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"Few chamber groups can spread delight more readily than the Florestan Trio. Their Beethoven disc (CDA 67327) should grab even the most casual listener with the tumbling unison opening to the "Ghost" Trio, Op 70 No 1. The recording places us fairly close, but there is no reason to take fright: we are among the subtlest and liveliest of musicians, with an innate grasp of the master's moods.
"The companion trio, Op 70 No 2, makes a bigger feature of Beethoven the teaser. Harmonic and melodic expectations are constantly thwarted or achieved by unexpected routes. Airy figurations leap from Susan Tomes at the piano. Richard Lester's cello dazzles with rich autumn colours. In between, Anthony Marwood follows his own enchanted path. Beethoven's predecessors in the genre made the piano dominant; with the Florestans, you share the composer's excitement in his new sound kaleidoscope. This disc is a real winner."
"Beethoven Complete Music for Piano Trio, volume 1- A vital first instalment in the Florestan's urgent new cycle of Beethoven Piano Trios
"Here's a recording that immediately, from the first, impetuous bars of opus 70 no. 1, feels just right. In this movement the Florestan makes the long second repeat, but there's such a sense of momentum that no one could find it too extended or repetitious. Indeed, the reiterated chords that precede the lead-back reignite our concentration with their air of tense mystery. And when we reach this point for the second time, the G major harmony at the start of the coda has a wonderful, dense tranquillity. The famous 'Ghost' movement creates a powerful, chilling effect, with stark, senza vibrato string tone and the extraordinary writing in the piano's deep bass register exploited by Susan Tomes with superb control and sensitivity. Beethoven's thick, growling left-hand parts can be problematic, but Tomes always manages to produce a strong effect fierce and abrupt in the second movement of opus 70 no. 2, rich and warm in the following Allegretto without ever sounding overpowering or ugly.
"The E flat trio is something of a Cinderella work, but the Florestan performance helps us to see it as a major achievement of Beethoven's middle period. I love the way that, though they are a thoughtful, highly-controlled group, there's room for moments of the most intense expression, as when, in the opening Allegro, Anthony Marwood, leads the upward sequence that starts the development to such a passionate climax. And the finale, one of Beethoven's most prodigiously inventive pieces, has in this performance a feeling of uninhibited enjoyment. The recorded sound and balance is up to Hyperion's usual high standard."
"This is a highly auspicious beginning to the Florestans' survey of the Beethoven piano trios, which successfully applies the qualities that characterised the group's accounts of Mendelssohn, Schumann and Schubert for Hyperion to these more taut and rigorous musical arguments. Like all successful ensembles, the members of the trio preserve their separate musical identities while still creating a collective persona: Anthony Marwood's nervously charged, energised violin provides the ideal counterweight to Richard Lester's warmer, more relaxed cello, while Susan Tomes's piano adds the colour, and moments of insight and poetry. The sheer ebullience of the playing in the outer movements of the Ghost Trio Op 70 no 1, for instance, is totally convincing."
[Beethoven Opus 70 Trios CD]
"The Florestans' continuing traversal of the piano trio repertoire brings this award- laden trio yet more success. Having brought us Schubert and Schumann most recently, they now turn their attention to the great arc of trios written by Beethoven, starting off with the two opus 70 works. This is playing of quite extraordinary sensitivity and depth. I can hardly wait until the next volume."
"Hyperion's ability to pick outstanding musicians from the universal crop has rarely been better directed than in the case of the Florestan Trio, a combination of British artists that by nature explores far beyond the notes to reach the expressive heart of their repertoire."
"The first blast of classical music of the new year - a concert by the Florestan Trio at Wigmore Hall - came as a relief after a month of seasonal ululations designed to wash over you. Here at last was something to listen to, to follow bar by bar, the return of musical argument."
"The Florestan Trio has been around for a few years, and regularly acclaimed, but I caught up with them for the first time at the Wigmore Hall last weekend. The trio is a re-formed version of the superlative Domus ensemble - it has the same fastidious cellist, Richard Lester, and above all the same ultra-intelligent and tirelessly sparky pianist Susan Tomes. Anthony Marwood, another distinguished veteran of the chamber-platform, is the violinist. This is a trio in perfect tune."
"In the few years since their formation, the Florestan Trio - Susan Tomes, piano; Anthony Marwood, violin; and Richard Lester, cello - have received such consistent praise for their performances and discs that one almost trembles lest the reality prove more mundane. Yet within seconds of the start of the Adagio introduction of Beethoven's Piano Trio in G major Op 1 No 2, their quality was reaffirmed. Marwood spontaneously responded to Tomes's pellucid invocations, every phrase alive with insight and sentiment. "
"Sheer delight it began with Beethoven's early G major trio, a marvellous piece to begin any concert because of its superb arch-like introduction, so satisfying in itself but so full of the promise of things to come. Beethoven solves the balance problem by making the piano the unabashed centre of attention, giving it a part full of extravagant rhetorical swoops and decorative runs. Susan Tomes tossed these off with virtuoso aplomb, while somehow projecting an awareness that the other players' contributions were just as important. It's rare to see tact and bravura in such perfect balance. Violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Richard Lester were no less impressive, especially in the finale where the piquant blend of humour and drama was perfectly caught."
"The Grand Rapids Symphony on Friday evening featured a dazzling debut by the Florestan Trio in Beethoven's Triple Concerto. The Florestan Trio joined the Grand Rapids Symphony in their American debut, earning an enthusiastic standing ovation for the effort. It was well-deserved all round. Anthony Marwood, Richard Lester and Susan Tomes gave a warm, glowing performance, cutting easily through the orchestra and passing melodic lines to each other like an old married couple finishing each other's sentences. Lester, a cellist with precise note accuracy in his upper range, played with a sweet tone in the second movement. Marwood's outer movements, finely bowed, were played with a lovely singing quality, and Tomes's piano featured crystal clarity of line throughout. David Lockington [conductor] held the entire performance together from the rich nuanced opening through the give-and-take of the final Rondo."
"Just when I was beginning to feel culturally immune, along came the Florestan Trio with a performance of Schubert's B flat Trio that completely blew me away. This was not just a performance of greatness but one that took the music on to another level altogether.
Robert Schumann wrote that after a glance at the score for this work "the wretchedness of human existence disappears and all the world grows fresh and bright again." And that just about sums up Thursday's astounding late-night concert."
"The Florestan's approach to Schubert treads that venturesome path where interpretive freedom keeps within the spirit of the work while straying somewhat from the letter of the score. The use of rubato, so effective in their concert performances, comes perilously close to affectation on disc. Yet the sheer vivacity they bring to the first movement of the B Flat Trio sweeps aside such reservations, the highly-regarded performances from the Beaux Arts and the Trio Fontenay sounding positively stolid by comparison. It's an urgency we find throughout the score, their light and mercurial approach to the scherzo containing as much Mendelssohn as Schubert, while the spring-like freshness they bring to the finale rejects the moments of drama we often hear in this movement.
Throughout, there is impeccable rapport between the trio members, the balance between the instruments so perfectly weighted as to provide ideal clarity. The sound quality is wonderfully airy, the many running passages sparkling like diamonds in the hands of Susan Tomes. I gather this is the first of two discs comprising all Schubert's piano trios."
"A very fine new recording of Schubert's great B Flat Piano Trio from these superb musicians. ....the Florestan players show how completely they are within the Schubertian sensibility. Their playing is emotionally strong, yet full of thoughtfully subtle, wonderfully responsive touches...... Richard Lester and Susan Tomes open the Andante with disarming simplicity, and just listen to the spontaneous dialogue between all three players later..... The scherzo sparkles with just the right light-hearted touch and Anthony Marwood leads into the trio most delicately and winningly, while the finale has an airy grace which is irresistible. In short, this stands out among modern recordings of this fine work and the contrasts of the heartfelt Notturno are equally telling...... This will be hard to beat, and one eagerly awaits the E FlatTrio (due for release in July)."
"Is there a better trio than the Florestan playing today? All three members
are consummate artists, outstanding instrumentalists, and ensemble players
to the manner born, but it's the playing of the pianist Susan Tomes that
carries these performances to their greatest heights. Since the ensemble
is perfectly judged by all concerned, it may seem unjust to single out
the playing of one member for special comment, but such is the extreme
sophistication, the extraordinary subtlety and the expressive range of
this artist that I can see no alternative. The tonal control, the exquisite
shaping of phrases, the rhythmical suppleness and structural backbone
are of an order seldom encountered in the playing even of many famous
soloists. But what renders her playing here still more remarkable is the
exemplary precision with which it's matched to the different sonorities
and qualities of attack, so-called, of the string players. And what players
they are. For all the above this is not a pianist-dominated performance,
except insofar as Schubert wrote the piece that way."
Performance
*****
Sound *****
"marvellously alive, played with palpable joy and an unerring sense of ensemble."
"The cover art on Hyperion CDs is famously restrained, with a reproduced painting always the preferred choice. Considering the sunlit glories within, the Florestan Trio's Schubert disc (Hyperion CDA67273) deserved something livelier than the overcast sky of Johan Christian Dahl's Clouds in the Evening. Their account of the Piano Trio No 1 in B flat major is marvellously alive, the phrasing playful when required, delicate but never precious. Anthony Marwood, Richard Lester and Susan Tomes frolic through with palpable joy and an unerring sense of ensemble. Placed alongside this CD, even the Beaux Arts Trio, old favourites in this repertoire, start to look staid."
"The beauty of melody, irresistible playfulness and sheer charm of Schubert's B flat Piano Trio have never been in dispute. But it is a strength of the Florestan Trio's performance that, while responding warmly to these qualities, it consistently brings out the work's structural mastery, harmonic subtlety and rhythmic energy. The legendary Schubert who poured out music without a thought in his head seems very far away."
"The amount of experience, expertise and maturity they bring to their performance, along with their uncanny ability to plug right into the character of the music at hand, inform everything they play. The Florestan Trio, quite simply, showed how it should be done."
"Here the Florestan Trio's many talents could all be displayed - a musical rapport of unusual closeness, in which individuality is not suppressed but instead creates tension that supplies energy to the performance. The delicacy and subtlety of pianist Susan Tomes is balanced by the expressiveness of cellist Richard Lester and the intensity of Marwood."
"The Florestan Trio are one of those rare ensembles that seem to function at their best in the difficult terrain of late 18th-century classical repertory. They offered clear, balanced, resilient music-making here .crisply furled and unfurled phrasing from Tomes, finely-pointed lines from violin and cello, well-matched accents from all three players were a combined delight."
"It was musical classicism at its best."
"The Florestan Trio demonstrates vividly the difference between a good and a superb chamber music group no matter what turns the music took, the sense of oneness never departed."
"The Florestan Trio, individually and as an ensemble, plays with flawless technique, integrating sounds and ideas perfectly."
"The performance was radiant with arching phrases and total mastery of style."
"The Florestan Trio performed Schumann's 2nd Piano Trio Op 80, in an attractive perspective of intense romanticism, where enthusiasm was fed by a genuine feeling of pleasure. The unlimited optimism in their way of music-making, produced a stormy framework to the well-balanced tempi."
"The playing here was pungently seasoned, sure of style and proportion, and animated of texture. Sensitive to dynamics and expression, the Florestan worked instinctively as an ensemble, reaping the fruits of long association."
"The Florestan Trio is without doubt a first-class ensemble."
"Everything they touch seems to turn to musical gold."