trio Concertant No. 1 (composed with
the Bohrer brothers)
THE LEONORE PIANO TRIO
Benjamin Nabarro, violin
Gemma Rosefield, cello
Tim Horton, piano

For me, there is not enough Pixis on disc, so to have this trio set (he wrote seven trios altogether) and countless other works, this was a must-have for me. Any of those composers who were part of the Liszt/Schumann/Chopin group all had the spirit of romanticism in piano playing and composition deep in their hearts whether being original or inspired by their counterparts.

The music on this disc is a knockout! I am not too well acquainted with the Leonore Piano Trio, but they are a first-class ensemble. Tim Horton is a supreme pianist (Brendel thinks much of him!) and, of course, it is generally the piano that provides the underpinning of the rest of the group. Horton is right-on. (Bear in mind he has nothing to do with the food or coffee that bears his identical name!)

If music was meant to be entertaining in the days it was written inasmuch as there was no TV, Radio, or recordings, it surely does that here.

I hope this will be an on-going project for Hyperion to give us much more Pixis who is, perhaps, best remembered for his inclusion as one of the composers for Liszt's "Hexameron."

***** Very highly recommended.

[jbuck919]

I trust Lance on this, of course, and wonder whether Rob (Reblem) knows about this guy, but do notice that this man lived to be 86 years old, an unheard of thing among composers of the time. Perhaps the most neglected important writer of piano trios (because his cello lines double the bass) is, as Charles Rosen pointed out years ago, is Haydn, another composer who lived a long life for his time.