Karl Kaiser - Haydn: The London Trios (2004)

Haydn wrote little music for solo winds, alone or in chamber music. He did compose a flute concerto (now lost) in his earliest days at Eisenstadt, when he was trying to impress each of his musicians, but flutes as solo winds appear only in works commissioned for the instrument. All came from London, where the flute was apparently popular, and most of those pieces (lacking only six divertimentos, Hob IV:6–11) appear on this disc. The trios with fortepiano were written in 1790, the others in London in 1792.

These three fortepiano trios are often played in their alternate version with violin and are considered to be part of that canon. The change in instrumentation produces totally different results, especially when played on modern instruments; with the Beaux Arts Trio, the strings became mere accompaniment to the grand piano; in the original scoring the piercing sound of the transverse flute, barely softened by its wooden body, makes it the prevailing instrument in tutti passages. In these performances, the vibrant, bracing playing of fortepianist Sabine Bauer restores the balance and provides a lively rhythmic impetus throughout. To this, the transverse flute adds strong color; the cello remains little more than harmonic support.

Lacking the keyboard, the trios for two flutes and cello call for greater virtuosity by the wind players; the Allegro finale of No. 3 is particularly scintillating. Flautists Michael Schneider and Karl Kaiser deliver the goods. The Second and Fourth Trios of Hob IV are single movements, a fascinating Andante con variazioni and a brief, charming Allegro. All four pieces demonstrate how masterful Haydn could be in any medium.

CPO’s characteristic recorded sound, soft yet clear, is as winning as ever, fortifying the fine performances. The informative program notes are by Andreas Friesenhagen, an editor of a complete edition of Haydn works being published by Henle-Verlag, Munich. There seems to be continuing dishonesty in the marketing of Haydn discs: the word flute does not appear anywhere on the exterior of CPO’s package; the disc is titled simply “The London Trios.” Nevertheless, this remains an attractive rendering of an offbeat corner of Haydn’s œuvre.